March 19, 2011

Cornell Places Second Overall, Seven Ivies Wrap up All-American Status

PHILADELPHIA -- Cornell earned its second consecutive runner-up team finish and Kyle Dake earned his second consecutive individital title Saturday at the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The Big Red, which spent much of the regular season as the nation's top ranked team, concluded competition with 93.5 points, trailing only Penn State which earned its first team title since 1953 (107.5 points).

Dake, just a sophomore and a national title winner at 141 pounds in 2010, wrapped up a brilliant season with another individual championship, this time topping Penn State's Frank Molinaro 8-1 in the title bout at 149 pounds.

Seven total Ivy League wrestlers earned All-American status Saturday, led by five from Cornell, an all-time program high.

At 197 pounds, No. 1 seed Cam Simaz dropped a one-point decision in his semifinal match, but came back Saturday morning with a pair of wins to finish third – the third All-American finish of his career.

No. 8 seed Mike Grey earned sixth place at 133 pounds, the second All-American finish of his career. Mack Lewnes closed out his Big Red career with his third All-American finish, placing fourth at 174 pounds. Junior Steve Bosak captured his first All-American honor with a fourth-place finish at 184 pounds.

Penn's Zach Kemmerer, the No. 12 seed, finished in eighth place at 141 pounds. He went 4-3 at the NCAA Championship to conclude the season with a 39-10 overall record, becoming Penn's single-season wins leader, surpassing the previous high of 36 achieved by four prior Quakers.

At 157 pounds, Harvard's Walter Peppelman also finished well above his seed place. Entering the tournament at No. 11, Peppelman closed out his sophomore campaign with an eighth-place finish, becoming Harvard's 25th all-time Al-American. He went 4-3 in NCAA action and 32-9 for the year, ranking seventh on the Crimson all-time single-season win list.