Newberry Wins 5th Super Region Title in a Row

PEMBROKE, N.C. (Newberry Athletics) – The Newberry College Wolves wrestling team earned the Super Region I championship for the fifth consecutive season with 131 team points, sending seven wrestlers to the 2012 NCAA Division II National Tournament. The Wolves cruised to the team title with eight of 10 wrestlers finishing in the top five with three individual champions – BJ Young (Jackson, N.J.) at 141 lbs., Travis Sheehy (Suwanee, Ga.) at 174 lbs. and Jake Elkins (Trussville, Ala.) at heavyweight. The national tournament takes place on March 9-10 at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Young had one of the most dominant runs of the tournament. After two bonus point wins Friday, he notched a first period pinfall over fifth-seed Aaron Smith of American International in the semifinals. In the championship bout, Young battled to a 3-2 win by decision over UNC Pembroke’s sixth-seeded Daniel Ownbey to claim his first region title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second season. He was the 2011 national runner-up at 133 lbs. Sheehy had cruised to the semifinals with a bye and a quarterfinal minute pin. In the semifinals, he earned a 13-5 major decision over fifth-seeded Matt Littleton of West Liberty. His 11-4 win by decision over sixth-seeded Brendan McKeown of East Stroudsburg gave the UNC Greensboro transfer his first regional championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance. Elkins had two bonus point wins on Friday night and went to the finals with a first period pinfall over American International’s Matt Pringle. In the championship bout, Elkins claimed his first regional title with a 2-1 decision over Mercyhurst’s Fred Hale. Elkins advances to his second national tournament after claiming All-American honors with a seventh place national finish in 2011. Matt Oliver (Toms River, N.J.) qualified for his fourth career NCAA National Tournament appearance with a regional runner-up performance at 133 lbs. Oliver advanced to the championship match with a 5-3 win by decision in the first tiebreak period over fifth-seeded Kody Young of Mercyhurst. He dropped a 9-5 decision to second-seeded Evan Yenelovich of Kutztown in the championship match. Oliver qualified for his previous national tournaments at 125 lbs., finishing in third place in 2009. Jon Cronin (Las Vegas, Nev.) qualified for his first career NCAA National Tournament appearance with a third place finish at 125 lbs. The senior started the day out with a 3:30 pinfall over Anderson’s Cory Monteforte and then squeaked out an 11-9 decision over sixth-seeded Desmond Moore of Kutztown to advance to the third place match. He wasted little time earning his nationals berth, pinning third-seeded Ryan Bohince of Mercyhurst in just 2:54. Zach Anderson (Dunwoody, Ga.) had a tougher road to Pueblo. The third-seeded wrestler at 197 lbs. lost to UNC Pembroke’s second-seeded Shane Nolan by a 3-1 sudden victory in the championship semifinals. In the wrestleback bracket, he earned a 4-2 decision over fifth-seeded Michael Pollard of Mercyhurst to advance to the third place bout. He earned his second career NCAA National Tournament berth with a 2-1 decision in the second tiebreaker period over fourth-seeded Jon Moore of Pitt-Johnstown. Anderson previousl qualified for the national tournament in 2009 as a wrestler at Anderson University. Taylor Knapp (Lawrenceville, Ga.) advances to his first NCAA National Tournament with a fourth-place finish at 157 lbs. He fell out of the championship bracket with a 4-3 loss by decision to sixth-seeded Braden Turner of East Stroudsburg. He advanced to the third-place bout with a 12-1 major decision over fifth-seeded Bionojel Candelaria of Kutztown, but was pinned in the second period at the hands of Pitt-Johnstown’s Zach Lundgren. Deral Brown (Elgin, S.C.) saw his magical season come to an end with a fifth place finish. In the semifinals, he lost in the first tiebreaker period to Anderson’s Dan Telhada, marking his first loss to a Division II wrestler this season. In the consolation semifinals, he was pinned in just 19 seconds by sixth-seeded Kenny Stank of Shippensburg. he rebounded with a 7-4 win by decision over seventh-seeded Chriss Hoffman of American International, but Stank fell in the third-place bout, denying Brown a chance at a challenge for a true fourth match. Sean Byrnes (Jackson, N.J.) saw his shot at a third straight national tournament appearance, this time at 165 lbs., cut short with a 7-2 loss by decision Robert Blotzer of Gannon. Mitch Brown (Omaha, Neb.) at 184 lbs. had a tough test in his elimination match, and was defeated by second-seeded Zach Benzio of Seton Hill to see his tournament come to an end.