All Three Spartans Eliminated from NCAA Championships
The York College wrestling squad sent three wrestlers to the
2008 NCAA Division III National Championships in Cedar Rapids, IA.
The Spartans did not have a great day as all three Spartans got
eliminated from the tournament before reaching All-American
status.
Spartan heavyweight Luke Panizzi (Eatontown, N.J./Monmouth
Regional) kicked off the tournament with a bang as he
recorded a upset win over the number one seed as he downed Oneonta
State’s Trevor Hiffa 4-3. Panizzi was dropped into the
consolation bracket in his first Friday evening bout, falling to
the eighth-seeded Dan Laurent of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 3-2. Glenn
Geesman, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then ended
Panizzi’s collegiate career as he pinned the Spartan
heavyweight. Panizzi ends his stellar senior season with a mark of
32-7.
At 157 pounds, John Niedrich (Freehold, N.J./Christian
Brothers Academy) dropped his opening bout falling to
Gettysburg’s Andrew Goldstein 5-3. Niedrich was the eighth
seed in his weight class and had beaten Goldstein in their two
prior meetings this season. Niedrich bounced back in the evening
session with a 5-4 decision over Muskingum's Patrick Minner.
Niedrich then saw his season come to an end with a 14-7 loss to
Cornell College’s Patrick McAuley. Niedrich ends his season
with a mark of 27-7.
At 125 pounds, the Spartans’ Kyle Flickinger (New
Oxford, Pa/Bermudian Springs) was eliminated from the
championships after two matches. Flickinger, who was the eight seed
in the weight class, fell to Stephen Kingsland from Ursinus, 3-2 in
overtime in his opening bout. That loss sent Flickinger to the
consolation bracket where he lost to Thiel’s Rob Miller 3-1
as his bid to become a back-to-back All-American came to an end.
Flickinger ends his junior year with a mark of 30-8.
Panizzi and Flickinger earned their tickets to the national
championships as they won their respective weight classes at the
Metropolitan Wrestling Conference championships on February 24.
Niedrich was a coaches’ wild card selection after finishing
second at 157 pounds at the Metro championships.
The Spartans return a number of their top performers in 2008-09
including Flickinger and Niedrich, who will both be seniors for the
green and white. The Spartans finished 2007-08 with a dual meet
record of 14-6. They finished first at the Kings College Monarch
Invitational and second at the Spartan Invitational while four
Spartans earned individual titles at the Ursinus College Fall
Brawl.