Staying Home (125-149)

By Jason Bryant
jbryant@intermatwrestle.com

Life's not fair, and apparently, neither is the qualifying process for the NCAA Championships from the smaller conferences. With the Big 12 clamoring for more bids, smaller conferences also want the NCAA to remove the cap to give them more bids to the nationals. Each year, quality wrestlers are sitting in the stands or back in their dorms and apartments wondering what else they had to do over the course of a season to get that wild card. Was it because of a bad weekend they're sitting home? Is their school in a transitional year? Here are the top wrestlers in 2007-08 that won't be heading to the Division I championships ... for one reason or another. In all, 15 ranked wrestlers heading into the conference championships failed to qualify.

125 pounds
Andrew Novak, Eastern Michigan
He’s not going to raise any eyebrows with a 17-16 record, but Novak is the sentimental favorite to win a "Should have gone" award. Novak beat #18 Luke Smith in the MAC Championship semifinals, earning the right to wrestle Kent State’s Nic Bedelyon for the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. Well, Novak’s win wasn’t enough as he was passed over for one of the nine wildcards to St. Louis … but Smith was chosen over him, creating some controversy about competing in the tournament to start with. Novak’s best win of the season was against Division I wins leader Ben Kjar of Utah Valley State.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Season Record: 17-16
MAC Finish: 2nd
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (1): Luke Smith (Central Michigan)

Drew Forshey, North Carolina
The 2005 ACC Champion was poised for a return trip to the NCAAs last year and he was thwarted by an opening round loss at the ACC Tournament. This year, Forshey forged his way back into the finals, only to fall to Virginia sophomore Ross Gitomer. In a conference with only four wild cards, Forshey didn’t have any real bad losses – save a November loss to Central Michigan reserve Matt Steintrager – but Forshey he was also out the last month of the season after defaulting out of his Feb. 2 match with Drexel’s Steve Mytych.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 15-8
ACC Finish: 2nd
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (2): Dave Tomasette (Hofstra); Tony Mustari (Northern Colorado)

Brendan Byrne, Maryland
Byrne finished third in the ACC behind Ross Gitomer and Drew Forshey. At 19-12 and a third place finish in conference, it was pretty clear Byrne’s sophomore season was done after he lost to former Blair Academy teammate Gitomer. He spent a part of the early season nationally ranked.
Feb. 26 Rank; NR
Record: 19-12
ACC Place: 3rd
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (5): Steve Mytych (Drexel) twice; Nic Bedelyon (Kent State), Brandon Kinney (Columbia), Ross Gitomer (Virginia)

Ben Altman, Davidson
Altman, a sophomore from Delaware with a big-win attitude and was in the Top 10 statistically in major decisions across Division I. He finished second behind UT-Chattanooga’s Javier Maldonado and didn’t pick up one of the five wildcards from the Southern Conference.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 23-12
SoCon Place: 2nd
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (1): Jonathan Bittinger (Duquesne).

Ben Kjar, Utah Valley
Kjar led Division I in wins this season, but he and his Wolverine teammates are still ineligible for the post-season until the 2009-10 season. Nevertheless, Utah Valley remains a charter member of the Western Wrestling Conference and Kjar remains one of the toughest guns in the west. A former Junior Freestyle National Champion, Kjar will likely have two chances to reach the NCAA tournament in his final two years.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 39-9
West Region Place: DNC
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (2): Marcous Orozco (UC Davis), Mike Rodriguez (Cornell)

133 pounds
Sean Clair, Eastern Michigan
After reeling off 26 victories in his first 29 matches, Eastern Michigan sophomore Sean Clair couldn’t have picked a worse time to have a bad stretch of matches. Clair ended the season by losing four of his last five, including a damaging loss to Ohio’s Quentin Keyes in the opening round of the MAC Championship in overtime. Clair had a chance to get back and battle for a wildcard, but again lost in overtime, this time to returning qualifier Conor Beebe of Central Michigan.
Feb. 26 Rank: #15
Record: 27-7
MAC Place: DNP
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (5): Christian Smith (Liberty), Rick Deubel (Edinboro), Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh), Terreyl Williams (Appalachian State), Conor Beebe (Central Michigan).

Eric Albright, Virginia
Two-time NCAA qualifier Eric Albright was upset in the opening round of the ACC Tournament by N.C. State’s Darius Little, effectively ending his chance at improving on last year’s solid run at the NCAA Championships. Albright finished third and has wins over five NCAA qualifiers, including #2 Mike Grey of Cornell. With only four wildcards in the ACC and the slew of upsets that took place in College Park, Albright will have to play a waiting game, as he’s the second alternate from the conference.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 26-6
ACC Place: 3rd
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (5): Mike Grey (Cornell); Billy Ashnault (Lock Haven), Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh), Terreyl Williams (Appalachian State), Steve Bell (Maryland).

141 pounds
Joe Caramanica, N.C. State
After moving down from 149 pounds, where he has qualified for the last two NCAA Championships, Joe Caramanica suffered a knee injury at the worst possible time and ultimately fell to fourth at the ACC tournament, hardly good enough to merit a wild card in the 14-bid conference. While his performance before the tournament was absolutely worthy of a bid, an upset loss to Virginia Nick Nelson sent him to the consolation bracket in the ACC championship and then a loss to North Carolina’s Nick Stabile was the final blow. He was 23-2 heading into the post-season.
Feb. 26 Rank: #9
Record: 24-4
ACC Place: 4th
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (6):   Zack Bailey (Oklahoma), Dan LeClere (Iowa), Torsten Gillespie (Edinboro), Ryan Williams (Old Dominion), Germane Lindsey (Ohio), John Kohler (Maryland),

Eric Kruger, Central Michigan
With the MAC only bringing 19 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, it’s inevitable the conference tournament will have some upsets. The nature of the six-team bracket and true-second format will give wrestlers a second-chance to qualify, but not if they can’t get there first. Kruger was upset by Pat McLemore of Northern Illinois in the championship bracket at the MAC tournament and then was knocked to fourth by Ohio true freshman Germane Lindsey. Kruger, a redshirt junior, will have a chance to compete next season, but he won’t be joining the rest of his Chippewa teammates on the mats in St. Louis. He had a solid season, but is a victim of the upset bug that seems to love messing with MAC wrestlers.
Feb. 26 Rank: #13
Record: 24-9
MAC Place: 4th
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (7): Jon Kohler (Maryland), Nexi Delgado (UC Davis), Chris Drouin (Arizona State), Nick Gallick (Iowa State), J Jaggers (Ohio State), Cody Cleveland (UT-Chattanooga), Germane Lindsey (Ohio)

Ryan Prater, Illinois
The true freshman stepped in for the injured Troy Tirapelle and looked poised to make the NCAA Championships in one of the toughest weights in the country in one of the deepest weights in the Big Ten. Well, an upset in the championship bracket sent second-seeded Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin to Prater’s draw down low and a fall ended his hopes at a top-eight finish and a potential wildcard berth. The rigors of the Big Ten schedule might have been his undoing down the stretch.
Feb. 26 Rank: #15
Record: 20-11
Big Ten Place: DNP
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (5): C.J. Ettelson (Northern Iowa), Drew Lashaway (Kent State), Ryan Williams (Old Dominion), Tim Harner (Liberty), Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin),

Kyle Borshoff, American
Starting off the season 12-6, Borshoff got on a roll at mid-season. Heading into the EIWA tournament, he’d won 10 straight matches, but he was upended by three foes in the conference tournament and was left with a sixth-place finish. He went 15-1 in dual meets this season and was ranked for a two-week stretch during February.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 24-9
EIWA Place: 6th
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (3): Drew Headlee (Pittsburgh), Ryan Williams (Old Dominion), Steve Adamcsik (Rutgers)

Elijah Nacita, Cal State-Bakersfield
Talented freshman came into the Pac-10 Championships as the third seed and wilted. After an upset loss to Arizona State’s Chris Drouin, Nacita won 13 of his last 14 heading into the conference tournament before the loss to Drouin and another loss to Teddy Astorga of Cal State-Fullerton. Nacita won the California Collegiate Championship and Menlo Opens and finished fourth in Reno.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 26-10
Pac-10 Place: 7th
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (2): Chris Drouin (Arizona State), Nexi Delgado (UC Davis).

149 pounds
Kaylen Baxter, Old Dominion
The upset big bit Alaska native Kaylen Baxter both ways at the CAA Tournament and prevented him from qualifying for the second straight year. Baxter was upended by Hofstra’s Mitch Smith in the CAA quarterfinals, but it wasn’t his upset which kept him out of the tournament – it was Binghamton’s Kyle Fried’s first-round loss. Fried has won four matches over Baxter in the last two seasons and as the two seeded wrestlers met in the consolation rounds, only one would move on to qualify. The win went to Fried in overtime and Baxter’s solid season ended short of a medal. With 38 wins during the regular season, Baxter was second in the nation in wins in Division I and ranked for much of the season.
Feb 26 Rank: NR
Record: 39-11
CAA Place: DNP
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (5):  Jake Patacsil (Purdue), David Jauregui (West Virginia), Daryl Cocozzo (Edinboro), Spencer Manley (Navy), Matt Fittery (Lock Haven)

Jeremy Doyle, Cal State-Bakersfield
Roadrunners senior Jeremy Doyle seemed to hit stride in late December after placing eighth in the Southern Scuffle and beating two future NCAA qualifiers along the way. Perhaps the strain of 45 matches took its toll on Doyle, who lost to Cal Poly’s Eric Maldonado twice in the Pac-10 tournament, an opponent he’d beaten by major decision a month earlier. Doyle also won the California Collegiates.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 31-14
Pac-10 Place: DNP
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (3): Brandon Carter (Central Michigan), Daryl Cocozzo (Edinboro), Eric Medina (Maryland)

D.J. Meagher, Cornell
After being thrust into the starting lineup at 149 pounds early in the season, the New Hampshire native quickly acclimated himself to Division I wrestling, but while he had two wins over NCAA qualifiers during the year, his nine losses were all to qualifiers. He fell victim to a deep weight class in the EIWA and probably would have gotten a wildcard had he finished fifth, but a 4-1 loss to Constantino ended that chance.
Feb. 26 Rank: NR
Record: 21-9
EIWA Place: 6th
Wins over NCAA Qualifiers (2): Anthony Constantino (Columbia), Bryce Saddoris (Navy)

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