CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- Elizabethtown College sophomore
Tyler Erdman finished as the runner-up at 125 pounds at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center Saturday night.
Erdman, bidding to become the Blue Jays' first national champion since Eric Mast (118 pounds) in 1977, fell 14-3 to top-seeded Clayton Rush (32-2) of Coe College in the championship match. Erdman finishes the season with a 25-2 record and has a 58-8 career record for Elizabethtown.
As a team, the Blue Jays finished 17th out of 59 schools at the championships with 21 points. It is Elizabethtown's best finish at nationals since placing 17th at the 1995 meet.
Rush opened the scoring with a takedown with 30 seconds gone in the first period. After Erdman escaped, Rush picked up another takedown with 40 seconds remaining to take a 4-1 lead after one period.
In the second period, Erdman opened on top and worked over Rush for over a minute, but a reversal with 40 seconds left pushed Rush's lead to 6-1. Erdman escaped with 15 seconds remaining, but a takedown by Rush in short time extended his lead to 8-2 entering the final period.
Working neutral, Erdman nearly came up with a takedown in the first 30 seconds of the third period, but Rush responded with a takedown with 40 seconds left for a 10-2 advantage. Erdman escaped with 25 seconds left, but Rush again scored in short time as he hit a shot for a takedown and a near-fall in the final five seconds to earn the 14-3 victory.
With his second-place finish, Erdman became the third Elizabethtown wrestler to be a two-time All-American, joining Mast (1974, 1977) and Justin Barbush (1995, 1996). He advanced to the finals by pinning seventh-seeded Josh Roberts of Augsburg College in 3:31 in Saturday morning's semifinals.
Erdman, seeded third at 125 pounds, opened the tournament with a pin of George Gogonas of Augustana College in 2:25, then avenged his only loss of the season with a 15-2 major decision against Tyler Marlow of SUNY Brockport in quarterfinal action Friday night.
Also competing for the Blue Jays were junior
Bill Meaney at 197 pounds and first-year
Tye Boyer at 149 pounds. Meaney lost his opening match to seventh-seeded Rob Cramer of Coe College via pin in 5:45, and fell 5-1 to Brian Broll of Buena Vista University in a consolation first round match. Boyer dropped a 7-4 decision to third-seeded Jason Pyle of Luther College in a pigtail first-round bout, then lost a 16-6 major decision to Mark Carey of Coe in consolation first round action.
NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships
at U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Elizabethtown College results
Championship bracket
1st round
149-Jason Pyle (Luther) d.
Tye Boyer, 7-4
2nd round
125-
Tyler Erdman p. George Gogonas (Augustana), 2:25
197-Rob Cramer (Coe) p.
Bill Meaney, 5:45
Quarterfinals
125-
Tyler Erdman m.d. Tyler Marlow (SUNY Brockport), 15-2
Semifinals
125-
Tyler Erdman p. Josh Roberts (Augsburg), 3:31
Finals
125-Clayton Rush (Coe) m.d.
Tyler Erdman, 14-3
Consolation bracket
1st round
149-Mark Carey (Coe) m.d.
Tye Boyer, 16-6
2nd round
197-Brian Broll (Buena Vista) d.
Bill Meaney, 5-1