Missouri, ranked number in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Top 25, finishing first, unseating two-time defending champion Minnesota, who is ranked second. The Tigers finished with 179.5 points, with the Golden Gophers totaling 176 points. Cornell, ranked 13th, came in third with 134.5 points, while Edinboro finished with 129.5 points. Navy (92.5 points) rounded out the top five.
Penn came in as the number one seed at 165 lbs., and he won all six of his matches, two by fall. After edging fourth-seeded Chris Vondruska of Ohio State, 4-3, in the semifinals, the senior won by fall over second-seeded Steve Anceravage of Cornell in the finals. The pin was the 41st of his career, leaving him one shy of the school record held by Jason Robison and Tom Herr. Penn, who is ranked eighth by InterMat, also boosted his season record to 18-2, and his career mark to 95-41. Anceravage is ranked 11th and Vondruska 18th.
Matt Hill was the other Edinboro grappler to reach the finals, but the senior was unable to come up with his second win in the month of December over EWL rival Seth Martin of Lock Haven. Martin, the second seed at 157 lbs. and ranked 15th nationally, avenged a 6-1 loss to Hill in the dual meet earlier this month with a 4-1 decision in the finals.
Hill, ranked seventh, tasted defeat for the first time this season, and is now 18-1 and 91-36 for his career. He reached the championship with a 15-6 major decision against Stanford's Josh Zupancic, the fourth seed who was ranked 17th. Hill was 4-1 in the tourney.
Gregor Gillespie and Alex Clemsen garnered third place finishes at 149 and 184 lbs., respectively. Gillespie, ranked third, had hoped to meet top-ranked Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota in the final. However, he suffered his first lost of the season in the semifinals, a 9-4 decision to Jordan Leen of Cornell, the third seed and ranked sixth by InterMat. Gillespie had reached the semifinals with a 12-0 major decision against 14th-ranked Scott Ervin of Appalachian State. He would reach the consolation finals with a win over another ranked grappler, 13th-ranked Aaron Martin of Chattanooga, 8-3. In the third place match, Gillespie finished a 5-1 tournament with a 17-11 decision over Missouri's Josh Wagner. The sophomore is now 19-1.
One day after picking up his 100th career victory, Clemsen won three more matches to capture third place at 184 lbs. and bring his career ledger to 103-33. The senior, who is ranked 11th, is now tied for 16th in career wins with Nate Yetzer. Clemsen, the third seed, reached the semifinals with an 8-3 win over Stanford's Zack Giesen, but then suffered a 5-3 loss to Missouri's Raymond Jordan, the second seed who is ranked sixth. In the consolation semifinals, he posted a 9-1 major decision over 15th-ranked Rocco Caponi of Virginia, the fourth seed. He won by default over Jesse Strawn of Old Dominion in the third place match. Clemsen is 19-2 on the season.
Ricky Deubel captured sixth place at 133 lbs., going 4-3. However, all three losses came to nationally-ranked wrestlers, a common theme for the sophomore, who is 13-8 this year, with seven losses to ranked wrestlers. Deubel, who is ranked 14th, lost to 12thth-ranked Joe Baker of Navy, 10-6, in the quarterfinals. After picking up a win in his first wrestelback match, he faced second-ranked Matt Keller of Chattanooga. In the biggest win of his young career, Deubel came away with an 8-6 decision. He suffered a 6-1 loss to 13th-ranked Eric Albright of Virginia in the consolation semifinals, then lost by fall at 2:32 to Drew Headlee of Pittsburgh, who is ranked eighth.
Joel Webster and Pat Bradshaw, a pair of backups for the Fighting Scots, completed the list of medal winners with eighth place finishes at 141 and 197 lbs., respectively. Webster, a redshirt freshman who came in with a 4-5 record, won five straight matches after losing his first match to 14th-ranked Charlie Pinto of Maryland. He ended at 5-3 in the tourney after a 6-1 loss to 20th-ranked Seth Ciasulli of Lehigh in the seventh place bout.
Bradshaw, also a redshirt freshman, went 3-3, losing to Virginia's Brent Jones, 10-5, in the seventh place match.
Two other Edinboro wrestlers reached the quarterfinals after the first day of action, but failed to place. Phil Moricone finished 2-2 at 174 lbs., winning his first two matches before losing twice, including an 11-4 loss to 16th-ranked Mike Letts of Maryland in the quarterfinals. Moricone is now 14-5.
Joe Fendone came in ranked 11th at heavyweight and was the number four seed. Heopened with three straight wins, but the sophomore then suffered a narrow 6-5 decision to 12th-ranked Paul Weibel of Lehigh, in the quarterfinals. He had defeated Weibel, 13-8, earlier in the year. He was then eliminated via a 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh's Zach Schaeffer. Fendone is now 15-4.
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