Former PA Wrestlers Shine at NCAA Division III Nationals
Several former PA wrestlers participated in the NCAA Division III Nationals this past weekend. Headlining that group was Ithaca College teammates and former District 1 stars Seth Ecker (Pottstown HS) and Jeremy Stierly (Owen J. Roberts HS). Ecker earned his second straight National Championship at 133 LBS and capped his collegate career with an 108-20 record. Stierly, a PIAA medalist his senior year at OJR, finally earned his first National Championship at 149 LBS after finishing in the runner-up position the two previous seasons.
A pair of former PA wrestlers earned All-American honors in their freshmen seasons at 125 LBS with Nathan Giorgio (Schuylkill Valley HS) of the Coast Guard Academy finishing in fourth place and Paul Bewak (Hempfield Area HS) of Johns Hopkins finishing in seventh place.
Former District 3 star Chris Albright (Red Lion HS) of York College earned his second All-American honor by finishing in fifth place for the second straight season at 141 LBS. Former District 11 wrestler Zak Andrews (Emmaus HS) of Delaware Valley College also earned his second All-American status at 149 LBS by finishing in fifth place.
Nick Sanko (Hamburg HS) of Ithaca College was seeded third at 165 LBS but finished in seventh place, earning him his first All-American honor. At 184 LBS, former District 2 wrestler Mike Reilly (Crestwood HS) of King’s College finished as the runner-up after suffering an ankle injury in the finals. It was Reilly’s second All-American honor finishing in sixth place a year ago at 174 LBS.
Brackets to the tournament can be found here.
Other former PA wrestlers who qualified for the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship are listed below.
Michael Fleck (Easton Area HS/Wilson Area HS) of Wilkes College qualified at 125 LBS.
Eric McCann (Pennridge HS) of Delaware Valley qualified at 133 LBS.
Josh Etzel (Elizabeth Forward HS) of Washington and Jefferson University qualified at 141 LBS.
Matt Heisey (Cedar Crest S) of York College qualified at 174 LBS.