Princeton sophomore wins 2nd Ivy wrestling title, while Rutgers clinches 8th NCAA bid
· Yahoo Sports
Princeton University sophomore Marc-Anthony McGowan dominated on the way to his second Ivy League 125-pound wrestling championship Sunday on an otherwise frustrating day for the Tigers.
The No. 2 seed, McGowan looked like an All-American contender in dismantling Penn top seed Davis Motoyka, 10-2, to kick off the Ivy League finals.
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McGowan used a late seven-point move against Columbia’s Sulyman Bah to advance to the final with a 9-2 decision.
McGowan clinched his second straight trip to NCAAs with the victory and will be joined by junior 165-pounder Ty Whalen, who reached the final but fell to Columbia’s Cesar Alven, 8-1, on a takedown and back points in a sudden-victory scramble.
Three other Tigers finished one spot out of a qualifying spot - the most frustrating being freshman Matt Martino, who seemed primed to claim one of the three bids at 141.
Martino led Columbia’s Lorenzo Frezza, 4-2, in the final minute of the third period, but Frezza earned a takedown to force overtime. The Tiger freshman shot in in during the opening seconds of sudden victory and worked for a takedown for over a minute but as he seemed to be close to the winning points, Frezza slipped out and around back for his own score.
Eligh Rivera also dropped his third-place match at 149, falling to Brown sixth seed Austin McBurney, 8-2. In the opening match of the tournament, Rivera defeated McBurney, 10-4.
Holden Garcia took third at 174 in a weight with just two bids, while Ethan Rivera finished fourth at 133 in a class also with only two bids.
Eligh Rivera should receive a NCAA at-large bid, while Martino and Garcia are firmly on the bubble. Ethan Rivera should also be part of the at-large discussion.
Rutgers will take 8 to NCAAs - and maybe all 10
Rutgers added an eighth wrestler to the contingent headed to Cleveland when heayvweight Hunter Catka finished ninth in a weight class with nine bids.
Catka pinned Michigan State’s Josh Terrill in the ninth-place match.
Seven wrestlers clinched spots in the opening day of competition Saturday and capped the tournament Saturday.
Joey Olivieri (141) and Shane Cartagen-Walsh (184) took fifth, Andrew Barbosa (165), Lenny Pinto (174) and Remy Cotton (197) finished sixth, Andy Clark (149) was seventh and Ayden Smith (125) finished eighth. All clinched spots at NCAAs.
Dylan Shawver (133) finished ninth - one spot out of qualification - and Tony White (157) lost in the ninth-place semifinals. The seniors will hope to hear their names called when at-large bids are handed out Tuesday.
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