Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
EIWA Championships
Bucknell Wrestling has Three Placewinners at EIWA Championships, Miller Earns Automatic Berth to NCAAs
3/4/2012 7:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 4, 2012
PRINCETON, N.J. –Bucknell wrestlers Austin Miller (Mount Joy, Pa./Hempfield), John Regan (Plum Borough, Pa./Kiski School) and Corey Lear (Orangeville, Pa./Benton Area) became placewinners in their respective weight classes Sunday on the final day of the EIWA Championships at Princeton's Jadwin Gym. Miller, who earned the Bison's lone automatic NCAA berth, finished third at 125 pounds. Regan was seventh at 157 pounds, while Lear was fifth at 165.
Miller, the fifth seed in his bracket, earned his third-place finish at 125 pounds thanks to a 2-0 record on the final day of the two-day EIWA Championships. He defeated Navy's seventh-seeded Tyler Sackett 12-6 to advance to the third-place match and then edged third-seeded Billy Watterson from Brown, 3-2. The top three finishers at 125 pounds earned automatic NCAA berths. Miller, a freshman, will be making his first career trip to the national tournament.
Miller, who is now 22-12 on the year, faced four seeded opponents this weekend and posted a 3-1 record. He defeated two individual seeded higher than him and his only loss came against eventual 125-pound champion Frank Perrelli.
With his NCAA berth, Miller gives Bucknell nine different wrestlers that have combined for 19 trips to NCAAs over the past six years. Miller will enter the NCAA Championships on a hot streak, having captured 11 of his last 15 bouts.
Regan, a senior, earned his second career seventh-place finish at the EIWA Championships, having previously finished seventh at 141 pounds in 2010. He posted a 2-2 record on Saturday and entered Sunday with just one opponent ahead of him. He ended up beating Penn's Troy Hernandez, 5-3, to claim the seventh-place prize. Regan had defeated Hernandez by a 5-4 margin in the final dual of the regular season.
The eighth seed at 157 pounds, Regan is now 20-12 on the season, his second career 20-win campaign.
Like Regan, Lear is now a two-time placewinner. He finished seventh at 165 pounds last March and improved on that by two spots Sunday. He entered the day needing a win in his first bout to advance to the consolation finals (third-place match) and guarantee his first career NCAA berth as the top four grapplers at 165 earn automatic bids. However, the fifth-seeded Lear lost to third-seeded Marshall Peppelman from Cornell by a 3-1 score. Lear then bounced back to defeat Navy's Mason Bailey, 6-2, in the fifth-place bout.
Lear posted a 3-2 overall record at the EIWA Championships, pushing his career win total to a team-best 60. He is 16-9 this season and has won seven of his last 10 bouts.
Bucknell, which sent nine wrestlers to the EIWA Championships, finished 13th in the team standings, just 0.5 points behind 12th-place Franklin & Marshall. Cornell edged out Lehigh for its sixth consecutive team crown, while American, Penn and Navy rounded out the top five spots.
Bucknell has now had at least three placewinners at the EIWA Championships in all six years since the program was reinstated. In 2010, a record eight Bison were placewinners.
The complete NCAA field will be finalized March 7 when 40 additional at-large selections are added to the automatic qualifiers. The NCAA Championships will take place March 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo.
Team Scores
1. Cornell – 151.5
2. Lehigh – 149
3. American – 103
4. Penn – 94.5
5. Navy – 85
6. Columbia – 78.5
7. Rutgers – 74.5
8. Harvard – 59
9. Army – 57.5
10. Brown – 48
11. Princeton – 44
12. Franklin & Marshall – 29
13. Bucknell – 28.5
14. Sacred Heart - 6
Bucknell Results (Sunday Participants Only)
125: Austin Miller, Fr. (#5 seed)
Saturday
Quarterfinals: W, dec. #4 Thomas Williams (American), 4-3
Semifinals: L, maj. dec. #1 Frank Perrelli (Cornell), 14-5
Sunday
Consolation Semifinals: W, dec. #7 Tyler Sackett (Navy), 12-6
Third Place Match: W, dec. #3 Billy Watterson (Brown), 3-2.
Miller places third at 125 pounds
157: John Regan, Sr. (#8 seed)
Saturday
First Round: W, dec. Zachary Kulczycki (Brown), 9-4
Quarterfinals: L, maj. dec. #1 Kyle Dake (Cornell), 8-0
Consolation Round 2: W, maj. dec. Anthony Perotti (Rutgers), 8-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: L, dec. Brian Tanen (Lehigh), 3-2
Sunday
Seventh Place Match: W, dec. Troy Hernandez (Penn), 5-3.
Regan places seventh at 157 pounds
165: Corey Lear, Jr. (#5 seed)
Saturday
First Round: W, dec. Richard Eva (Princeton), 8-1
Quarterfinals: W, dec. #4 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 5-2
Semifinals: L, dec. #1 Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh), 4-1
Sunday
Consolation Semifinals: L, dec. #3 Marshall Peppelman (Cornell), 3-1
Fifth Place Match: W, dec. #8 Mason Bailey (Navy), 6-2
Lear places fifth at 165 pounds
