LHU's trio is set to take part in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. The tournament begins tomorrow. Photo courtesy of Tom Fox.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Three members of the Lock Haven University wrestling team are headed west to The Gateway City to take part in the 2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in, St. Louis.

The NCAA championships begin Thursday, March 20 and run until Saturday, March 22.

Representing the Bald Eagles will be redshirt-juniors Matt Fittery (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) and Ben Hepburn (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock) along with true-freshman Billy Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield).

Hepburn and Ashnault both qualified after taking second place at the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championships, while Fittery, a 2005 NCAA qualifier earned a wild card bid.

Ashnault will compete at 133 and enters the tournament 12-15 overall. He has really turned it on as of late and that was certainly apparent at the EWL tournament, where he went 2-1, falling in the championships bout to former high school teammate Jimmy Conroy of Pittsburgh.

Ashnault entered the EWL tournament as the last seed at 133, but that didn’t face the rookie one bit as he went right to work upsetting the top-seed in his first match. He dropped Edinoboro’s Rick Deubel 8-6 in overtime avenging a dual meet loss. Ashnault went on to avenge another loss from dual meet action as he topped Clarion University’s 13-6.

On the season Ashnault has four pins including a 35 second one, which was the third fastest of any Bald Eagle this year.

LHU head coach Rocky Bonomo couldn’t be more pleased with Ashnault’s progress this season.

“He got better and better every time he stepped out onto the mat,” said Bonomo of Ashnault, who has really turned some heads as of late.

“I’m proud of him, he’s a great kid,” added Bonomo, who also noted that only a freshman, this trip to nationals provides incredible experience for Ashanualt.

Ashnault earned a first round bye and will face Ryan Donn of Oregon (23-7) on Thursday morning as he makes his NCAA championship debut for the Haven.

Hepburn enters the tournament 17-13 and finished second at EWL’s at 197 after falling to West Virginia’s Jared Villers 1-0. He started things at the tournament with a dominating 6-0 win over Benny Balogh of Cleveland State. Hepburn’s first round win set up a face off with Edinboro’s Pat Bradshaw, who was 3-0 lifetime against Hepburn having beaten him twice this season and once back in high school. The 197-pound bout proved to be an exciting one despite the score of just 1-1 after seven minutes of wrestling. After four overtime periods the score was still tied at 4-4 and Hepburn won with 0:01 second of riding time based on the third tiebreaker.

Bonomo has very pleased with Hepburn, who he calls the ultimate team player this season.

Hepburn has wrestled at 184 and heavyweight before finding his true fit at 197 this season.

“He’s done a great job for us this season,” said Bonomo. “He’s strong, athletic and we’re looking for him to do some damage.”

Hepburn will face Oregon State’s Kyle Bressler (14-8) in his first match.

Fittery, who competed at the National Championships in 2005, enters this year’s NCAA tournament after receiving a wild card bid. The Haven’s 149-pounder went 2-2 at the EWL championships and is 23-10 on the year. His 23 wins are a team-best while he also has a team-high nine majors.

Bonomo noted that Fittery has come a long way since missing the last two seasons with an injury and a redshirt season.

“He’s a fantastic kid and it’s hard to believe as a junior, but he continues to get better and better,” said Bonomo of Fittery who is looking for big things this week.

“He’s getting to be back at his old form and could surprise some people,” said Bonomo.

Fittery is set to take on Missouri’s Joshua Wagner (16-8) in his first math in St. Louis.

Bonomo is proud of his trio headed to St. Louis and is looking for his guys to go out their and win some matches on college wrestling’s biggest stage.

Session I begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday morning.

To visit the official 2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship website, use the following link.

http://www.stlsports.org/wrestling/index.php

For full championship notes, click on the following link listed in yellow.