JOHNSTOWN —
Patrick Myers could cap an amazing comeback on Saturday.
A little more than a year after breaking his neck in a match, the Penn Cambria graduate could lock up a spot in the NCAA Division I tournament.
The Southern Illinois-Edwardsville sophomore needs to win the 133-pound title at the Southern Conference Championships in Lexington, Va., to guarantee himself a trip to Des Moines, Iowa, for the national tournament in two weeks, but Myers could also take another route. He is 32nd in the NCAA’s rating percentage index at his weight class, which will have 33 wrestlers in it at the national tournament. That means he could be included by the selection committee even if he doesn’t win the conference title, but he’s not thinking about that.
“I’m not looking for second place,” Myers said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “I’m going to, hopefully, win a title.”
Myers, who is 20-9 this season, said he probably will be seeded third or fourth in the SoCon tournament, but he’s confident he can avenge some regular-season losses. The key, he said, is to be aggressive instead of tentative.
“Preparation-wise it’s just open up and show them what I’m capable of,” he said. “I feel like I can beat them by more than a couple of points or – if I’m cautious – barely win or even lose, like I’ve done in the past.”
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville is in its first season in Division I and the Cougars have had some growing pains in a 6-19 season that includes a 1-6 record in the conference.
“It’s been a little difficult,” Myers said. “Injuries have kept us from having our strong lineups. It’s hard when backups are in the lineup.”
Sports
NCAA spot possible for Myers
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
- Local sports in brief 5/19/2013
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Wrestling rules changed in hopes of keeping sport in Olympics
Wrestling’s governing body hopes rule changes designed to make matches more exciting and easier to understand will get the sport back in the Olympics.
- Local sports in brief 5/18/2013
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