Hartman, Phipps Represent Bucknell at NCAA Wrestling Championships

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Zach Hartman and Drew Phipps are set to represent Bucknell at the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships this week.

2019 NCAA Championships
When: Thursday, March 21 to Saturday, March 23
Where: PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa.
Event Website: NCAA.com
Live Results: TrackWrestling.com
Television/Online Video: ESPN Family of Networks (Full schedule below)
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

About the NCAA Championships
• NCAA wrestling's premier event will be held Thursday, March 21 to Saturday, March 23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Zach Hartman, a freshman, and Drew Phipps, a junior, are both first-time qualifiers. Hartman is seeded 14th at 157 pounds while Phipps is the 28th seed at 197 pounds.
• Both Hartman and Phipps have ties to Pittsburgh. Phipps is from Irwin, a 30-minute drive southeast of the championships' host city. Hartman is a native of Belle Vernon, roughly an hour south of Pittsburgh.
• This is the 14th time the NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held in Bucknell's home state of Pennsylvania. Before Philadelphia played host in 2011, Penn State (1999, 1968, 1953, 1938 and 1930), Lehigh (1951, 1948, 1941, 1935 and 1933), Pittsburgh (1957) and Franklin & Marshall (1939) put on collegiate wrestling's marquee event.

ESPN to Air the NCAA Championships
• For the fifth-straight year, ESPN will air the entire NCAA Championships on its family of networks.
• ESPN's prime-time coverage begins with the second round on Thursday at 7 p.m. Friday's semifinals and Saturday's finals will also air on ESPN beginning at 8 and 7 p.m. respectively.
• ESPNU will carry the earlier sessions each day. During all six sessions, ESPN3 will stream every single mat and match, allowing fans to follow any wrestler and/or school.
• New this year, ESPN3 will offer Off the Mat, a special program providing a combination of live matches, highlights and interviews with newly crowned champions. Off the Mat programming will surround Saturday's finals, as ESPN3 debuts the program as a pre-game show (6:30 p.m.) before it returns as a post-game show (approximately 10 p.m.).

2019 NCAA Championships Schedule
Thursday, March 21
First Round, 12 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Second Round, 7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3)

Friday, March 22
Quarterfinals, 11 a.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Semifinals, 8 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3)

Saturday, March 23
Medal Round, 11 a.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Championships, 7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3)

Bucknell's NCAA Championships History
• Since the Bucknell wrestling program was reinstated ahead of the 2006-07 season thanks in large part to a generous donation from Bill Graham '62, 19 different wrestlers have combined to earn 41 NCAA berths and four All-America certificates.
• A year ago, Tyler Smith (141) became the fourth Bison since the program was revived to qualify for the NCAA Championships during all four years of his collegiate career. David Marble (133, 2007-10), Andy Rendos (165, 2007-10) and Joe Stolfi (285, 2013-16) previously accomplished the feat.
• Overall, Smith was the fifth Bison to qualify for four NCAA Championships. Bobby Ferraro qualified at 190 pounds in 1992 and at 177 pounds in 1993, 1994 and 1995.
• Zach Hartman is only the second Bison to qualify for the NCAA Championships at 157 pounds since the wrestling program was revived. The other was Victor Lopez in 2017.
• Drew Phipps is the fourth Bison to qualify for the NCAA Championships at 197 pounds since the wrestling program was revived. The others were Eric Lapotsky (2007), Jay Hahn (2011) and Tom Sleigh (197). Sleigh, now a graduate transfer at Virginia Tech, is seeded 10th in this year's 197-pound championship bracket; it will be his fourth career appearance at the NCAA Championships, as he qualified in 2015, 2016 and 2017 while at Bucknell.

Hartman Against First-Round Opponent
• Zach Hartman is set to face 19th-seeded Griffin Parriott of Purdue in the opening round.
• This will be the first meeting between Hartman and Parriott, a redshirt sophomore who clinched the Big Ten's ninth, and final, automatic berth at 157 pounds.
• Parriott enters the NCAA Championships with a 15-11 record. His signature win came over then No. 3 Tyler Berger of Nebraska in sudden victory overtime.
• The winner will face third-seeded Ryan Deakin of Northwestern or 30th-seeded Christian LaBrie of Brown. Hartman hasn't faced Deakin; he dispatched LaBrie by a 7-2 decision during dual action.

Hartman Against the Field
• In 2018-19, Zach Hartman faced 12 of the 33 wrestlers in the NCAA Championships' 157-pound bracket, compiling a 7-7 record.
• Hartman topped the following NCAA qualifiers: Army West Point's Lucas Weiland (8-0 MD; 4-0 dec.), Arizona State's Christian Pagdilao (10-2 MD), Buffalo's Alex Smythe (8-7 dec.), Brown's Christian LaBrie (7-2 dec.), Lehigh's Josh Humphreys (5:51 fall) and Rutgers's John Van Brill (7-5 dec.).
• Hartman was defeated by the following NCAA qualifiers: Columbia's Dan Reed (2-4 dec.), Iowa's Kaleb Young (2-9 dec.), Lehigh's Josh Humphreys (6-12 dec.), North Carolina's Josh McClure (1-3 dec.), Ohio Dominican's Larry Early (6-11 dec.), Penn State's Jason Nolf (3:50 fall) and Pittsburgh's Taleb Rahmani (7-13 SV-1). All of Hartman's losses this season came to NCAA qualifiers.
• Hartman faced three NCAA qualifiers—Pagdilao, Van Brill and Young—at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. There, he placed third with an impressive 6-1 record.

Phipps Against First-Round Opponent
• Drew Phipps, the 28th seed at 197 pounds, will take on fifth-seeded Jacob Warner of Iowa in the opening round.
• This will be the first meeting between Phipps and Warner, a redshirt freshman who placed third at the Big Ten Championships and boasts a 17-4 record.
• The winner will face 12th-seeded Rocco Caywood of Army West Point or 21st-seeded Thomas Lane of Cal Poly. Phipps took on both during the 2018-19 campaign; he stunned Caywood twice when the Black Knight senior was ranked in the nation's top 10 and dropped a major decision to Lane at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

Phipps Against the Field
• In 2018-19, Drew Phipps faced 10 of the 33 wrestlers in the NCAA Championships' 197-pound bracket, compiling a 4-8 record.
• Phipps topped the following NCAA qualifiers: Army West Point's Rocco Caywood (7-3 dec.; 3-1 dec.), Buffalo's Brett Perry (8-2 dec.) and North Carolina's Brandon Whitman (5-4 dec.).
• Phipps was defeated by the following NCAA qualifiers: Air Force's Anthony McLaughlin (1-3 dec.), Cal Poly's Thomas Lane (2-10 MD), Cornell's Ben Honis (7-13 dec.), Lehigh's Jake Jakobsen (2-4 dec.), Navy's Joshua Roetman (0-6 dec.; 2-8 dec.), Penn State's Bo Nickal (6-16 MD) and Pittsburgh's Kellan Stout (2-6 dec.).
• All but one of Phipps's opponents at the EIWA Championships qualified for the NCAA Championships. There he faced off against Caywood, Honis, Roetman and Jakobsen in succession.

Bison Ranked
• Following his runner-up showing at the EIWA Championships, Zach Hartman (157) was ranked 11th by Intermat, 14th by The Open Mat and 16th by FloWrestling.
• Hartman was ranked eighth by The Open Mat from Jan. 15 to Feb. 3 and by both Intermat and The Open Mat from Jan. 15 to Jan. 27. That national ranking is the freshman's highest to date.
• Hartman first cracked FloWrestling's rankings on Dec. 24. He came in at No. 20; it was the first time in his collegiate career he was ranked by any of the three major wrestling publications: Intermat, The Open Mat and FloWrestling.
• Following his third-place finish at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, Hartman entered the Intermat poll (Jan. 8) and The Open Mat rankings (Jan. 3) at No. 10.
• Hartman and Drew Phipps (197) made the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings and NCAA rating percentage index, which were released March 14. Hartman was slotted 12th in the rating percentage index and tied for 14th in the Coaches' Panel Rankings. Phipps was 25th in the rating percentage index and 27th in the Coaches' Panels Rankings.
• Hartman appeared in all four Coaches' Panel Rankings, checking in at as high as 10th (first iteration). Phipps entered the Coaches' Panel Rankings at 26th during its second iteration; that was his highest position of the season.
• In the first rating percentage index, Jakob Campbell (125) and Kyle Inlander (184) were each ranked 32nd in his respective weight class. Joey Gould (141) joined Hartman in the first Coaches' Panel Rankings, checking in at 29th.

NCAA Qualifiers from the EIWA Championships
• The EIWA had 47 automatic qualifiers for the 2019 NCAA Championships, ranking behind only the Big Ten (78) and Big 12 (53).
• The EIWA was second to the Big Ten in automatic qualifiers from the 157-, 174- and 184-pound weight classes. The EIWA was second to the Big 12 in automatic qualifiers in the 197-pound weight class.
• The EIWA received six bids at 157, 184 and 197 pounds.
• At this year's EIWA Championships, Zach Hartman (157) and Drew Phipps (197) earned automatic berths by finishing in the top six in their respective weight classes. Last year, Phipps missed securing the EIWA's final automatic bid at 184 pounds by one spot.
• Since the Bucknell wrestling program was reinstated ahead of the 2006-07 season thanks in large part to a generous donation from Bill Graham '62, 19 different wrestlers have combined to earn 41 NCAA berths and four All-America certificates.
• A year ago, Tyler Smith (141) became the fourth Bison since the program was revived to qualify for the NCAA Championships during all four years of his collegiate career. David Marble (133, 2007-10), Andy Rendos (165, 2007-10) and Joe Stolfi (285, 2013-16) previously accomplished the feat.

EIWA Allotments
125: 4    165: 4
133: 4    174: 5
141: 3    184: 6
149: 5    197: 6
157: 6    285: 4
   Total: 47

Bucknell's EIWA Championships History
• The Bison joined the EIWA in 1999-2000 and have wrestled at the league's championships 16 times.
• Bucknell boasts 10 top-10 finishes and has placed no lower than sixth three of the past five seasons.
• The Bison have finished as high as third in the team standings. They tied Penn for that spot in 2009 and claimed sole possession of it in 2015 and 2016.
• Bucknell wrestlers have captured an EIWA individual title on three occasions. Andy Rendos won the 165-pound crown in 2010, current assistant coach Kevin LeValley earned the 149-pound title in 2011 and Joe Stolfi was the 285-pound champion in 2014.
• This year, Zach Hartman (157) became the Bison's eighth EIWA runner-up, joining David Marble (2008, 133), Andy Rendos (2009, 165), LeValley (2010, 149), Stolfi (2015 & 2016, 285), Paul Petrov (2016, 125), Tom Sleigh (2017, 197) and Tyler Smith (2018, 141). Hartman is the first Bison to finish as an EIWA runner-up as a freshman.
• Since the wrestling team was reinstated ahead of the 2006-07 campaign, 30 Bison have combined to place on the EIWA podium 60 times.

Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell went 7-11 (4-7 EIWA) in dual competition during the 2018-19 campaign. The Bison also placed 13th at the EIWA Championships in March and tied for 14th in a 67-team field at the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in late December.
• This season, Zach Hartman (26-7), Drew Phipps (24-10), Frankie Guida, Jr. (16-13), Jacob Ferreira (15-11), Jakob Campbell (15-12) and Matthew Kolonia (15-15) reached the 15-win plateau.
• Phipps paced Bucknell with a 15-3 dual record, bolstered by winning his final 12 dual bouts of the campaign. Hartman was right behind, posting a 14-4 dual mark. Both went an impressive 10-1 in EIWA dual action.
• Hartman is the team leader in pins (9) while Phipps has paced the Bison in major decisions (7). Kolonia boasts a team-best three technical falls while Phipps, Geo Barzona, David Campbell and Noah Levett are the only Bison who have posted at least one fall, one technical fall and one major decision this season.
• Bucknell's captains are D. Campbell, Garrett Hoffman, Phipps, Nick Stephani and Brandon Stokes.
• In 2018-19, the Bison returned one NCAA qualifier and three EIWA placewinners. Hoffman (184) earned an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Championships, where he bowed out after two bouts. D. Campbell (133) and Phipps (184) each took eighth at the 2018 EIWA Championships while Joey Gould (133) was eighth at the 2017 rendition. All but D. Campbell have since changed weight classes.
• In 2017-18, Bucknell battled injuries and used 22 different starters in dual competition, ultimately finishing with a 3-14 (2-7 EIWA) ledger. The performance of 141-pounder Tyler Smith, one of six seniors lost to graduation, was a bright spot; he became the program's fifth four-time NCAA qualifier and seventh EIWA runner-up.
• The Bison enjoyed one of their most successful stretches in program history from 2014 to 2017, compiling a combined record of 39-14 (23-5 EIWA) and placing third at the 2016 and 2015 EIWA Championships.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger, who is in his 14th year at the helm, has a 120-126-2 record. He and Bob Ferraro, who led the Bison to a 169-175-6 record from 1974 to 1997, are the program's only head coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.

Starting Lineups
• Over the course of the regular season, Bucknell used 19 starters in dual competition. Three Bison started every dual: Zach Hartman (157), D.J. Hollingshead (165) and Drew Phipps (197).
• At least three different starters took the mat at three weight classes: 133 (3), 141 (4) and 285 (4).
• Kyle Inlander (184) was the lone returning wrestler to start for the first time this season. In addition, four freshmen started: Brett Rezendes (133/141), Noah Levett (141), Hartman (157) and Jacob Ferreira (184).
• Of Bucknell's first-time starters, Hartman, Inlander and Levett competed at the EIWA Championships.

Hartman, Phipps Represent Bucknell at NCAA Wrestling Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Geo Barzona

David Campbell

Jakob Campbell

Jacob Ferreira

Joey Gould

Frankie Guida, Jr.

Zach Hartman

Garrett Hoffman

D.J. Hollingshead

Kyle Inlander

Matthew Kolonia

Noah Levett

Drew Phipps

Brett Rezendes

Tom Sleigh

Tyler Smith

Nick Stephani

Brandon Stokes

Hartman, Phipps Represent Bucknell at NCAA Wrestling Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Geo Barzona

David Campbell

Jakob Campbell

Jacob Ferreira

Joey Gould

Frankie Guida, Jr.

Zach Hartman

Garrett Hoffman

D.J. Hollingshead

Kyle Inlander

Matthew Kolonia

Noah Levett

Drew Phipps

Brett Rezendes

Tom Sleigh

Tyler Smith

Nick Stephani

Brandon Stokes

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