March 5, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - With Shane Gentry (125 pounds), Lou Ruland (133) and Christian Boley (197) all earning third place finishes, Maryland has taken the lead with the finals looming at the ACC Championship at the University of Virginia.
The Terps enter the championship round with 79.5 points while the 11th-ranked Hokies are in second with 72. The host Cavaliers are in third and still in contention for the team title with 69 points.
Both Maryland and Virginia Tech arrive with six grapplers ready to compete in the finals. The Cavaliers have four wrestlers still alive and North Carolina State has a pair. Duke and North Carolina each have one.
Already with a slight 1.5 point lead, the Terps extended their advantage starting with Gentry at 125 pounds.
After topping Jacob Corrill of North Carolina 9-1, Gentry earned a 2:09 pinfall over North Carolina State's Mike Moreno in the consolation finals.
At 133 pounds, Lou Ruland followed with a 14-5 major decision over Conor Hovis of the Wolfpack. In the 133-pound third-place match, the Annapolis, Md., native used a 5-3 victory to clinch the bronze.
Rounding out Maryland's wrestlers competing in the consolation bracket was Christian Boley, who picked up a late pinfall over North Carolina State's KaRonne Jones to advance to the third-place bout. Against top-seed and 17th-ranked Mike Salopek of Virginia, Boley stood his ground and earned the 5-2 win.
No. 16 Jon Kohler (141 pounds), No. 15 Kyle John (157), No. 4 Josh Asper (165), No. 15 Mike Letts (174) and Corey Peltier have all clinched NCAA berths by advancing to the finals in their respective weight classes. Spencer Myers (heavyweight) also advanced to the finals and would clinch a tournament berth by winning the individual title today.
Sixteenth-ranked Kohler advanced to the 141-pound finals by pinning Duke's Mike Bell in under three minutes and then topping North Carolina's Mike Rappo 5-2 in the semifinals. Kohler, the 2007 ACC Champion will face NC State's Darrius Little in the championship.
After shutting out Shawn Harris of Virginia 6-0 in the first round, No. 15 Kyle John topped North Carolina's Corey Mock 2-0 in the semifinals. John and fifth-ranked Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech will compete in the 157-pound championship match.
No. 4 Josh Asper and No. 15 Mike Letts each received first-round byes before easily defeating their opponents in the semifinals. Asper earned over five minutes of riding time over Virginia's Jedd Moore and earned a 12-3 major decision. Similarly, Letts controlled Thomas Ferguson of North Carolina as he picked up the 12-2 win.
Asper will take on Virginia Tech's No. 20 Pete Yates in the 165-pound finals while Letts will challenge Virginia's No. 4 Chris Henrich.
Corey Peltier topped Virginia Tech's John Dickson at 184 pounds and advanced to the finals to take on Duke's Diego Bencomo, who upset No. 19 Jon Fausey of Virginia.
At heavyweight, Spencer Myers pinned North Carolina's Ben Brooks and topped Virginia's Jack Danilkowicz 3-1 to advance to the finals. Myers will take on Virginia Tech's David Marone for the title.
The finals are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
-ES-
