<p>All-Academy Championships this weekend. I believe the teams are (Army, Navy, Merchant Marine, Citadel, VMI, Air Force, Norwich, Coast Guard) The Mariners are doing great this season so I'm predicting a 4th place finish...maybe even a 3rd if we have the right celestial alignment! GO KP!!</p>
<p>Wrestling Moves Up Two Spots In National Poll</p>
<p>By Matthew Chmura, Sports Information Director
January 30, 2008 </p>
<p>The wrestling team was ranked 17th in the latest national poll; Eric Vincent ranks ninth in the 197-pound weight class.
The United States Merchant Marine Academy wrestling team moved up two spots to 17th in the latest national poll released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association on Tuesday. Additionally, Eric Vincent moved up one spot to ninth in the 197-pound weight class. This is the highest national ranking the program has ever received in the Tim Alger coaching era which has spanned 10 seasons.</p>
<p>The Mariners are a perfect 5-0 against Centennial Conference competition after most recently defeating five-time conference champion Ursinus, Muhlenberg and Stevens Tech in Hoboken, N.J. USMMA heads to the All-Academy Championships against Army, Air Force, Citadel, Coast Guard, Navy, Norwich and VMI in West Point this weekend. The championship meet is slated to begin at 10 a.m.</p>
<p>WEST POINT, N.Y. – Led by four individual champions and nine event finalists, Army finished first at the 14th-Annual USAA Academy Wrestling Championships in Christl Arena.</p>
<p>Army totaled 111.0 points to edge four-time defending champion Navy (106.0) and third-place Air Force (54.5) in the eight-team field.</p>
<p>Senior 125-pounder Fernando Martinez and sophomore 141-pounder Matthew Kyler each won their second-straight individual title, while senior Scott Ferguson grabbed the 184-pound crown and sophomore Richard Starks took top-honors at 197. Five other Army wrestlers finished runner-up for a total of nine Black Knights that wrestled for championships.</p>
<p>The team title marked the first time since 1996 (the second year of the tournament) that Army finished first against its service and military academy rivals. Navy has won seven times in the 14-year history of the tournament, including four-straight entering this season. Army has also finished second eight times, including the past two years.</p>
<p>Martinez, ranked 20th in this week’s NWCA/USA Today/Intermat National polls, improved his record to 28-3 this season with a 12-3 major decision opposite Navy’s Joey Boone in the final match. He earned a 16-0 tech fall over Norwich’s Scott MacLean in the first round, before picking up a 12-4 major decision over The Citadel’s Tyler Sim to reach the championship match.</p>
<p>Kyler, also ranked 20th in this week’s national polls, controlled Air Force’s Jake Kriegbaum en route to a 10-3 decision in the championship bout to improve his season mark to a team-best 32-5. Kyler picked up a 7-0 decision over Navy’s Caleb Levee in the first round and a 19-3 tech fall of Merchant Marine’s James Beshada to earn his second-straight appearance in the finals.</p>
<p>Ferguson upped his season record to 18-3 this season with an 8-2 decision against the Citadel’s Darius Caldwell in the championship match. He made his way to the finals with a pin of Coast Guard’s Dan Miller (4:12) and a 4-1 decision over Air Force’s Jacob Devlin. </p>
<p>Starks, who was the runner-up at 184 during last year’s tournament, earned an emotional pin of Navy’s Matt Parsons (6:06) to not only claim an individual title, but clinch the team championship for Army. Starks, who’s season record stands at 25-5, defeated Coast Guard’s Dan Sorby, 10-3, and picked up a 10-2 major decision opposite Merchant Marine’s Eric Vincent to reach the finals.</p>
<p>Other finalists for Army included senior heavyweight Nathan Thobaben, sophomore Ryan Mergen at 174, senior Christian Snook, who finished runner-up at 157 in his first action in over a month after suffering a knee injury, freshman Casey Thome at 149 and junior Whitt Dunning at 133.</p>
<p>Navy’s Matt Stolpinski was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning his fourth-straight individual title at 174 pounds.</p>
<p>Army heads to Pennsylvania next Saturday (Feb. 9) to take on host Millersville and Delaware Valley, starting at 12:00 p.m.</p>
<p>14th-Annual USAA Academy Wrestling Championships</p>
<p>Team Scores
1. Army 111.0; 2. Navy 106.0; 3. Air Force 54.5; 4. The Citadel 49.5; 5. Merchant Marine 43.0; 6. VMI 34.0; 7. Coast Guard 5.0; 8. Norwich 1.0.</p>
<p>Championship Bouts
125 - #1 Fernando Martinez (Army) maj. #2 Joey Boone (Navy), 12-3
133 - #1 Joe Baker (Navy) maj. #3 Whitt Dunning (Army), 10-2
141 - #1 Matthew Kyler (Army) dec. #3 Jake Kriegbaum (Air Force), 10-3
149 - #1 Bryce Sandoris (Navy) dec. #2 Casey Thome (Army), 6-3
157 - #2 Spencer Manley (Navy) dec. #1 Christian Snook (Army), 4-1
165 - #2 Stephen Crozier (Air Force) pin. #1 Vincent Renaut (Merchant Marine) 4:14
174 - #1 Matt Stolpinski (Navy) pin. #3 Ryan Mergen (Army) 2:22
184 - #1 Scott Ferguson (Army) dec. #2 Darius Caldwell (The Citadel), 8-2
197 - #2 Richard Starks (Army) pin. #1 Matt Parsons (Navy) 6:06
285 - #1 Ed Prendergast (Navy) dec. #2 Nathan Thobaben (Army), 5-3 (OT)</p>
<p>(# before each name is seed for the championship)</p>
<p>James Beshada took 4th at 141
Dan Twito took 3rd at 149
Scott Lowe took 3rd at 157
Vincent Renaut took 2nd at 165 (got injured)
Eric Vincent took 3rd at 197</p>
<p>Good Job KP, a better finish than last year and only six points from 4th place this year. Next seasons All Academy finish will be even better. Tell the wrestlers to keep up the good work, there is still more to accomplish and they are having a heck of a season.</p>