2008 Woodie Awards
Three SRU wrestlers compete in Nationals
By Mike Mallory
Rocket Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 4/1/05 Section: Sports
Three Slippery Rock wrestlers competed in their first NCAA Division I National Championship tournament on March 17-20 in St. Louis, Mo.
Charlie Pienaar, wrestling at 184 pounds, Cory Mancuso (157 pounds) and Garry Price (165 pounds) each lost in the opening round of the tournament, as well as their respective consolation matches during the event.
Pienaar dropped a 15-7 decision to Nebraska's Travis Pascoe, who finished fifth in the tournament. Pienaar lost his consolation match to American's Josh Glenn, 5-1. Pienaar's season concluded with an overall record of 29-10 with an East Regional Championship under his belt.
Mancuso and Price drew similar fates in St. Louis. Each wrestler faced the eventual champions in their respective weight classes. Mancuso dropped his first round match when he was pinned by No. 2 seed Ryan Bertin of Michigan at 2:23. Mancuso lost his consolation match to Tyler Turner of Wisconsin by pin at 6:03. Mancuso's overall 2004-05 record is 21-16.
Price dropped his first round match to Oklahoma State's Johnny Hendricks, who entered the tournament in the third seed. Hendricks pinned Price at 4:18 in their bout. Price lost his consolation match to Wisconsin's Jake Donar by a 9-0 decision. Price finished with a 14-14 record for the season.
Coach Derek DelPorto said the atmosphere was like no other in collegiate wrestling.
"My guys saw what it was like and they don't want to go another year without going back," DelPorto said. "Overall, it was a great experience."
DelPorto said he was impressed with the effort of his wrestlers and he felt they were ready, but drew some tough competition in the tournament.
"They got to see some of this type of competition, so next year we're going to look for some guys to win some matches while we're there," DelPorto said.
Due to the strain that a long season puts on the team, DelPorto said he is giving the team a few weeks off before hitting the mat once again in order to start preparing for next season.
"In about three weeks, they'll start coming in and doing some freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling, so hopefully they can keep working and stay in shape," DelPorto said.
DelPorto said several high school wrestlers will be meeting with him over the next several weeks about possibly attending the university beginning next season. The national senior high school championships take place this weekend, one of the final gauges in recruiting among collegiate coaches.
Charlie Pienaar, wrestling at 184 pounds, Cory Mancuso (157 pounds) and Garry Price (165 pounds) each lost in the opening round of the tournament, as well as their respective consolation matches during the event.
Pienaar dropped a 15-7 decision to Nebraska's Travis Pascoe, who finished fifth in the tournament. Pienaar lost his consolation match to American's Josh Glenn, 5-1. Pienaar's season concluded with an overall record of 29-10 with an East Regional Championship under his belt.
Mancuso and Price drew similar fates in St. Louis. Each wrestler faced the eventual champions in their respective weight classes. Mancuso dropped his first round match when he was pinned by No. 2 seed Ryan Bertin of Michigan at 2:23. Mancuso lost his consolation match to Tyler Turner of Wisconsin by pin at 6:03. Mancuso's overall 2004-05 record is 21-16.
Price dropped his first round match to Oklahoma State's Johnny Hendricks, who entered the tournament in the third seed. Hendricks pinned Price at 4:18 in their bout. Price lost his consolation match to Wisconsin's Jake Donar by a 9-0 decision. Price finished with a 14-14 record for the season.
Coach Derek DelPorto said the atmosphere was like no other in collegiate wrestling.
"My guys saw what it was like and they don't want to go another year without going back," DelPorto said. "Overall, it was a great experience."
DelPorto said he was impressed with the effort of his wrestlers and he felt they were ready, but drew some tough competition in the tournament.
"They got to see some of this type of competition, so next year we're going to look for some guys to win some matches while we're there," DelPorto said.
Due to the strain that a long season puts on the team, DelPorto said he is giving the team a few weeks off before hitting the mat once again in order to start preparing for next season.
"In about three weeks, they'll start coming in and doing some freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling, so hopefully they can keep working and stay in shape," DelPorto said.
DelPorto said several high school wrestlers will be meeting with him over the next several weeks about possibly attending the university beginning next season. The national senior high school championships take place this weekend, one of the final gauges in recruiting among collegiate coaches.
