Fittery Earns Second-Straight Runner-Up Finish at NCAA Championships
Mar. 15, 2008
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Shippensburg University wrestling sophomore Steve Fittery (Denver/Cocalico) fell just short of a national title at 141 pounds for the second-straight year, losing to Kyle Evans of Central Oklahoma 3-2 at the 2008 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships being held at the U.S. Cellular Center and hosted by Upper Iowa University.
The No. 2-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds all season, Fittery finished second for the second-straight year and earned his second All-America honor. He finishes the season with a 25-5 record.
In a rematch of last year's national championship match, Fittery survived an early takedown by Evans who ends his career as a four-time All American and two-time national champion. He posted a career record of 125-20 and won 94 of his last 98 matches.
Following an escape in the first period, Fittery trailed 2-1 before tying the match at 2-2 with an escape to begin the second period.
Evans chose down to begin the third period, recording an escape before employing a defensive strategy to earn his second consecutive national title.
Fittery advanced to his second-straight national championship match by defeated Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Shane Valko for the third time in as many matches this season, 6-1. Most recently, Fittery handed Valko a 15-5 major decision in the semifinals of the East Region Championships.
With his performance on Saturday, Fittery became the first Red Raider to appear in back-to-back national championship matches since Corey Jacoby '06 became the Red Raiders' first-ever national champion in 2005. That year, he won the title at 197 pounds before earning a runner-up finsh as a senior.
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