Bucknell University Athletics
Wrestling's Tyler Smith Named Bison Athlete of the Week
3/9/2015 3:41:00 PM | Wrestling
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell wrestling freshman Tyler Smith (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) was named the 5th Quarter Fresh Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday following his third-place performance at the EIWA Championships. The fifth-seeded Smith posted a 5-1 record at the two-day event and was one of six Bison placewinners.
Thanks to his third-place finish in the 141-pound bracket, Smith earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, which will take place March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. He is one of four Bucknell wrestlers to earn automatic berths.
Smith opened the EIWA Championships with a major decision over Navy's Patrick Prada, but then lost to fourth-seeded Jordan Laster from Princeton by a 7-4 margin to fall to the wrestlebacks. He started his trek through the consolation bracket with a 5-3 win over Binghamton's Dylan Caruana.
Day two featured Smith posting a 3-0 record as he worked his way through the consolation bracket. He opened with a 2-0 victory over Cornell's Dylan Realbuto to guarantee a top-six finish. In the consolation semifinals, Smith pinned No. 2 seed Jamel Hudson of Hofstra in 2:30. It marked his fifth win this season by fall and it was just the fifth loss of the year for Hudson.
Smith was matched up with Drexel's eighth-seeded David Pearce in the third-place match and trailed 6-0 early, but he came back to force overtime. In overtime, Pearce was whistled for stalling and Smith was awarded the winning point.
Smith is now 24-6 on the season and is 11-1 in his last 12 bouts.
Bucknell finished in third place out of 16 teams at the EIWA Championships. Paul Petrov (125 pounds), Tom Sleigh (184 pounds) and Joe Stolfi (285 pounds) will also be heading to the NCAA Championships along with Smith.
