March 10, 2010

• 2010 NCAA Championship Bracket

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Navy senior heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) and sophomore 125-pound Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) were among the 50 wrestlers who received at-large selections on Wednesday to compete in the 2010 NCAA Championship slated for March 18-20 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Steele and Kalil will join Navy teammates Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), a three-time NCAA qualifier and 2009 All-American, team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) and junior Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.), who received automatic berths into the tournament by virtue of their placement at the EIWA Championship last weekend.

"I'm so excited for all five of our wrestlers who will be able to perform on the national stage and have the opportunity to stand atop that podium in Omaha," said 10th-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "The schedule we wrestled this year allowed for this to take place, for us to get two at-large selections. We wrestled against some of the best talent out there and in the end, you are rewarded if you competed and performed well. It's a testament to the system"

A fifth-place finisher at the EIWA Champion, Kalil enjoyed a spectacular sophomore campaign that was highlighted by a strong run in the EIWA Tournament. Seeded fourth, he opened the tournament with a major decision over fifth-seeded John McDonald of Lehigh, the same opponent he narrowly defeated in dual action nearly two months ago. Kalil was sent to the consolation bracket by Troy Nickerson of Cornell, who is the No. 2 in the 2010 NCAA Championship. Kalil led 4-0 in his match against the No. 2 seed, Joseph Langel of Rutgers, but a mistake proved costly and Langel overcame the deficit to earn a 7-5 win over Kalil. However, he was quick to recover, posting a 7-4 win over American's Jasen Borschoff, the third seed in the tournament.

Kalil is a first-time NCAA qualifier and will make his way into the national tournament boasting a 22-11 record. He has won 11 of his last 14 bouts. He will face 11th-seeded Michael Martinez, a redshirt sophomore, in the opening round of the tournament.

Steele, meanwhile, can breathe a sigh of relief after receiving not only an at-large selection, but was also seeded 12th. After sustaining a major shoulder injury last December, Steele was forced to undergo surgery and a lengthy rehab that would keep him out of school until this semester. He returned to the mat on Dec. 29 at the Southern Scuffle where he placed second. He came into the EIWA Tournament with a 13-2 record and was poised to make a run at an individual title in what was his first appearance in the conference championship. Instead, Steele was forced to bow out of the tournament with an injury, medically forfeiting his last two matches and a disappointing fifth-place finish.

"Quite frankly I'm pleased that there were some people who recognize the ability that Scott has," said Burnett. "What he's been able to accomplish over the years and especially this season after coming back from one of the most serious shoulder injuries I've seen, it's fantastic that they selected him. He's a little dinged up, but I know he will do everything in his power to get healed up and prepare for this tournament."

Steele, a former U.S. Freestyle Team member and an alternate for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, kept his thoughts simple, "I'm just thankful for having a new lease on life."

That new beginning will kick off with an opening-round matchup against 17th-ranked Ricardo Alcala of UC Davis, who is unseeded.

Among Navy's three automatic NCAA qualifiers, only Saddoris earned a seed. The three-time NCAA qualifier is the only Navy wrestler headed to the national tournament who has made a previous appearance. Saddoris put together a spectacular performance at last year's National Championship where he placed sixth and garnered All-America honors. As the No. 8 seed, his quest to become only the 21st Navy wrestler to become a multiple All-American will begin with a match against the winner of the Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado)-vs.-Hadley Harrison (Clarion) bout.

Shober will battle fourth-seeded Kyle Rushell of Wisconsin in the opener at 149 pounds, while Neill is set to face Binghamton's Matt Kaylor at 165 pounds.

One Navy hopeful who was left out of the tournament was senior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.), who gave a heroic effort at the EIWA Championship. As the eighth seed, he upset the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds, and came a whistle away from taking down the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler Kyle Dake, en route to placing fourth, just one place shy of the automatic qualifier.

"It's always disappointing when someone is skipped over," said Burnett. "Matt was wrestling the best I've seen him at the end of the year and he had some great wins. He can be proud of what he's achieved over his four seasons and he closed out his career as a winner."

2010 Navy NCAA Championship QualifiersWeight  Seed    Wrestler                   First-Round Opponent125     ---     Aaron Kalil (22-11)        #11 Michael Martinez, Wyoming149     ---     Glenn Shober (22-14)       #4 Kyle Rushell, Wisconsin157     8       Bryce Saddoris (30-10)     Winner of Justin Gaethje, N. Colorado vs. Haldey Harrison, Clarion165     ---     Robby Neill (24-14)        Matt Kaylor, BinghamtonHWT     12      Scott Steele (14-3)        Ricardo Alcala, UC Davis