Dec. 30, 2009

Maryland Finishes 6th At Midlands
Alex Krom won the individual championship at 141 pounds and the University of Maryland wrestling team finished sixth at the Midlands Championships, its best finish ever at the prestigious tournament.

The Terps had three wrestlers place, as Steven Bell finished runner-up at 133 pounds and Hudson Taylor took fifth at 197 pounds. Maryland finished sixth despite wrestling with eight entrants rather than 10, as Mike Letts and Patrick Gilmore were unable to compete.

Krom had a dominant run, going 5-0 with three pinfalls and one major decision. The 10th ranked wrestler in the country, Krom took a 9-2 decision over one-seed Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in the final, becoming the first Maryland wrestler to win a title at the Midlands. To get there, he pinned No. 19 Trevor Melde of Rutgers in the quarterfinals in 1:45 and No. 16 Ryan Prater of Illinois in the semifinals in 2:00. 

Tar Heels' Scotton Takes Southern Scuffle Title
North Carolina junior Thomas Scotton defeated a pair of nationally-ranked opponents Wednesday to take the 157-pound title at the 2009 Southern Scuffle at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. With four grapplers earning top-eight finishes, Carolina placed ninth in the team standings with 68.5 points. No. 8 Cornell took the team crown with 164 points.

In addition to the No. 7-ranked Scotton's first-place finish, other place-winners for the Tar Heels were No. 14 Dennis Drury, who took fourth at 197 pounds, Ziad Haddad, who was fifth at heavyweight, and Jeremy Shaw, who grabbed seventh place at 133.

After winning twice Tuesday, Scotton opened with a 7-1 decision over Penn's Matt Dragon in the quarterfinals and then defeated No. 9 Bryce Saddoris of Navy for the second time this season by a 5-3 margin. In the final against No. 12 Kurt Kinser of Indiana, Scotton scored a 2-1 overtime victory. After posting a 5-0 mark in Greensboro, Scotton, who has three wins over top-10 opponents on the year, is now a team-best 21-2. 

Virginia Takes Fifth at Southern Scuffle
Propelled by eight placewinners, the No. 18 Virginia wrestling team finished in fifth place Wednesday in the Southern Scuffle, hosted by UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Cavaliers recorded 96.5 points, just one point outside of fourth place, held by No. 20 Edinboro. No. 8 Cornell won the event with 164 points and was followed by No. 5 Minnesota (151.5) and No. 13 Indiana (131.5).

Fourth-ranked Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) notched UVa's top finish with a runner-up standing at 174 pounds. Henrich (15-2) picked up a 4-0 win over No. 10 Ryan Patrovich of Hofstra in the semifinals before dropping a 6-1 decision to top-ranked Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the championship match.

At 184 pounds, Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.) notched a third-place podium finish. Salopek blanked Virginia Tech's Tommy Spellman, 2-0, in the consolation championship. Jon Fausey (Fr., Dalmatia, Pa.), competing unattached, scored an eighth-place finish at 184. 

Blue Devils Wrap Up Action at Southern Scuffle
Duke wrestlers Voris Tejada and Diego Bencomo closed out competition at the 2009 UNC Greensboro Southern Scuffle today at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Blue Devil duo competed in the consolation brackets of their respective weight classes. Complete team scores were not available at the time of release.

Bencomo opened the day with a 10-6 decision over Jeremie Cook of Lock Haven to earn a spot in the quarterfinal round at 184 pounds. The redshirt freshman had his run through the consolation bracket stopped in the next match, dropping an 8-2 decision to Indiana's Eric Cameron. Bencomo finished the tournament with a 4-2 record and is 15-5 overall for the year.

Looking to advance to the quarterfinal with a third consecutive win, Tejada was stopped by Michael Billings of Navy in a tough 5-4 decision in the 174-pound division. The senior Blue Devil finished the Southern Scuffle with a 3-2 record to move to 11-7 on the season. 

Bobby Ward Takes 5th At Southern Scuffle
Junior 149-pounder Bobby Ward pinned Bloomsburg’s Frank Hickman at 1:36 to take fifth place Wednesday at the Southern Scuffle, held at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Ward, who went 7-2 in the tournament, is now 13-5 overall. Counting a pair of forfeits, he won four of five matches on Wednesday to take fifth place.

Also on Wednesday, freshman heavyweight Eloheim Palma dropped a pair of matches to in-state rivals and was eliminated from the tournament after advancing to the quarterfinals on Tuesday. He lost 9-4 to Ziad Haddad of North Carolina, and 3-2 to Peter Stugeon of host UNC Greensboro.