LANCASTER, Pa. – Army sophomore Matt Kyler of Clearfield added an Eastern Wrestling Intercollegiate Association (EIWA) title to his resume Sunday with a 7-3 win over Ivy League champion Rick Rappo of Penn in a duel of former Pennsylvania Class AAA state champions in Franklin & Marshall\’s Mayser Center.
The top-seeded Black Knight 141-pounder, who lost in the EIWA finals last year, pinned Columbia\’s Steve Sutton in 4:51 and handled Harvard\’s fourth seed Corey Jantzen 7-4, while the sixth-seeded Rappo was a surprise finalist, upsetting third seed Adamscik of Rutgers 12-7 and second seed Kyle Borshoff of American University 6-4.
Kyler dominated Council Rock South High School grad after notching the takedown. He piled up 1:19 in riding time in the first period.
After reversing 30 seconds into the second period, Kyler rode for Rappo (19-8) for more than a minute before getting reversed with 21 seconds left. Kyler quickly got those points back with a reversal seven seconds later for a 6-2 lead.
In the final period, the only scoring was Rappo\’s escape at the whistle.
Kyler had 2:12 in riding time advantage for his seventh point of his 21st consecutive win.
It was in the 2004 PIAA tourney that then-unbeaten Kyler and Rappo were on a collision course as junior 103-pounders. However, Kyler was pinned in the semifinals by Spring-Ford\’s Matt Moley. Rappo then beat Moley 7-3 for the gold medal, while Kyler bounced back to earn the bronze medal.
A year later, Kyler completed his mission and capped his brilliant Clearfield Area High School career with the 103 championship.
Moley is wrestling at Bloomsburg and lost to Edinboro\’s returning national champ Gregor Gillespie in the Eastern Wrestling League 157-pound finals Saturday.
Kyler, Army\’s first EIWA champ since Phillip Simpson won at 149 in 2005, will take a 39-5 record into the NCAA Division I Tournament March 20-22 in St. Louis.
Wrestling International Newsmagazine jumped him from No. 14 to No. 12 at 141 in this week\’s rankings. Kyler was ranked No. 16 by Amateur Wrestling News last week and No. 18 in the latest USA Today/InterMat/National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings.
Five of Kyler\’s teammates also qualified for the NCAAs. Fernando Martinez (125) and Scott Ferguson (184) were runners-up, heavyweight Nathan Thobaben placed third and Christian Snook (157) and Richard Starks (174) were fourth.
The Black Knights finished third in the 14-team EIWA tourney with 90 points.
Cornell nipped Penn 128-127.5 for the championship.
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Nate Shadeck of Frenchville (Clearfield Area High School) won the 400-meter hurdles as the Slippery Rock University outdoor track and field team opened its season in the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Collegiate Classic Saturday.
Winds were very strong at Myron Patridge/Sheila Tarr-Smith Stadium, but Shadeck bested 10 other hurdlers from five schools with a time of 56.25 seconds.
The Rock senior also ran the 100-meter dash to finished nine among 16 sprinters and ran the third led for the Green and White\’s 4×400 relay team that place fifth among eight entries.
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FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Freshman Adam Jury of Bigler had one hit in two trips to the plate as a late-inning replacement at shortstop while senior Scott Hugney of Frenchville went hitless in three at-bats for the Slippery Rock University baseball team in a pair of one-sided losses to Northwood (Mich.) University Saturday.
Jury also scored a run in the 18-8 nightcap defeat that left The Rock 3-2 for the season.
Hugney was The Rock\’s first baseman in the 11-1 opener and pinch-hit in the second game.
Northwood (8-3) took advantage of eight walks and eight hit batsman by Slippery Rock pitchers as well as six errors that figured into 10 unearned runs.
On Friday, Slippery Rock began its spring-break trip with a 5-3 win over Concordia (N.Y.) College.
Hugney was hitless in one at-bat, while fellow Clearfield Area High School graduate Jury did not play.
Catcher Matt Adams of Philipsburg was 4-for-9 in the three games.
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BRADFORD, Pa. – Third baseman Bart McGary of Curwensville started all four games while Phil Solley of Grampian got three starts at three different spots in the lineup and came off the bench to play a different position in the other game as the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford baseball team went 3-1 in a March 1-2 trip to Harrisonburg, Va.
The Curwensville Area High School graduates, both sophomores, drove in four runs apiece for the Panthers, who swept Lincoln University 12-2 in five innings and 11-1 the first day and then split with Penn State-Harrisburg, winning 11-1 in five innings after losing 5-4.
McGary, who hit .277 in 22 games last year, failed to deliver a hit in nine official at-bats, but he drew seven walks and was hit by a pitch one. He scored four runs.
Solley, who hit .429 with seven RBIs in 12 games in 2007, is off to .300 start. One of his three hits was a two-run double in the PSU-Harrisburg night cap. He also had an RBI-walk in that game.
After playing right field late in the Lincoln opener, Solley was in Pitt-Bradford\’s starting lineup at catcher, designated hitter and left field the next three games.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Freshman Nikki Collins of Clearfield has nailed down the starting job at second base for the Slippery Rock University softball team and lashed a pair of extra base hits in her first two games, 6-0 and 11-3 victories over Benedict College March 6 on The Rock\’s spring-break trip to Florida.
She drove in a run with a triple and also scored a run in the opener and doubled and scored two runs in the second game. She had five official at-bats.
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Lock Haven University sophomore 167-pounder Derek Caldwell of Curwensville went 0-3 in one of the toughest weight classes at the Eastern Wrestling League in Pittsburgh\’s Fitzgerald Field House Saturday.
Two off the losses were to No. 2 seed Marcus Eeffner of Cleveland State, 15-5 in the first round and 13-5 in the fifth-place match.
True freshman Ethan Headlee of Pitt pinned Caldwell (1-11) at 1:07 in the consolation semifinals and placed third.
Effner and Headlee both were selected as wild cards and will join champ Jarrod King of Edinboro and runner-up Donnie Jones of West Virginia in the NCAA Division I Tournament, while fourth placer Rick Schmelyun of Bloomsburg was designated as an alternate.
Edinboro defended its 2007 championship with 133 points. Pitt was second with 111.5.
Lock Haven placed fifth among the seven teams with 70.5 points.