By Tim Glon, www.onusports.com
Freshman Jacob Reed (Canal Winchester/Lancaster) clinched All-American honors at the 141-pound weight class with a 7-5 decision Friday night, March 11, on the first day of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships on Friday at the Alliant Engergy Power House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Reed (40-5) is 2-1 thus far in the Championships and will face Josiah Gehr of Messiah (Pa) in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.
Senior Schuyler Caprella (Bluffton/Allen East) and junior Chase Sumner (Ada) each finished with 1-2 records and were one victory shy of a top-8 finish and All-America honors that goes with it.
Reed began the meet with a 3-0 win over No. 8 seed Joseph Rossetti of Williams (Mass.) 3-0 on Friday morning. He then fell to top-seeded Jordin James of Mount Union by a tight 3-2 count in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
He then topped No. 7 seed Sam Stuhl of Augsburg (Minn.) to clinch a finish anywhere from third to eighth place.
"I'm so proud of all three guys," ONU head coach Ron Beaschler said. "Each guy won at least one match here - they all proved they belong on the national level. Chase fought through injuries all year and Schuyler came back for a fifth year and had a great season. Reed has been terrific as a freshman and just never panics. We had quite a few of our other wresters make the 8-hour drive to come out here and cheer on their teammates and that's a great sign of where this program is. We have a lot of freshman and got great leadership from our seniors and it is showing this weekend."
Caprella (36-14) lost his opening round match to top-seeded Kaidon Winters of RIT (N.Y.) by fall at 5:30 at 157 pounds Friday morning, but rebounded to defeat No. 8 seed Zeke Smith of Loras (Iowa) 10-8 in the consolation first round on Frday night.
In the consolation second round, he fell to No. 7 seed Darian Estevez of Chicago (Ill.), 7-5.
Caprella ends his career with an impressive record of 115-67.
Sumner, who was seeded eighth at 149 pounds, was defeated by Alex Barr (Wabash) 6-0 in the consolation second round, ending his season with a 17-6 record.
He fell to top-seeded Brett Kaliner of Stevens (N.J.) by fall in 6:46 in the quarterfinals Friday night after he defeated Brandon Bowles of Muhlenberg (Pa.) 6-2 on Friday morning.
Competition will get back underway on Saturday morning at 10 am (CST).
