Bucknell University
Midlands Championships
LeValley Advances to Semifinals, Bucknell Wrestling in 17th After Day One of Midlands Championships
12/30/2010 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 29, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. - Bucknell senior 149-pounder Kevin LeValley was seeded first in his bracket and he breezed through to the semifinals with three victories Wednesday on the first day of the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern. Two other Bison are still alive in the consolation brackets of their weight classes. Bucknell stands 17th of 44 teams in the team standings with one more day remaining in the two-day event.
Sophomore Corey Lear, who went 3-1 on Wednesday at 165 pounds, and senior Jay Hahn, who was seeded ninth at 197 pounds and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing, still have wrestling ahead of them in the consolation brackets Thursday.
Eleven Bison competed on Wednesday and combined to post a 12-18 mark at the highly competitive event that includes eight of the top 15 teams in the nation, according to Intermat.
LeValley, who is ranked third nationally, improved to 13-0 on the season as he won by tech fall and two major decisions on Wednesday. Overall, he outscored his three opponents by a whopping 42-3 margin.
In his first match Thursday, LeValley will face Minnesota's Dylan Ness, who is wrestling unattached this week. LeValley will be trying to better his third-place finish from last year, which was the best showing by a Bison at the Midlands Championships in at least 20 years.
Lear won his first match on Wednesday, but dropped his second to No. 16 Brandon Hatchett of Lehigh, 7-1. The bout was a rematch from earlier this month when Lear posted a 1-0 victory over Hatchett in a dual in Davis Gym. Lear bounced back to win his final two bouts by decision by a combined 11-1 score. Lear needs just one win Thursday to guarantee a top-eight showing after entering the Midlands Championships unseeded. He is now 15-4 this season, including 14-1 against unranked foes.
Hahn, who along with LeValley was one of two seeded Bison, won his first two matches to advance to the quarterfinals. He will now wrestle in the consolation brackets and needs a win against No. 20 Brent Haynes of Missouri on Thursday to guarantee a top-eight finish.
Sophomore Zac Hancock was the only other Bison to post at least two wins on Wednesday as he was 2-2 in the 141-pound bracket.
Competition at the Midlands Championships continues Thursday starting at 1 p.m. (Eastern). The championship matches will take place during session IV, which is slated for 8:15-10:30 p.m. (Eastern). A television broadcast of the championship matches will air on tape delay on the Big Ten Network, with the debut coming at 4 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday, Jan. 8.
125: Derek Reber, So., Lewisburg, Pa.
1st Round: L, dec. Frank Lomas (Cal Bakersfield), 8-7
Consolation 1st Round: L, dec. Shane Gentry (Maryland), 5-3 (sv1)
Reber Eliminated
141: Zac Hancock, So., Laura, Ohio
1st Round: L, dec. Bebeto Yewah (Wisconsin-Lacrosse), 11-8
Consolation 1st Round: W, maj. dec. Daniel Arnel (Wisconsin), 11-1
Consolation 2nd Round: W, dec. Dustin Walrayen (South Dakota State), 9-7
Consolation 3rd Round: L, maj. dec. Steve Dutton (Lehigh), 16-5
Hancock Eliminated
149: No. 3 Kevin LeValley (No. 1 seed), Sr., Hugo, Colo.
1st Round: W, tech. fall Matt Mauseth (Wisconsin-Lacrosse), 16-0 (4:50)
2nd Round: W, maj. dec. Matt Ballweg (Iowa), 13-2
Quarterfinals: W, maj. dec. Zac Cibula (Rider), 13-1
157: Nicholas Czapla, Jr., West Falls, N.Y.
1st Round: L, dec. Kyle John (Maryland), 5-1
Consolation 2nd Round: L, dec. Kalvin York (Wisconsin), 6-4
Czapla Eliminated
157: Brantley Hooks, Sr., Spartanburg, S.C.
1st Round: L, dec. Jackson Morse (Illinois), 9-2
Consolation 1st Round: W, fall Kyle Dooley (Illinois), 6:19
Consolation 2nd Round: L, dec. Mike Kelly (Iowa), 11-4
Hooks Eliminated
165: Corey Lear, So., Orangeville, Pa.
1st Round: W, dec. Trevor Hall (Cal Bakersfield), 7-4
2nd Round: L, dec. No. 16 Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh), 7-1
Consolation 2nd Round: W, dec. JT Rice (Eastern Michigan), 6-0
Consolation 3rd Round: W, dec. Luke Miller (Ohio Northern), 5-1
174: David Thompson, Sr., West Liberty, Ohio
1st Round: W, dec. Brian Cobb (RRWC), 6-2
2nd Round: L, dec. No. 16 Mike Letts (Maryland), 3-1
Consolation 3rd Round: L, dec. Benjamin Jordan (Wisconsin), 5-2
Thompson Eliminated
174: Stephen McPeek, Fr., Southlake, Texas
1st Round: L, fall Pat Wright (Missouri), 2:14
Consolation 1st Round: L, dec. Curran Jacobs (Michigan State), 6-2
McPeek Eliminated
184: Joe McMullan, So., Easton, Pa.
1st Round: L, dec. Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh), 5-3
Consolation 1st Round: L, dec. No. 12 Erich Schmidtke (Oklahoma), 4-2
McMullan Eliminated
184: Rob Waltko, Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.
1st Round: L, maj. dec. Lee Munster (Northwestern), 11-1
Consolation 1st Round: L, fall Cameron Croy (Harvard), 7:16 (sv1)
Waltko Eliminated
197: Jay Hahn (No. 9 seed), Sr., Malvern, Pa.
1st Round: W, maj. dec. Ryan Malo (Williams), 12-4
2nd Round: W, dec. Alex Thomas (Clarion), 7-5 (sv1)
Quarterfinals: L, dec. Nathan Patrick (Sunkist Kids), 9-4
