WLU's Kemp Falls Just Short at NCAA Nationals

From the West Liberty Wrestling Website


3/8/2019

NCAA Division II Championships
03/08/2019 - 03/09/2019
The Wolstein Center,2000 Prospect Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44115

CLEVELAND, Ohio – West Liberty University junior 197-pounder Logan Kemp came up one win shy of NCAA Division II All-America status here Friday as his stellar season came to a close on the opening night of the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships at Wolstein Arena on the campus of Cleveland State University.

Competing in the NCAA Division II Nationals for the second straight year, the No. 6-seeded Kemp battled back from an early loss to earn a spot in Friday night's Second Round Consolations against No. 4 seed Ryan Vasbinder of McKendree (Ill.) with the winner clinching All-America honors with a berth in Saturday's place matches.

Unfortunately for the Hilltopper standout, Vasbinder was able to open up a commanding lead and Kemp was unable to fight his was back into contention. Vasbinder moved on with an 18-8 major decision while Kemp finished his junior campaign with an impressive 16-5 record.

Entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed at 197, Kemp was forced to hit the comeback trail early when he was upset by unseeded Western Colorado freshman Dylan McBride in his first round match.

It was a frustrating setback for the WLU junior who led for the majority of the match only to see a late momentum swing send McBride on to the championship quarterfinals.

Kemp came out of the gate fast, catching McBride with a double-leg takedown for an early 2-0 lead and racked up more than a minute of riding time before McBride equalized with a reversal.

Kemp tacked on an escape before the end of the period to take a 3-2 lead into the second frame and wasted little time pushing that advantage to 4-2 with another escape. He carried that lead into the waning seconds of the period when a late scramble resulted in McBride being credited with a takedown plus two back points for a 6-4 lead heading into the third period.

McBride – a former high school All-American – used an early escape to increase the margin to 7-4. He then caught Kemp with another takedown at the midway point of the period and rode out the match for a 9-4 decision.

Kemp kept his season alive with an impressive bounce-back win against Clif Decius of Limestone (S.C.) in his First Round Consolation bout.

The WLU junior took control early with a flash takedown and created separation late in the period with another takedown and major back points to take a commanding 8-1 lead into the second frame.

Decius qualified for Nationals as the 197-pound runner-up in Super Region 2 but Kemp stayed in control the rest of the way, earning his first career victory at Nationals by a 12-5 count and setting up his Second Round Consolation battle with Vasbinder.

Team Scores

1 St. Cloud St. 95.5
2 Wheeling Jesuit 87.5
3 McKendree 83.0
4 Notre Dame (OH) 77.5
5 Neb.-Kearney 71.0
6 Pitt.-Johnstown 68.5
7 Lindenwood (Mo) 48.0
8 Tiffin 45.0
9 Newberry 42.0
10 Kutztown 41.0
11 Millersville 40.0
12 Maryville (MO) 38.0
13 Augustana (SD) 26.5
14 East Stroudsburg 23.5
15 Upper Iowa 22.5
16 Central Okla. 22.0
17 San Fran. St. 21.5
18 Limestone 20.0
19 Mary 19.0
20 Newman 18.0
 21 UNC Pembroke 17.5
22 Adams St. 14.5
23 Findlay 13.5
24 Colorado Mesa 13.0
24 Western Colo. 13.0
26 Fort Hays St. 12.5
27 Ashland 10.0
28 Simon Fraser 9.5
29 LIU Post 6.5
29 MSU Moorhead 6.5
31 Mercyhurst 6.0
31 Minnesota St. 6.0
31 Seton Hill 6.0
34 Bellarmine 5.0
34 Colorado St.-Pueblo 5.0
34 Gannon 5.0
37 Emmanuel (GA) 4.5
38 Shippensburg 4.0
39 Coker 2.5
39 Colo. Sch. of Mines 2.5
 39 King (TN) 2.5
39 Queens (NC) 2.5
43 Chadron St. 1.0
43 Drury 1.0
43 Southwest Minn. St. 1.0
46 Alderson Broaddus 0.5
46 UIndy 0.5
46 West Liberty 0.5
49 American Int`l 0.0
49 Belmont Abbey 0.0
49 Central Mo. 0.0
49 Lake Erie 0.0
49 Northern St. 0.0
49 Ohio Valley 0.0
55 Minot St. -1.0
55 Wis.-Parkside -1.0



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