Bucknell University
NCAA Championships
Bucknell's Kevin LeValley Finishes Seventh at NCAA Wrestling Championships for Second Straight Year
3/19/2011 8:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 19, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - For just the third time in program history, a Bucknell wrestler is a two-time All-American. Bison senior Kevin LeValley (Hugo, Colo./Limon) defeated Virginia's Derek Valenti, 5-4, Saturday afternoon in the seventh-place match at the NCAA Championships, held this year at the Wells Fargo Center. It is the second straight year he earned seventh place at NCAAs.
LeValley, who was seeded third in the 149-pound bracket, finished the three-day NCAA Championships with a 4-2 record. He completed his Bison career as the program's all-time wins leader and an overall record of 127-40.
Saturday's bout against Valenti was low scoring most of the way, but featured a wild finish as Valenti scored four points in the final seconds, meaning LeValley needed his riding time advantage (1:54) to pick up the victory after pitching a shutout most of the way.
LeValley led 1-0 entering the third period thanks to a second-period escape. He then scored three points for a near fall to make it 4-0 inside of a minute. However, Valenti converted a reversal and then tacked on two points for a near fall as time expired to tie the score.
It was the first-ever meeting between LeValley and the unseeded Valenti, who finished his junior year 27-15. LeValley, who last year set a Bucknell record for wins in a season with 42, completed his senior campaign with an impressive 34-3 mark.
LeValley joined Bobby Ferraro (1994, 1995) and former teammate Andy Rendos (2009, 2010) as the only two-time All-Americans in Bucknell history. Last year, LeValley became just the fifth different Bison to earn All-America honors, joining Ferraro, Rendos, Tom Marchetti (1989) and Bryan Burns (1991).
LeValley's final two years in Orange and Blue featured a combined record of 76-11. The 11 losses were all by decision by a total of just 21 points. Two of his three losses this year were in overtime and both this weekend were by just one point.
On Thursday, LeValley advanced to the quarterfinals of the championship bracket, but lost there to Boise State's Jason Chamberlain on Friday, sending him to the wrestlebacks.
Nearing the end of Saturday's wrestleback place finals, Bucknell stood 36th in the team standings with 11.5 points. LeValley's classmate, Jay Hahn, also qualified for the NCAA Championships and posted a 1-2 record in the 197-pound bracket on Thursday and Friday.
The NCAA Championships finals will take place Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN and ESPN3.com.
Bucknell Results
149: Kevin LeValley (No. 3 seed), Sr., Hugo, Colo.
Thursday:
First Round: W, maj. dec. Joey Metzler (Old Dominion), 10-2
Second Round: W, maj. dec. Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State), 8-0
Friday:
Quarterfinals: L, dec. #6 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State), 4-3 (tb1)
Consolation Fourth Round: W, maj. dec. Torsten Gillespie (Edinboro), 11-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: L, dec. #11 Andrew Nadhir (Northwestern), 6-5
Saturday:
Seventh-Place Match: W, dec. Derek Valenti (Virginia), 5-4
LeValley finishes seventh at 149 for second straight year
197: Jay Hahn (unseeded), Sr., Malvern, Pa.
Thursday:
First Round: W, dec. Nikolas Brown (Chattanooga), 11-7
Second Round: L, maj. dec. #4 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State), 13-4
Friday:
Consolation Second Round: L, maj. dec. Daniel Mitchell (American), 10-1
Hahn Eliminated
