December 1, 2006 - at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
December 1, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Wrestling
Rider at Cliff Keen - 21st of 47 after Day One
LAS VEGAS, NV—The Broncs are competing at the 25th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational, where 12 of the top 25 teams in the nation are included in the 47-team field and are in 21st place after day one of competition. “As tough as this tournament is, our team is having a good showing,” said head coach Gary Taylor.
Junior T. J. Morrison (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff), ranked 14th in the nation and the eighth seed at 197, lost in the quarter-finals to number one seed Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell 2-1 after defeating Nick McClone of Northern Illinois 7-0 in the round of 32 and the number nine seed, Ricky Scott of Buffalo in the second round 7-6.
Sophomore Doug Umbehauer (Shamong/Lenape), ranked 12th in the nation and the seventh seed at 174, lost in the quarter-finals to the number two seed Matt Herrington of Penn 4-3 after defeating the tenth seed, Joey Hooker of Cornell 10-2 in the round of 16 and pinning Mike O'Brien of San Francisco State in 6:04 in the round of 32.
Junior Don Fisch (Williamstown/Delsea), ranked 16th in the nation and the ninth seed at 141, won a 13-4 major decision over Zach Donofrio of Eastern Michigan in the pigtails, before being pinned by Rick Rappo of Penn in 4:40. In wrestlebacks, Fisch won a major decision over David Emison of George Mason 19-6, pinned Amond Prater of Missouri in 44 seconds, won a 7-4 decision over Gordo Villaescusa of Embry-Riddle and defeated Garrett Desmond of Wyoming 9-7.
Freshman 184 Mike Miller (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) pinned Lockett Jasper of Missouri Valley in 1:20 in the pigtail round before defeating Eric Chine of Kent State 6-5 in the round of 32. In the second round, Miller lost to the top seed, Tyrell Todd of Michigan 4-0 before rebounding with an 8-4 decision over Kane Smith of UNC-Greensboro. Miller lost in the fourth round of wrestlebacks to Marc Bennett of Indiana 1-0.
“We did this tournament to get better, both individually and as a team,” said Taylor who is in his 29th season as head coach. “We place them in the toughest competition to have them compete against the best kids in the country. It helps their confidence level to see that they are competitive and everyone has been so far in the tournament. We have a long way to go. Both T.J. [Morrison] and Doug [Umbehauer] are facing the second or third ranked kids in the country in the upcoming quarter-final round so they are going to get a tough test and that’s what they are here for.”
Sophomore 149 Mike Kessler (Randallstown, MD/Owings Mills) defeated Elwin Warsh of Cal Poly 5-2 in the pigtails, before losing 5-4 to the eighth seed, Matt Coughlin of Indiana in the round of 32. Kessler was eliminated in wrestlebacks falling to Corey Bleaken of Cumberland University 7-5 in overtime.
Freshman Matt Bradley (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) pinned Thomas Knapp of The Citadel in 4:19 in the 133 pigtails, before losing to the third seed, Matt Keller of Tennessee Chattanooga, 19-5. Bradley withdrew with an injury against Josh Manes of North Idaho.
Freshman Rob Morrison (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff) lost 20-5 to the 12th seed at 165, Zach Shanaman of Penn in the first round before defeating Zach Filter of The Citadel 8-2 in wrestlebacks. In the second round of wrestlebacks, Morrison was knocked out of the tournament by the fifth seed Marc Harwood of Nebraska 12-3. Senior Dave Miller (Southampton/Lenape), ranked 20th in the nation at 157, lost 11-7 to Hayden Harrison of Embry Riddle in the pigtails before pinning Daniel Alejandro (Cal-State Bakersfield) in 4:20 in wrestlebacks. In the second round of wrestlebacks, Miller pinned Frankie Schoonover from Dickinson State in 56 seconds before being eliminated by Zac Fryling of West Virginia 12-5.
Freshman Tommy Lorenzo (West Orange) lost 5-3 to the third seed at 125, Javier Maldonado of Tennessee Chattanooga in the round of 32 before defeating Sean Bauer of Buffalo 7-5 in overtime. In the third round of wrestlebacks, Lorenzo was eliminated by the eighth seed Collin Cudd of Wisconsin 6-1. Senior heavyweight Nick Ciufo (Pt. Pleasant N.J./Pt. Pleasant Boro) lost 18-1 to the fifth seed Wade Sauer of Cal State Fullerton in the round of 32 and was eliminated via pin in wrestlebacks by Jordan Hein from Wisconsin in 1:15.
Competition continues Saturday with the semi-finals, consolation finals and championship finals.
-RU-
