Nov. 18, 2007

2007 Navy Classic Results

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy wrestling team claimed three of the 10 individual titles and had 15 wrestlers place, as the Midshipmen finished second at the 2007 Navy Classic held Saturday at Halsey Field House in Annapolis. Bloomsburg won the team title for the first time in program history with 161.5 points, while the Mids' Navy Classic winning streak was stopped at three in a row after placing second, 21.5 points behind the Huskies.

"There were some high points of the tournament, but there are some areas that we simply have to get better at," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We have some holes to fill and we will definitely get back in the wrestling room and work to narrow the gap and improve. That said, we sent six guys into the finals and came out with three winners, so I am pleased with where we are headed."

Senior captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) claimed his third-consecutive Navy Classic crown at 174 pounds by defeating Davidson's Trebor Clavette, 8-6, in the title bout. The returning All-American made his road to the finals look easy as he earned a 17-1 technical fall over McDaniel's Courtney Nightengale in the first match, followed by a 17-7 route over Jay Hahn of Bucknell and his 6-3 victory over fourth-seeded Justin Herbert of Franklin and Marshall propelled him into the championship match.

Stolpinski, who is ranked No. 2 in the country, will have little time to enjoy his Navy Classic win, as he boarded a plane at 8:00 am on Sunday for a date on the mat against No. 1-ranked Keith Gavin of Pitt. The two will battle Monday night in the 42nd NWCA All-Star Classic beginning at 7:00 pm Pacific. Stolpinski is the 12th different Navy wrestler to be invited to the all-star tournament since its inception in 1967 and the first since Mark Conley in 2002.

Senior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) , the top seed, needed just 46 seconds to pin second-seeded Jesse Hasseman of Bloomsburg and earn his first Navy Classic crown at 184 pounds. Like Stolpinski, Parsons found little trouble in earning a championship appearance, defeating Liberty's Corey Vasbiner, 15-4, in the opening round, followed by wins over Rutgers' Chris Orzechoski (6-0) and David Thompson of Bucknell (6-3).

Finally, for the third time this season, junior Scott Steele (Baltimore, Md.) got the best of teammate Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) in the heavyweight division. Both wrestlers won three matches to set up the rematch, including a 3-1 victory by Prendergast over sixth-ranked Mike Spaid from Bloomsburg. Steele took advantage of Prendergast in sudden victory after he seemed to fall off balance, earning a takedown and a 3-1 triumph. Steele also defeated Prendergast, ranked seventh in the nation, in the season-opening Eastern Michigan Open .

Returning NCAA qualifier Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) was one of Navy's six finalists in the Navy Classic. Baker, seeded second and ranked 15th nationally at 133 pounds, produced back-to-back-to-back wins, including an 11-5 victory over third-seeded Christian Smith of Liberty in the semifinals. The championship bout featured Baker against Bucknell sophomore David Marble who have become familiar foes. Marble, who is ranked 14th in the country, defeated Baker twice last season, including the opening round of the EIWA Championship. Baker, though, came back to beat Marble by major decision in the fifth-place match to earn his second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. On Saturday, though, it was once again Marble's time to shine, defeating Baker, 8-5.

After suffering an injury in Navy's Blue-Gold Challenge Matches in late October, junior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) returned to mat on Saturday where he came up just short in his championship match against Bloomsburg's top-seeded Matt Moley at 157 pounds. Ahern defeated Julian Colon of Liberty, 7-2, before clipping Chris Norrell of Rutgers, 5-4, to earn a spot in the semifinals. Franklin and Marshall's Anthony Bongarzone knocked off Navy's Dustin Packard (Meridian, Idaho) to earn the right to face Ahern in the semis, but Ahern took the match, 9-2. In the end, Moley, who is ranked 15th at 149 pounds, proved to be the victor, defeating Ahern, 10-3, in the title match.

Two young performers Burnett was particularly impressed by were sophomore Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) and rookie Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) who turned in third-place finishes in their respective weight classes. Shober won his opening two matches before dropping a 6-1 semifinal decision to top-seeded and eventual Navy Classic winner Steve Adamscik, 8-1. Shober earned his third-place finish at 141 pounds by pinning Liberty's Tim Harner at 4:32.

Meanwhile, Saddoris continues to shine in his freshman campaign at 149 pounds. After opening with a 4-1 win over Franklin and Marshall's Al Gianforti, Saddoris was shut out by Kevin LeValley of Bucknell, 9-0. Saddoris was sent to the consolation bracket where he won four consecutive matches, including a 5-3 decision in his rematch against LeValley in the third-place match.

Sophomore Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) (4th at 133), Caleb Levee (Mandeville, La.) (6th at 141), Spencer Manley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) (5th at 149), Jason Coyne (Trafford, Pa.) (4th at 165), Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) (4th at 184), Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) (5th at 197) and Matt Reck (Stafford, Va.) (6th at 197) also placed among the top six.

Navy will be back in action Nov. 30-Dec. 1 when it travels Las Vegas to compete in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.