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For Immediate Release: February 18, 2006
TOMCATS FINISH
SECOND AT MIDWEST REGIONAL;
MURPHY AND KEMBLE ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
 CLEVELAND, Ohio (Feb. 18) – Led by junior Corey
Murphy’s (Corry/Corry) individual championship at 165 pounds, Thiel
College tied for second place with 99.5 team points at Saturday’s
NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Qualifier, hosted by Case Western
Reserve University.
Olivet College won the event with 128.0 points, followed by Thiel and College
of Mt. St. Joseph in second with 99.5 points, respectively.
Murphy, the top seed at 165 pounds,
went 3-0 on Saturday and earned his second consecutive trip to
the NCAA Division III Championships with a 3-1 victory over second-seeded
Kyle Vanderhyde of Olivet College in the championship bout. Murphy,
a returning all-American and winner of the 2005 regional, enters
the National Championships with a 22-3 overall record.
Junior Mike Kemble (Ravenna,
Ohio/Southeast), the top seed at 157 pounds, earned his second
straight trip to the National Championships as the lone wild card
from the Midwest region despite losing 7-4 to third-seeded Elliot
Spence of Mount St. Joseph in the championship match. Kemble,
an all-American last season, earned his bid to the 2005 National
Championships as one of two wild cards. Kemble will go into the National
Championships with a 22-3 overall record.
Junior Kyle Brown (Meadville/Meadville)
and sophomore Brandon Council (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) also
finished second in their respective weight classes. Brown, seeded
second at 285 pounds, was 3-0 with three pin fall victories before
falling to top-seeded Bryan Morgan of Millikin University 12-3
in the championship bout. Council, the third seed
at 174 pounds, lost by a 5-3 decision to top seed Tim Kelly from
Mount St. Joseph.
Freshman Andrew Riddle (Franklin/Cochranton)
finished in fourth place after dropping a 3-2 decision to second-seeded
Trevor Price of Manchester College in the third-place match. Riddle
entered the bracket as the fourth seed.
Senior Mike Schiemer (Clarks
Mills/Commodore Perry) and freshmen Ben Mellring (Cochranton/Cochranton)
and Scott Prinsen (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) wrestled
to fifth-place finishes in their respective weight classes. Schiemer,
the third seed at 141 pounds, fell to sixth-seeded Brad Greenman
of Case Western Reserve 3-2 in the semifials before earning a 9-3
win over Rob Yahrmarkt of Olivet College in the fifth-place match.
Mellring, who entered the regional as the fourth seed, pinned
fifth seed Paul Njoku of MacMurray College in 1:12 in the fifth-place
match. Prinsen, unseeded coming into the regional, posted an
8-2 win over Machester College's Michael Hanlin in the fifth-place
match.
Another highlight from Saturday's regional
qualifier was Council's performance singing the national anthem.
After a technical diffuculty at Case Western's Veale Center, Council
announced that he would sing them anthem and received a standing
ovation after his performance. For photos of Council performing,
click here.
The NCAA Division III National Championships, which will
be hosted by The College of New Jersey, will be held on Friday
and Saturday, March 3-4.
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