RALEIGH, N.C., March 4 — Two Connecticut natives have earned invitations to compete in the 2017 NCAA Division I wrestling championships in St Louis on March 16-18.
Danbury junior Kevin Jack of North Carolina State earned his third straight NCAA championship berth by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title at 141 pounds on Saturday. Somers senior Doug Vollaro earned his first NCAA berth by finishing third at 285 pounds in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) championships.
Jack (141) repeated as ACC champion at Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State campus in Raleigh. Jack outscored his two opponents 27-8 on the day, not giving up a single takedown, including a 10-4 win over No. 6 George DiCamillo of Virginia in the finals. He was named the outstanding wrestler of the ACC Tournament.
“It is always fun to win such a great individual title as this weight class in this conference,” Jack said. “It was extra special to compete in front of this great crowd and to win the title in Reynolds with my Dad down here. The first step is over, now it’s time to turn my attention to the NCAAs.”
In his seven ACC wins this year, Jack outscored conference foes 103-25 and did not concede a single takedown. Having won 27 straight matches, Jack will be returning to the NCAA Division I championships for the third straight year.
In addition to the All-ACC honors, NC State earned six NCAA automatic bids on the day. In addition to Sean Fausz (125), Jamal Morris (133), Jack, Brian Hamann (165), and Michael Macchiavello (184), redshirt-senior Mike Kosoy (285 pounds) also earned a bid to NCAAs with his finish. The Pack will also await at-large bids for its other four starters to be announced next week.
In the team race, Virginia Tech claimed top honors with 93 points. NC State placed second with 64 points. Pitt was third (54), followed by Virginia in fourth (52.5), North Carolina in fifth (4) and Duke in sixth (24.5).
* * * *
At Lehigh, senior Doug Vollaro finished third in the EIWA Tournament at 285 pounds to earn his first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Vollaro lost to No. 3 Garrett Ryan of Columbia in the semifinals, 6-2 but rebounded with two straight wins to earn his NCAA Tournament invitation.
Vollaro, who grew up in Somers, beat No. 5 Tyler Green of Bucknell, 4-0 in the consolation semifinals and topped No. 4 Ray O’Donnell of Princeton, 9-5 in the consolation final with four takedowns.
Cornell won the EIWA title for the tenth straight year with 163 points, followed by Lehigh (117½), Princeton (113) and Army (82½).
* * * *
The Sacred Heart men’s wrestling team ended the season at the EIWA wrestling championships where the team finishing in 16th. The lone Pioneer to pick up a win in a very competitive tournament came from Alex Harnsberger. Harnsberger picked up a 3-2 decision against Butler from F&M in the consolation bracket, but would go on to fall to Sprague, of American University in an 8-3 decision.
The Pioneers ended their season with 3-11 dual meet record.
Sacred Heart (3-11) finished 16th at the EIWA Championships. Alex Harnsberger (149) went 1-2 in the tournament to lead the Pioneers. Xavier graduate Elliott Antler (184) was 0-2 in the tournament.
* * * *
At Stanford, sophomore Walker Dempsey (149) went 2-2 in the Pac-12 Tournament at 149 pounds to finish fifth. Dempsey, who is from Greenwich, went to Blair Academy in Pennsylvania for high school. Walker finished 4-6 this year for the Cardinal.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login