Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
NCAA Championships
Bucknell's Rendos and LeValley Finish NCAA Wrestling Championships as First Pair of Bison All-Americans
3/20/2010 8:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 20, 2010
OMAHA, Neb. – For the first time in school history, Bucknell has two wrestling All-Americans in the same year. Senior Andy Rendos and junior Kevin LeValley both concluded their NCAA runs Saturday and finished in the top-seven of their brackets. Rendos earned his second consecutive All-America honor with a sixth-place finish at 165, while LeValley grabbed his first All-America citation with a seventh-place showing at 149.
Rendos, a four-time NCAA qualifier who owns the Bucknell career wins record (121), entered Saturday with a chance to finish as high as third, but lost a pair of matches. LeValley, who finished the season with a school-record 42 victories, won his only match Saturday to tie for the fourth-best NCAA finish in program history.
Rendos, who finished his career with 12 NCAA wins, is just the second two-time All-American in school history, joining Bobby Ferraro, who was cited in 1994 and 1995.
On Saturday, the ninth-seeded Rendos tried to better his fifth-place finish from last March, but lost to No. 2 Jarrod King of Edinboro in the consolation semifinals. He then came back and held a 3-0 lead over Oklahoma freshman Tyler Caldwell entering the third period of the fifth-place match. However, Caldwell outscored the Bison senior 6-0 in the final period for a 6-3 victory.
Rendos, who will graduate with a 121-32 career record, had won five of his six bouts on Thursday and Friday with the only loss to No. 1 Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. One of his wins was against No. 4 Jonathan Reader of Iowa State, while two of his three losses were to the top two seeds in the field.
LeValley's opponent Saturday was a familiar one as he faced American's Kyle Borshoff for seventh place. The ninth-seeded LeValley owned a 2-1 career mark against Borshoff, including a 2-1 decision in a dual late last month at Davis Gym. LeValley extended that record to 3-1 with a 5-0 shutout of Borshoff. It was the largest margin of victory for either wrestler in their four all-time meetings, which have all been decided by decision.
The win concluded a 5-2 NCAA Championships for LeValley, whose two losses were to the No. 4 and No. 8 seeds in the 149-pound bracket. All seven of his matches were decided by decision with his 5-0 victory Saturday the largest margin.
LeValley's seventh-place finish concluded a remarkable breakout season for the two-time NCAA qualifier. He finished with a 42-8 mark with all eight losses by decision by a total of 17 points. He obliterated the school wins mark by nine and became just the fifth different person in school history to earn All-America honors.
Bucknell's two All-Americans is especially impressive considering it is just the fourth year for the Bison since the reinstatement of the program. It is the first time since the reinstatement the roster has included a senior class, and all three seniors – Rendos, David Marble and Shane Riccio – qualified for NCAAs.
Tom Marchetti (1989), Bryan Burns (1991) and Bobby Ferraro (1994, 1995) are the only other Bucknell wrestlers to be named All-Americans in the long history of the program.
With two All-Americans this year, the Bison rank third in the EIWA, behind only Cornell, which had four All-Americans, and American, which had three.
Following Saturday morning's session, which includes all matches except the finals, which will be contested Saturday evening, Bucknell is in 26th place in the team standings with 22 points. Harvard, which is one point behind the Bison, is the only team lower than Bucknell in the standings with a wrestler in a championship bout. Cornell (4th), American (14th) and Lehigh (17th) are the only fellow EIWA members currently ahead of the Bison.
Bucknell Results
133: David Marble (unseeded), Sr., Harpursville, N.Y.
Thursday
First Round: W, maj. dec. John Trumbetti (Lock Haven), 11-1
Second Round: L, dec. #4 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State), 6-4
Friday
Consolation Third Round: W, dec. Ben Ashmore (Arizona State), 7-1
Consolation Fourth Round: L, dec. #12 Steve Mytcyh (Drexel), 5-3 (sv)
Marble Eliminated
149: Kevin LeValley (No. 9 seed), Jr., Hugo, Colo.
Thursday
First Round: W, dec. Andrew Nadhir (Northwestern), 6-3
Second Round: L, dec. #8 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State), 5-2
Friday
Consolation Third Round: W, dec. Cesar Grajales (Penn), 2-0
Consolation Fourth Round: W, dec. Nicholas Bertucci (Purdue), 5-1
Consolation Fifth Round: W, dec. #7 Mitch Mueller (Iowa State), 7-6 (tb)
Consolation Quarterfinals: L, dec. #4 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin), 3-1 (sv)
Saturday
Seventh Place Match: W, dec. Kyle Borshoff (American), 5-0
LeValley finishes seventh at 149
165: Andy Rendos (No. 9 seed), Sr., Brockway, Pa.
Thursday
Pigtail: W, dec. Kyle Bounds (Michigan State), 8-2
First Round: W, maj. dec. Edwin Hojilla (UNC Greensboro), 14-2
Second Round: W, dec. Tyler Grayson (Central Michigan), 3-2
Friday
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin), 7-2
Consolation Fifth Round: W, dec. #4 Jonathan Reader (Iowa State), 7-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: W, dec. Chris Brown (Old Dominion), 9-5
Saturday
Consolation Semifinals: L, dec. #2 Jarrod King (Edinboro), 7-1
Fifth-Place Match: L, dec. Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma), 6-3
Rendos finishes sixth at 165
174: Shane Riccio (unseeded), Sr., Warren, N.J.
Thursday
First Round: L, dec. Dorian Henderson (Missouri), 3-2
Consolation Round 2: L, dec. Brad Darrington (Utah Valley), 7-3
Riccio Eliminated
