Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy Classic
Rendos, Marble Win Weight Classes, Bucknell Wrestling Finishes Third at Navy Classic
11/22/2008 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 22, 2008
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Bucknell junior Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway) won his third consecutive Navy Classic individual title Saturday and classmate David Marble (Harpursville, N.Y./Harpursville) picked up his second straight crown as the Bison wrestling team placed third in the 12-team field. Bucknell earned 120.5 team points to place behind only host Navy (155.5) and Virginia Tech (153.5). Fourth-place UNC Greensboro was more than 50 points behind Bucknell, which had nine placewinners overall.
Wrestling at 165 pounds, Rendos, who is ranked 14th nationally, improved to 13-0 in his three-year career at the Navy Classic as he won all four of his bouts Saturday. His closest match came in the championship bout against Virginia Tech's Matt Epperly, which he won by an 8-2 decision. He also won twice by major decision and once by pin. Rendos now has three wins by pin, one technical fall and five major decisions among his 13 career victories at the early season Navy Classic.
Marble, who is also ranked 14th nationally, posted three victories Saturday to win the 133-pound title, but earned the win in the championship match by medical forfeit over Joe Baker. Marble defeated Baker for the title at last year's Navy Classic, but lost to him in the EIWA Championships ultimate match. Marble, who was seeded second in the field, posted a pair of major decisions on his way to first place, including a 16-8 win over third-seeded Denny Herndon. Marble is now 8-1 this year.
Kevin LeValley (149) (Hugo, Colo./Limon) and David Thompson (184) (West Liberty, Ohio/Graham Local) posted runner-up finishes. Both improved upon their finishes from last year when LeValley took fourth and Thompson earned third. Second-seeded LeValley easily won his first two matches (16-3 MD vs. Navy's Kyle O'Neil and 17-2 TF 6:13 vs. Duke's Mike Bell), but squeaked by third-seeded Peter Yates of Virginia Tech 3-2 to advance to the finals. In the finals LeValley lost 9-5 to top-seeded and No. 10-ranked Bryce Saddoris of Navy by a 9-5 margin. In six of the 10 weight classes the top seed ended up winning the title.
One of two Bison wrestlers in the 184-pound bracket along with Rob Waltko (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), Thompson worked hard to reach the finals. He won three consecutive close decisions (4-1, 5-2 and 3-2) to earn the right to face top-seeded John Barone, the No. 19 wrestler in the nation, in the finals. Thompson battled hard, but lost by a 7-3 decision. Each of Thompson's five wins this season have come by decision.
At 174 pounds, Shane Riccio (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) was the top seed, joining Rendos as Bucknell's pair of top-seeded grapplers. On his way to the finals, Riccio was upset by Navy's Mike Billings in the quarterfinals. Riccio then won four straight bouts in the consolation bracket to finish third, one spot better than his 2007 showing.
The 197-pound weight class featured a pair of Bison placewinners as Jay Hahn (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) and Nathan Jones (Sidney, Ohio/Troy Christian) took fifth and sixth, respectively. In fact, Hahn defeated Jones by a 15-8 decision in the fifth-place match.
Freshman Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area), who upset Missouri's Troy Dolan 10-0 last Sunday in his first career dual match, kept his early season momentum going at 125 pounds as he earned fifth in the 20-wrestler field. Reber was seeded second in the field and advanced to the semifinals, but lost to Navy's Prescott Gardner, 10-7. He later defeated Gardner's teammate, Allan Stein, 15-7 in the fifth-place bout.
Like Riccio, freshman Adam Healey (Wilkes Barre, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) had to battle back through the consolation bracket to earn a trophy. Healey lost his first match to Campbell's Kelin Bidelspach, but posted three straight decisions in the consolation bracket before dropping a tight 2-1 decision to Navy's John Majka. Healey then earned fifth place by medical forfeit over Gardner Webb's Rob Tate.
In all, Bucknell had 17 wrestlers compete Saturday. With two individual champions, the Bison tied Duke, Virginia Tech and host Navy for the most in the field. There were eight ranked wrestlers across all 10 weight classes and Bucknell had two of them in Marble and Rendos.
Bucknell will return to dual-match action Monday, Nov. 24, when it hosts Army inside Davis Gym. The match starts at 7 p.m. and a live video broadcast will be available on Bison Vision through BucknellBison.com.
Final Team Standings
1. Navy - 155.5
2. Virginia Tech - 153.5
3. Bucknell - 120.5
4. UNC Greensboro - 69.5
5. George Mason - 69
6. Duke - 46.5
7. The Citadel - 45.5
8. Campbell - 34
9. Franklin & Marshall - 33
10. Gardner-Webb - 30.5
11. Duquesne - 23
12. West Virginia - 20
Bucknell Placewinners
125: Derek Reber (5th)
133: David Marble (1st)
141: Adam Healey (5th)
149: Kevin LeValley (2nd)
165: Andy Rendos (1st)
174: Shane Riccio (3rd)
184: David Thompson (2nd)
197: Jay Hahn (5th), Nathan Jones (6th)
