West Liberty's Shaw Claims Regional Crown
February 24-25, 2012
PEMBROKE, N.C. – West Liberty University senior Jarrod Shaw won the 157-pound championship Saturday afternoon as the NCAA Division II Super Region One wrestling tournament concluded its two-day run at the English E. Jones Center on the campus of UNC-Pembroke.
As a regional champion, Shaw will lead a three-man contingent of Hilltopper grapplers to the 2012 NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 9-10 in Pueblo, Colo.
Fellow senior J.D. Ramsey punched his third NCAA national qualifying ticket with a third-place finish at 285 pounds while junior Matt Littleton finished fifth at 174 pounds but earned a trip to Pueblo with an impressive win against a higher-seeded wrestler in a True Fourth Place match.
The top four finishers in all 10 weight classes at the regional level are awarded spots in the national championship meet.
Defending champion Newberry (S.C.) once again ran away with the team title, amassing 131 points to 100.5 for runner-up Pitt-Johnstown. Kutztown was third with 96 points, followed by Mercyhurst (73.5), Gannon (72), East Stroudsburg (60.5), West Liberty (59.5), UNC-Pembroke (53.5) and Shippensburg (51.5) with American International rounding out the top 10 at 43 points.
Shaw, a Brooke High graduate, had one of the day's most entertaining matches in the 157-pound final. The bout between the No. 4-seeded Hilltopper and No. 6-seed Braden Turner of East Stroudsburg went into overtime before Shaw emerged with a 6-4 decision in the sudden-victory segment.
Ramsey, the No. 2 seed at 285 who starred at Cabell Midland High School, came up one win shy of wrestling for a regional title when he lost in the championship semifinals but he posted a shutout nod in the consolation final to earn a spot in the Third Place match. The WLU veteran made the most of it, blanking No. 6-seed Brandon Clark of Kutztown, 3-0, to take third place at 285.
Littleton, a former Parkersburg High standout, had the longest route of West Liberty's national qualifiers.
After knocking off No. 4-seed Luke Etter of Shippensburg, 7-3, in the Fifth Place match at 174, the No. 5-seeded Littleton got a break when No. 2-seed August Mizia of Mercyhurst dropped a 10-1 decision to No. 3-seed Travis McKillop of UPJ in the Third Place match at 174.
Since Littleton and Mizia had not met during the tournament, they went back to the mat to settle the final national qualifying spot in a True Fourth Place match. Littleton dominated the higher-seeded wrestler from the opening whistle, eventually pulling away to a 17-6 major decision.
Two more West Liberty wrestlers placed in the meet but didn't qualify for the national tournament. Dillon Nolte was sixth at 133 pounds while Derrick Williams finished sixth at 184.
Super Region One Championships
Complete brackets AT THIS LINK
Team Standings
1. Newberry 131
2. Pitt-Johnstown 100.5
3.Kutztown 96
4.Mercyhurst 73.5
5. Gannon 72
6. East Stroudsburg 60.5
7. WEST LIBERTY 59.5
8. UNC-Pembroke 53.5
9. Shippensburg 51.5
10. American International 43
11. Seton Hill 40.5
12. Anderson 17
13. Ohio Valley 3.5
Championship Finals
(Seeds in parentheses)
157: (4)Jarrod Shaw (WLU) d. (6) Braden Turner (ESU), 6-4, SV1
Championship Semifinals
157: (4) Jarrod Shaw (WLU) wbf. (1) Jordan Shields (Mercy), forfeit
174: (1) Travis Sheehy (New) md. (5) Matt Littleton (WLU), 13-5
184: (7) Giovanni Ortiz (Kutz) d. (6) Derrick Williams (WLU), 2-1
285: (3) Fred Hale (Mercy) p. (2) JD Ramsey (WLU), 7:59
Third Place
285: (2)JD Ramsey (WLU) d. (6) Brandon Clark (Kutz), 3-0
True Fourth Place
174: (5) Matt Littleton (WLU) md. (2) August Mizia (Mercy), 17-6
Fifth Place
133: (4) Adam Weinell (Gan) p. (8) Dillon Nolte (WLU), 2:56
174: (5) Matt Littleton (WLU) d. (4) Luke Etter (Ship), 7-3
184: (1) Gary Lantz (UPJ) md. Derrick Williams (WLU), 11-3
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