2002 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships
Pepsi Arena - Albany, N.Y.
Click for Full NCAA Wrestling Results

Bald Eagles Finish in Three-Way Tie for 19th Place

LHU'S ALL-AMERICANS
LHU's JaMarr Billman became a three-time All-American this morning, finishing fifth  at 149 pounds.	Bald Eagle Mike Maney captured his first All-America honor after taking  eighth place at 141 pounds.

LHU Results as of 3/23/02,  10 a.m.
Read Day One Recap  /  Read Day Two Recap / Read Day Three Recap

DAY THREE
March 23, 2002

BILLMAN AND MANEY EARN ALL-AMERICA STATUS

(Albany, N.Y.) – Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania crowned two NCAA Division I All-Americans this afternoon, as JaMarr Billman (Easton/Easton Area) and Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) both wrapped up national tournament competition at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y.  Billman becomes a three-time All-American, finishing fifth at 149 pounds.  Maney closed out the season with an eighth place finish at 141 pounds and his first All-America certificate.  It is the first time since the 1997 season that The Haven has crowned multiple All-Americans.
            JaMarr Billman captured a 6-4 decision in the fifth-place match up over Iowa State’s Billy Maldonado, scoring a takedown early and another in the second to top his opponent.  Earlier in the day, Billman lost a slim 5-4 decision to fifth-seeded Jesse Jantzen of Harvard.  Billman scored the only offensive points of the match, but Jantzen held Billman in the defensive position the entire second period, gaining enough riding time to finish with the one-point lead.  
                Mike Maney had one bout this morning, losing 4-3 to the eighth-seed, Chad Erikson of Minnesota to take eighth place in the 141 pound bracket.  Maney fell behind, 4-0, after two periods, and despite a strong surge in the third period could not make up the difference. 
                Both wrestlers will take part in the final award ceremonies this afternoon in conjunction with the championship finals which begin at 2 p.m.

Full NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships results can be located at www.ncaachampionships.com.

###LHU###           

DAY TWO
March 22, 2002

PAIR OF LHU WRESTLERS ADVANCE TO ALL-AMERICA STATUS

(Albany, N.Y.) – Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania wrestling’s Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) and JaMarr Billman (Easton/Easton Area) are both assured an All-America finish at the 2002 NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships after the completion of day two’s action.  It will be the first time since the 1997 season that multiple Bald Eagles garnered All-America honors.
                Billman, the third seed at 149 pounds, defeated sixth-seeded Mike Kulczycki of Michigan in the championship quarterfinals, 5-3, to move into the semifinal round during the evening session.  In that round, Billman and second-seeded Jared Lawrence of Minnesota traded points until locking up at 4-4 into overtime and then into the tie-breaker. Lawrence earned the choice in the tie-breaker after having scored the first offensive points, and Billman was able to hold the Gopher down until just four seconds remaining.  With the loss, Billman will still finish as an All-American, and will have two more matches tomorrow to determine his place finish, closing out his 2002 run no lower than sixth place.
                Sophomore Bald Eagle Mike Maney posted a commanding 6-1 victory over J.P. Reese of Missouri in the wrestlebacks to assure his All-America status.  Maney recorded two takedowns, including one in the first period, riding Reese for 1:52.  Another takedown in the second period sealed the win.  In the next round, Maney lost a 10-2 major decision to Cal-Poly's Cedric Haymon, and will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow morning.   One round prior, Maney won two to stay alive through the evening session.  Maney came back after a scoreless tie in the first period against VMI’s Mark DiSalvo to outgun him, 6-0, to advance.  In his second match of the day, Maney took on EWL opponent #9 Shane Cunanan of West Virginia, scoring the only offensive points of the match and grabbing the 3-2 win.
            Three Bald Eagle wrestlers completed competition this afternoon, seniors Chris Spealler (Paoli/Great Valley), Josh Millard (Mill Hall/Bald Eagle Area), and Avery Zerkle (Urbana, Ohio/Graham). Spealler suffered a 9-7 overtime loss in the wrestlebacks to Virginia Tech’s David Hoffman, closing out his season at 16-10 and his four-year LHU career at 47-32.  Millard matched up against Justin Johnson of Bloomsburg in the wrestlebacks, taking the 4:07 fall to close out his 2001-02 campaign at 22-8 and a stellar Bald Eagle career at 62-42.   The third Haven grappler Avery Zerkle captured a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh’s David Sandberg in his first wrestleback bout, scoring two takedowns in the third period to assure the victory.  In his next match, Zerkle faced off against Indiana’s Pat DeGain, losing by fall in 3:38.  Zerkle closes out the season at 15-9 overall and his LHU career at 58-31.

###LHU### 

DAY ONE
March 21, 2002

BILLMAN ADVANCES TO NATIONAL QUARTERFINALS

(Albany, N.Y.) – Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania wrestling’s JaMarr Billman (Easton/Easton Area) posted two wins in the 149-pound weight class today to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2002 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships being held at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y.  Billman is the only Bald Eagle grappler remaining alive in the championship bracket, while four of the other six Haven wrestlers at the national tournament are still in competition after day one action.
                Billman entered the tournament seeded third, defeating Jason Mercado of Brown University by a 12-3 major decision in the first round.  His second round match-up proved tough but the LHU senior prevailed over Michigan State’s Karl Nadolsky, being awarded two stalling points in the third period to force the overtime.  Just 23 seconds into that overtime, Billman turned on the jets and scored the takedown for the 5-3 victory.
                Three other Bald Eagles posted wins in their first round contests, Chris Spealler (Paoli/Great Valley), Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area), and Josh Millard (Mill Hall/Bald Eagle Area).  Millard garnered the upset victory in the first round of the 184 pound weight class, exploding in the third period to overcome a 3-2, two period deficit, to take the 7-5 win over ninth-seeded Pat Popolizio of Oklahoma State.  In his second round bout, however, Millard faced off against Lehigh’s eighth-seeded Rob Rohn, who posted the fall in 25 seconds.  
                Chris Spealler recorded an 8-4 decision over Oregon’s Jason Harless in the first round of the 133-pound bracket before falling 6-2 to the tournament’s second seed Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State in the second round.  Mike Maney dug deep to post a 3-1 decision over North Carolina’s Brad Byers before exiting the championship bracket due to a slim 3-2 loss to top-seeded Mark Conley.  Maney took the lead with the first takedown of the match, but a reversal by Conley tied up the match by the end of the first period.  An escape by Conley in the second gave the number one prospect the 3-2 lead and Maney could not get the offensive points he needed after choosing a neutral start in the third. 
                At 125 pounds, Trap McCormack (Loganton/Bald Eagle Nittany) lost, 8-0, to fifth-seed Ben VomBaur of Boise State in his first round match-up. In his wrestleback match, McCormack was unable to top Stanford’s Nathan Peterson, who pinned the Bald Eagle in 1:59.  Ed Pawlak (Southwestern/Lakewood) kept it close but could not get past #10 Ty Wilcox of Oklahoma State in the first round, falling 4-1.  In his wrestleback bout, Pawlak lost a 5-0 battle to Drexel’s Ben Chunko.  Lock Haven’s 197-pounder Avery Zerkle (Urbana, Ohio/Graham) won his pigtail match, 8-4, over North Carolina State’s Jason Gore, but lost a 3-1 decision to Chris Jones of Drexel in the first round. Zerkle remains alive in the wrestlebacks, however, after posting a 6-5 decision over Brown’s Nick Ciarcia.  
                The five remaining Bald Eagles will continue competition tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m.

###LHU###