PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Navy's wrestling season came to a close on Friday evening, as Nicholas Gil (Sr / 141 / Crystal Lake, Ill.), Jared Prince (Jr / 149 / Safety Harbor, Fla.), Tanner Skidgel (So / 165 / Tulsa, Okla.), Spencer Carey (Jr / 174 / Ringwood, N.J.) and Joshua Roetman (Jr / 197 / Kotzebue, Alaska) bowed out with a pair of losses at the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championship held at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.

"This tournament was one of the best demonstrations of team culture that I have seen in a program," said fifth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "Starting with the leadership of team captain Nick Gil, there was a tone all season that was focused on the team. That strength and bond was tested through adversity this week and very often those bonds pulled guys through in gutsy and courageous performances. Every athlete who competed in the Navy Blue and Gold scored team points and contributed to the result. Every member of this staff contributed selflessly to ensure these guys had quality scouting, food, recovery, weight management and they had one single focus, WRESTLE!

"The NCAA Tournament is your team vs. the nation. It's not like other sports where you face one program in a team vs team match up. The very best athletes from 77 programs showed up to compete for this championship and the fact that every athlete won matches and contributed to our team result is an indicator that these guys are certainly among the nation's elite individually and in team cohesion. They believe in themselves and their teammates and that's a positive culture."

All five of Navy's wrestlers entered the day having already lost one match and fighting their way through the wrestlebacks. After dropping his opening match of the tournament, Prince fought back to win three straight matches, including two on Friday, to qualify for the Blood Round.  Prince opened the day with a strong performance, dealing 16th-seeded Davion Jeffries of Oklahoma a 13-2 loss. He followed up with a sensational come-from-behind win (8-6) over ninth-seeded Justin Oliver of NC State to advance into the evening session. Prince, the 18th seed, dropped out of the tournament a win shy of the podium with a 9-4 loss to third-seeded Mitch Finesilver of Duke.

Prince closed out the season with a 22-11 mark and is now 5-6 all-time at the NCAA Championship. He has reached the 20-win milestone in each of his three seasons and will look to become just the eighth wrestler in school history to qualify for the NCAA Championship four times.

"Jared stepped up to a level he had not reached in this event previously and that is an incredible asset to our team culture," said Sharratt. "Coming in after cracking the top 20 in seeding, he beat the #9 and #16 athletes before falling to the #3 seed. He is extremely talented and will continue to grow as a national competitor with a clear focus on making adjustments to get on the podium. Dropping his match in the round to advance to become an All-American is a feeling you never want to feel and will certainly inspire his efforts to climb the ladder every day between now and Minneapolis in 2020."

Gil, the #10 seed, saw his career draw to an end following a 3-1 loss to sixth-seeded Kanen Storr of Michigan. A three-time NCAA qualifier and the Mids' team captain, Gil closed out his career with a 107-41 mark and etched his name into the Navy record books with the 12th-most wins in program history. He eclipsed 20 wins in each of his four seasons, while his 29 victories this season stand as the fifth most at 141 pounds in Navy history.

"It has been an honor to work with Nick Gil the last four seasons and I was proud of his fight and grit to bounce back after a first round loss," said Sharratt. "He has been an exemplary leader for the program in the fight he brings to the mat and the care he shows for his team. His effort and focus remained committed to the team's best possible result all the while you know he is hurting but would never show that pain as a leader."

Skidgel capped a magical season on Friday morning when he was tripped up by 13th-seeded Andrew Fogarty of North Dakota State. The 2019 165-pound EIWA Champion and first-time NCAA qualifier closed out his year with a 21-10 record in what was also his first season as a starter for the Mids.

"Tanner had a great attitude and is a natural leader that was a great contributor to our team effort," said Sharratt. "He showed up ready to compete. The way he bounced back from the first round shows his character and competitive fire. After beating his Big Ten opponent last night, he was strong coming in today and fired up. He fought like a warrior against the #13 seed and was a very aggressive competitor for us. He is tenacious and talented and it was a strong start in his first season in the Blue and Gold as a full time starter."

Carey, also a first-time NCAA qualifier, bowed out of the tournament following a 7-3 loss to 19th-seeded Ethan Smith of Ohio State. Carey finished the year with a 25-16 record in what was also his first season as a starter for Navy.

"Spencer had a strong first-round performance with his win over the #13 seed in his first match ever at the NCAA Tournament," said Sharratt. "I knew he was going to be strong here based on his performance at the EIWA Championship. At this tournament, it's you against the nation and after his early success, the match against #4 was hard fought but showed some gaps we need to fix to maximize his full capability. I am excited for his future success."

Roetman fell for a second time in the tournament when fifth-seeded Jacob Warner of Iowa scored a 9-1 major decision in Friday's morning round. The first-time NCAA qualifier produced a 26-12 record on the year which was the second-most wins on the team behind Gil's 29.

"Josh advanced with his four teammates to the second day of competition with his major decision last night and that pushed us up in team points. That was an impressive performance and continues to show the gains he made this season and his talent and ability to perform at the highest level of the championships.

"We have four of the five NCAA qualifiers returning and a hungry culture."


Navy Results at 2019 NCAA Championship
141:  (10) Nicholas Gil (1-2)
• 29-8 this season | 107-41 career | 3-6 NCAA Championship career
• Lost to (23) Sam Turner, Wyoming / Dec / 4-2
• Defeated (26) Sam Krivus, Virginia / Dec / 2-0
• Lost to (8) Kanen Storr, Michigan / Dec / 3-1

149:  (18) Jared Prince (3-2)
• 22-11 this season | 69-26 career | 5-6 NCAA Championship career
• Lost to (15) Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa / Dec / 9-8
• Defeated (32) Shayne Oster, Northwestern / Dec / 11-5
• Defeated (16) Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma / Major Dec / 13-2
• Defeated (#9) Justin Oliver, NC State / Dec / 8-6
• Lost to (#3) Mitch Finesilver, Duke / Dec / 9-4

165:  (19) Tanner Skidgel (1-2)
• 21-10 this season | 26-13 career | 1-2 NCAA Championship career
• Lost to (14) Jesse Dellavecchia, Rider / Dec / 9-2
• Defeated (32) Tyler Morland, Northwestern / Major Dec / 10-2
• Lost to (13) Andrew Fogarty, North Dakota State / Dec / 10-7

174:  (20) Spencer Carey (1-2)
• 25-16 this season | 40-26 career | 1-2 NCAA Championship career
• Defeated (13) Brit Wilson, Northern Illinois / Dec / 10-5
• Lost to (4) Myles Amine, Michigan / Major Dec / 12-3
• Lost to (19) Ethan Smith, Ohio State / Dec / 7-3

197:  (27) Joshua Roetman (1-2)
• 26-12 this season | 41-24 career | 1-2 NCAA Championship career
• Lost to (6) William Miklus, Iowa State / Dec / 6-1
• Defeated (22) Sawyer Root, The Citadel / Major Dec / 14-3
• Lost to (5) Jacob Warner, Iowa / Major Dec / 9-1

### Go Navy ###