Bachman, Dempsey Win Regional Titles; Seven Mountain Cat Wrestlers Advance to Nationals

02/25-26/2011

Red-shirt freshman Jack Bachman (141 lbs.) (Greensburg, Pa.) and senior Chris Dempsey (HWT.) (Sewickley, Pa.) each won individual titles to lead a group of seven Mountain Cat wrestlers who earned a trip to the National Tournament at this weekend's 2011 Super Region I Tournament at Gannon University. As a team, Pitt-Johnstown finished second behind Newberry (S.C.) College. In additon, Head Coach Pat Pecora was named Co-Regional Coach of the Year with Newberry's Jason Valek.
Bachman scored a 3-2 decision over top-seeded Derel Brown (Newberry) in the title bout at 141 lbs., while Dempsey defended his regional championship with a 3-1 win over #2 Jake Elkins (Newberry) in the championship match at heaveyweight.
#1-seeded Ryan Link (Cresson, Pa.) and #2-seeded A.J. Brentzel (184 lbs.) (Irwin, Pa.) both finished second. Link suffered a 3-2 loss to #3 Austin Williams (Kutztown) at 133 lbs., and Brentzel fell, 2-1, to #1-ranked Bryant Blantion (Newberry).
Three other Mountain Cats also advanced to the National Tournament. Nathan Link (149 lbs.) (Cresson, Pa.) and Zach Lundgren (157 lbs.) (DuBois, Pa.) placed third. Link defeated #3 Brendon Parker-Risk, 8-5, in the fourth-place match, and Lundgren followed with a 9-3 decision over #3 Seth Phalen (West Liberty) at 157 lbs.
Steve Makin (Portage, Pa.) rounded out the National Qualifiers with a fourth-place finish by falling to #2 Trevor Sanford (Anderson), 5-3 in the third-place bout.
Gary Lantz (Delta, Pa.) place fifth at 165 lbs. Lantz had a chance to advance to nationals, but suffered a 3-2 loss to Jarrod Shaw (West Liberty) in the true-fourth match.
Dave Fogle (125 lbs.) (Summerhill, Pa.) and Jon Moore (197 lbs.) (Leechburg, Pa.) both wrestled at the regional tournament, but did not place.
Newberry won the team title with 135 points. Pitt-Johnstown finished second (115 points), while Gannon (84.5 points), Mercyhurst (75 points), and Kutztown (73 points) rounded out the top-five in the 13-team field.
Pitt-Johnstown will wrap-up the season at the 2011 NCAA Division II National Tournament at the University of Nebraska-Kearney on March 11-12.

Print Friendly Version