Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Wrestling Announces Team Awards at Season-Ending Banquet
4/20/2010 8:00:00 AM | Wrestling
April 20, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell wrestling program held its end-of-season banquet on campus inside Hunt Hall this past Saturday evening and head coach Dan Wirnsberger and his coaching staff recognized this year's team award winners and celebrated a successful season that concluded with two All-Americans and a 27th-place showing at the NCAA Championships. The two All-Americans - senior Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway Area) and junior Kevin LeValley (Hugo, Colo./Limon) - shared the prestigious William A. Graham IV Most Outstanding Wrestler Award, given annually to the Bison grapplers who perform best at the NCAA Championships.
Four other Bison were honored with awards, while the four NCAA qualifiers and the 14 letterwinners were also recognized. Senior David Marble (Harpursville, N.Y./Harpursville Central) was given the brand new Class of 2010 Leadership Award, while classmate Shane Riccio (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) was presented with the Coach's Award. Freshmen Joe McMullan (Freshman of the Year) (Easton, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and Corey Lear (11th Man Award) (Orangeville, Pa./Benton Area) were also presented awards.
Rendos became the second wrestler in program history to claim two career All-America honors with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in the 165-pound bracket. The senior posted a 33-7 record in 2009-10 and finished his career with a program-record 121 victories. He became Bucknell's first-ever individual EIWA champion and finished his career with 24 pins, good for seventh in program annals. A four-time NCAA qualifier, Rendos went 5-3 at the 2010 NCAA Championships and claimed 12 victories at the national tournament in his career. He is second on the Bucknell single-season wins list (33) and tied for 10th on single-season winning percentage list (.825).
LeValley became just the fifth different Bucknell wrestler to claim All-America honors when he finished seventh at 149 pounds at last month's NCAA Championships. He set a program record for wins with a 42-8 mark this year, smashing the previous record by nine victories. A two-time NCAA qualifier, LeValley posted a 5-2 record at the NCAA Championships two weeks after finishing second at the EIWA Championships. He completed the season tied for sixth on the career wins list with 93 and he will enter his senior campaign just 28 behind Rendos' all-time standard. LeValley led the team in wins (42), dual wins (16), EIWA dual wins (6) and tech falls (6) and he never lost two consecutive bouts despite facing 16 nationally ranked opponents. All eight of LeValley's losses came by decision by a total of 17 points.
Marble was the inaugural recipient of the Class of 2010 Leadership Award, given in honor of the first class of seniors following the reinstatement of the program to the best leader, both on and off the wrestling mat. The senior co-captain qualified for his fourth consecutive NCAA Championships after a third-place finish at the EIWA Championships. He went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships and finished his career third on the Bison wins list with a four-year mark of 111-44. The 133-pounder was 30-10 this year, including 28-2 opposite unranked opponents. He won the Navy Classic for a third consecutive year and placed sixth at the competitive Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and completed the year on a high note, winning 12 of his final 13 bouts entering NCAAs.
Riccio claimed the Coach's Award following a year in which he went 33-11 and finished third in the 174-pound weight class at the EIWA Championships to earn an automatic berth into his third NCAA Championships. A senior, Riccio's win total is tied for second on the single-season list, while his 108 career victories are fourth on that list, behind only Rendos, Bobby Ferraro and Marble. This past year Riccio posted a 14-4 dual record, had five pins and collected six victories by major decision. He also won the Navy Classic, finished third at the Clarion Open and placed seventh at the Midlands Championships.
Lear made an impact as a rookie, posting a 20-11 mark and he filled in for an injured Rendos at 165 pounds during the month of January. During his time in the starting lineup in place of Rendos, Lear was 3-3 against difficult competition. He collected 11 bonus-point victories and won the 165-pound bracket at the Shorty Hitchcock Classic.
Freshman of the Year McMullan, who wrestled at both 197 pounds and heavyweight, solidified himself as the starter at heavyweight during the latter stages of the season as he was in the lineup for the final seven duals. Overall, McMullan posted a 14-10 record, including 6-2 at 197 and 8-8 at heavyweight. He finished eighth in the heavyweight bracket at the EIWA Championships, one of a program-record eight EIWA placewinners.
Bucknell's three seniors - Marble, Rendos and Riccio - the first group of seniors since the reinstatement of the program four years ago, completed their careers with a combined 340 individual wins, 11 NCAA appearances, two All-America certificates, 44 team wins, 11 EIWA placewinners, 20 NCAA victories and a 69-14 record in EIWA duals.
The Bison finished the 2009-10 campaign with a 12-6 record and were a perfect 6-0 against EIWA competition. The 12 victories equaled a school record, while it was the program's first unbeaten conference mark since 1987-88. Bucknell finished in the top four at the EIWA Championships for a second consecutive year and the 44 victories over the last four years marks the most in any four-year stretch in program history.
