BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Pitt-Johnstown’s Travis McKillop reached the national semifinals before placing third while teammate Dave Cawley finished seventh to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships.
While the finish may have fallen short of the expectations by some fans of the program, Mountain Cats coach Pat Pecora was upbeat.
“Overall, it was a great year, a great dual-meet season and we had seven guys qualify for nationals,” Pecora said.
McKillop, ranked sixth in the country, defeated Southwest Minnesota State’s Travis Peralta 11-7 in the first round before handing Nick Peterson of Colorado-Mesa an 8-2 loss to reach the semifinals, where he was beaten 6-4 by top-ranked Shamus O'Grady of St. Cloud State. McKillop got a 16-0 technical fall over Chadron State’s Jordan DeBus, before using a third-period takedown and riding time to defeat third-ranked Adam Walters of Findlay, 4-2, in the third-place bout.
Pecora said the bout was symbolic of the Mountain Cats’ future potential.
“Travis is a true sophomore who lost a close one in the semifinals, lost to the No. 1-ranked kid in the nation at that weight, then came back and won,” Pecora said.
“He just had a super tournament.
“We’re young,” Pecora added. “This is the epitome of where we’re going in the future. We’ll build a team around him. He’s the star quarterback.”
Cawley lost his opening round, then won 8-0 over Angel Vega of Minnesota State-Moorhead in the first round of the consolations before advancing to Saturday with a 5-2 decision over Justin Kieffer of Indianapolis. On Saturday, he dropped a 5-3 decision to Grand Canyon’s Michael Hamel, then rebounded to defeat Daniel Ownbey of UNC-Pembroke, 1-0, to place seventh.
UPJ’s Gary Lantz (174) opened the tournament with an 8-4 win over Kelly Henderson of Central Oklahoma, but suffered an 8-3 loss to Patrick Martinez of Nebraska-Kearney in the quarterfinals to fall to the second round of the consolations.
He then was eliminated by a 6-4 loss to Colorado State-Pueblo’s Ray Hall.
“He was one match away from All-American,” Pecora said. “That was a tough one. We were hoping to get him in there, but he’s only a junior. He’ll have another chance.”
Evan Link (125), Dave Fogle (133), Keith Ryan (165), and Josh Duplin (285) each went 0-2.
“Evan Link and Dave Fogle are both coming back.” Pecora said.
“Duplin is coming back. The only senior we’re losing in Keith Ryan.
“We got some good experience,” Pecora said. “We had hoped for a few more All-Americans, but we’re satisfied with a third and two All-Americans.”
Sports
UPJ’s McKillop places third at Division II championships
- Sports
-
-
Palmer to leave UPJ women’s position
Sasha Palmer will embark on a new chapter as a women’s basketball coach next month.
-
Sumney added to SFU men’s coaching staff
St. Francis men’s basketball coach Rob Krimmel filled a vacancy on his coaching staff Monday with the hiring of Mike Sumney as an associate head coach.
-
Goalie Anderson gives Senators a chance
Craig Anderson has his game back, and just in time to give the Senators a chance.
-
Ottawa rallies to top Pittsburgh
Colin Greening scored 7:39 into double overtime, and the Ottawa Senators rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins that cut their series deficit to 2-1 on Sunday night.
Daniel Alfredsson got Ottawa even 1-1 by scoring a short-handed goal with 29 seconds left in regulation just after the Senators pulled goalie Craig Anderson for an extra skater. -
Locke grinds through as Pirates blank Astros
Jeff Locke didn’t have his best stuff Sunday. He didn’t need it to shut down the majors’ worst team.
Locke allowed three hits over seven innings, Pedro Alvarez homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the eighth time in 10 games, 1-0 over the Houston.
Locke (4-1) won his fourth straight decision and gave up one run or fewer for the fifth time in his past eight outings. He struck out four and walked three. -
CORY ISENBERG| District playoffs command spotlight
District 5 gets set to jump into the baseball and softball playoffs this week.
Class A softball opens with four games on Wednesday, all set for 4:30 p.m. -
Bengals’ Hawkins visits Windber for charity tourney
Andrew Hawkins never forgets his roots.
-
MIKE MASTOVICH | Roberts, Kent State up to old tricks
George Roberts and his Kent State University teammates reached a familiar destination on Saturday afternoon, but took a somewhat different route in winning their third consecutive Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title.
-
Astros beat Bucs in extra innings
Jason Castro led off the 11th inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a close play at the plate as the Houston Astros topped the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Saturday night.
-
Senators offense to get boost vs. Pens
Jason Spezza doesn’t have much time to return to form if the Ottawa Senators want to extend their season.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Athletes come to aid of Oklahoma tornado victims
Tiger Woods on his relationship with Sergio Garcia
NBA Draft: Top 5 Prospects
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
Race Preview: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Behind the Seams: Big Spenders are Busts
Red Wings take 2-1 series lead
McReynolds: Johnson Coca-Cola 600 favorite?
McReynolds: 48 Team primed for Chase
Myers: 'We still need to do some evaluating as to what exactly we need'
Weekend Recruiting Wrap
Heat vs. Pacers: Playoff grudge match
Triple Play: Miguel Cabrera, Giants, and Rays
Globe 10.0: Can the Bruins young defensemen keep playing well?
Does Tiger feel he should clear the air with Sergio? In a word: no.
Redskins looking to find edge at the tight end position
Galiardi: 'We think we're the better team'
Kevin Dupont discusses Bruins-Rangers Game 2
Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem
Padres honor Marines
