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Yellow Jackets' terrific trio qualify for nationals

Alex Crown, Nick Garber and Brandon Fedorka all win individual titles at Midwest Regional Championships

Tournament Coverage Page

 

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (Feb. 26) – After traveling all the way to the state of Indiana, the Waynesburg University wrestling team certainly didn’t want to leave empty-handed. The Yellow Jackets definitely made the most of Saturday’s trip as they had one of their most productive days at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Tournament, which was held at Wabash College, in team history as three Jackets got their tickets stamped for the NCAA Division III Championships.

 

Sophomore 125-pounder Alex Crown, senior 141-pounder Nick Garber and freshman heavyweight Brandon Fedorka all earned individual championships and will travel to La Crosse, Wisc. for the NCAA Championships on March 11. Waynesburg bested their total of two qualifiers from last year, and also finished third in the team standings, which was one spot higher than in 2010. No team had more individual champions than the Jackets.

 

Crown was the first Waynesburg wrestler to qualify for nationals and also had the closest match of the finals. After earning true second last year and just missing out on last season’s national tournament, Crown, the number-one seed, pinned Mt. St. Joseph’s Cory Clolinger in 2:49 to reach the finals in the five-man bracket. After cruising to the title match, the second-year standout had one of his most dramatic matches of the year before pulling out a 1-0 victory over third seeded Adam Wilson of Olivet.

 

The next Jacket with a chance to head to nationals was Garber, who was also looking for his third-straight regional title. He won back-to-back 133 pounds championships over the last two seasons, but put forth his most dominant tournament performance on Saturday. After cruising into the finals with two pins that took a combined 2:26 to achieve, the top-seeded senior met up with Washington & Jefferson freshman Josh Etzel in the championship match.

 

Etzel upset Garber earlier this season in a dual match, but the Waynesburg standout left no doubt who the better grappler was on the day as he dominated his first-year opponent to the tune of a 13-3 major decision. Garber, who was a 133-pound All-American last year, was one of only two wrestlers to win each of his matches on the day with bonus points. The other was returning national champion Isaac Dukes of Case Western Reserve.

 

For his dominating effort, Garber was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the event. The Jacket senior has now won his last seven bouts, all with bonus points, including six by fall.

 

Fedorka’s run to a title may have been the most impressive of Waynesburg’s three championships. After missing the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships due to illness, Fedorka took to the mat after not competing since Feb. 5. Following a hard fought win over Will Ringer of PAC rival Thiel, 3-2, the second-seeded freshman picked up a 9-4 decision over Patrick Clegg of Wabash to reach the finals against top-seeded Logan Renes of Olivet. Fedorka finished off his run to the title with a 3-1 victory over Renes.

 

Along with its three champions, Waynesburg got a fourth wrestler into the finals thanks to junior 157-pounder Garrett Johnston, who upset top-seeded Steven Mena of Olivet to reach the championship bout against Elias Larson of Trine. Unfortunately, Johnston came one win short of the title after losing by decision to Larson.

 

The Jackets also boasted three more top-six finishers. Freshman 149-pounder Luke Lohr concluded a stellar debut season with Waynesburg by placing fourth with a 2-2 record. Freshman Sam Lombardo and junior Jared Roberts added fifth-place performances at 157 and 174 pounds, respectively.

 

Crown, Garber and Fedorka will now spend the next two weeks training for the national championships, which will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse on March 11 and 12.

 

Thanks,

Ron Headlee