Kaleb Loht Wins DIII National Championship; Carr Runner-up
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Messiah’s Kaleb Loht – Photo From GoMessiah.com
Pennsylvania added yet another NCAA National Champion to it’s long list of wrestlers as Kaleb Loht (Indian Valley) earned the 141 lbs. NCAA Division III National Championship for Messiah. The Indian Valley graduate entered the Tournament as the #1 seed and ended his junior season with an impressive (53-1) record en route to his first career All-American finish. Loht was a 2011 graduate of Indian Valley High School which combined with Lewistown High School the following year to form Mifflin County High School. In his senior season Kaleb qualified for his third career PIAA Class AAA State Tournament and earned his first career medal finishing in sixth place at 125 lbs.
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W&J’s Nick Carr – Photo From Washington & Jefferson Athletics
Loht was not the only Pennsylvania wrestler who appeared in the NCAA Division III Tournament finals as former PIAA Class AA State Champion Nick Carr (South Fayette) advanced to the finals at 165 lbs. Nick Carr was a 2011 graduate at South Fayette High School where he was a PIAA Class AA State Champion his junior season at 145 lbs. It was Carr’s second career PIAA Medal after finishing in fifth place as a sophomore. His senior season Carr again advanced to the PIAA Class AA State Finals but finished as the runner-up to Muncy’s Zack Strickland at 152 lbs. The 3X PIAA Class AA Medalist and 1X Champion continued his wrestling career at Kent State. In his redshirt season Carr had a (12-4) record wrestling unattached which he followed up with a (21-10) in 2012-2013. As a sophomore this season Carr had transferred from Kent State to Seton Hill but, before wrestling a match there, ended up at Washington & Jefferson. Finally settled in Carr’s NCAA Division III debut ended with a (15-2) season record. Carr entered the NCAA Division III National Tournament as the #5 seed but knocked off the #4 and #1 seeds en route to the finals where he fell to the #2 seed Cole Welter (Wartburg) by a (5-3) decision.
Other PA Natives who impressed at the NCAA Division III Tournament included Johns Hopkins 125 lbs. wrestler Paul Bewak (Hempfield Area) who finished in seventh place. Bewak, a former PIAA Class AAA State runner-up, was the #1 seed at 125 lbs. but fell in the quarterfinals before ending up in 7th. Former Schuylkill Valley stand-out Nathan Giorgio earned All-American status competing for the Coast Guard at 133 lbs. The junior, a former PIAA State Medalist, entered the Tournament unseeded but finished in eighth place at 133 lbs. Former Easton Area wrestler Mark Hartenstine earned All-American honors for Wilkes University at 149 lbs. finishing in fourth place. Hartenstine, a redshirt junior, entered as the #3 seed in his second straight trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament after transferring from Campbell University. At 157 lbs. Ursinus College junior Rich Jasinski placed eighth. The former Pennridge High School wrestler entered the Tournament unseeded but earned All-American honors in his first trip to Nationals. At 174 lbs. former PIAA State Qualifier and 2010 graduate of York Suburban High School Ricardo Plummer capped his career at Messiah as an All-American. The Messiah Falcon wrestler entered the Tournament as the #5 seed and wrestled to his seed with an overtime victory in the fifth place medal match. Former Mechanicsburg Area wrestler Josh Thomson added a second All-American finish to his young career at 184 lbs. The Messiah sophomore finished third at Nationals last season as a freshman and followed it up with a fourth place finish this season at 184 lbs. The former PIAA State Medalist now has two NCAA Division III National Tournament medals in just two seasons. At 197 lbs. two former PA wrestlers earned medals as they faced off in the consolation finals. Former Albert Gallatin wrestler Jacob Lowry, a junior for Theil College, entered the NCAA National Tournament as the #3 seed and captured the third place medal to end his season with an impressive (44-2) record. Delaware Valley College junior Aaron Karns entered as the #7 seed but finished in fourth place earning All-American honors. The former Berwick Area High School wrestler defeated the #4 seed to advance to the consolation finals before falling to Lowry (3-2).[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]