RIT finishes seventh at NCAA Championships
SOURCE: ritathletics.com
March 12, 2022

 


CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - The RIT wrestling team finished seventh with a school record in points at the 2022 NCAA D-III Wrestling Championships, Saturday.

Seniors Kaidon Winters and Zach Stedeford joined junior Austin Lamb as All-Americans after finishing in the top-eight in their weight classes. Freshman Josh Harkless didn't make the podium, but was impressive in his first national tournament in his first year of eligibility.

"Four Qualifiers who contributed toward a school record in scoring as well as team placement at the NCAA Championships. Three All Americans who will be forever celebrated by our program and on our wrestling room walls. What an amazing journey we had this weekend. Looking at the initial brackets it would have been easy to make excuses, as we had three wrestlers with preliminary matches (two in the championship bracket and one in the consolation bracket) and two with either the first or second seeded wrestlers for their first match. The way we responded was amazing. The team peaked at the right time," RIT head wrestling coach Jason Bovenzi said.

"This season the team stepped up in the face of adversity time after time, and in doing so they placed fourth in the nation in the National Dual Meet Championships; a first in program history. They battled COVID and rebounded to solidify our fifth-straight winning season, and we capped it off with an amazing and record setting NCAA tournament. Ten teammates, every family, and several alumni made the trip to watch it all. Both myself and the rest of the coaching staff were proud and humbled by our RIT Wrestling Family. Just wait until next year!"


Winters, who was ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds, finished second after falling 5-3 in overtime in the title bout to No. 3 Nathan Lackman of Rhode Island College. The RIT senior led throughout the match with a 1-0 lead after the second period, and a 2-1 lead late in the third. Winters' 3:27 of riding time was the most of any match in the tournament and the point from that factored into taking the match to overtime after Lackman went ahead 3-2 in the final seconds.

Winters gained a finals berth after a 7-2 semifinal win over No. 5 Tyler Shilson (Augsburg). In the quarterfinals, Winters set a program record with 23 pins in a single season after beating Stanley Bleich (Baldwin Wallace) in 6:36. Winters opened the tournament with a fall over Schuyler Caprella (Ohio Northern) in 5:30.

"What can you say about Kaidon Winters? He has amazed me every day with his work ethic and passion for the sport. Some people live to wrestle. Kaidon wrestles to live. His season ended with him claiming the top spot in our program's history with career wins and pins. Much will come to light in the coming days about Kaidon's finals match. Protocols and procedures will benefit future competitors because of it. With that being said, Kaidon amazed us again, this time with his class. Immediately after the match he said to me 'this one's going to sting for a while.' He followed that up with a message that always stuck with him from his high school coach which was to 'never leave it (your match) in the officials hands.' That attitude at that time helped me move from that moment of devastation, to the realization that both Kaidon and this team have been special in so many ways this year. It has been an honor to coach Kaidon," Bovenzi said.

Stedeford finished sixth after going 3-3 in the tournament with two losses coming against No. 2 Zane Mulder (Wartburg). After suffering a 15-1 major decision to Mulder in the opening round, Stedeford strung together three wins to move to the consolation semifinals, where he fell to Mulder again, this time by a 9-1 score.


Stedeford's first win came against Coe's Tristan Westphal with an 11-5 decision, followed by a 4-1 win over No. 8 Charlie Gryas (Oswego). Stedeford began the second day with a 10-4 win over Stefan Major (Stevens Institute of Technology). In the fifth-place match, Stedeford fell by fall to No. 5 Solomon Nielsen in 6:59.

"Zach Stedeford, up three weight classes from when he competed last prior to the pandemic, drew from all of his experience and guile, and competed for seven minutes in every match treating them like they were his last, and he climbed the podium as an All-American," said Bovenzi.

Lamb finished eighth after going 3-3 in the tournament and won two of his first three matches before an overtime loss ended his streak.

The junior started the tournament with a 7-3 win over Preston Morgan (UW-Oshkosh) before falling to No. 6 Philip Rogers (US Coast Guard Academy) by 7-2. A pair of wrestleback wins on the first day guaranteed Lamb All-American status with a fall (5:43) over Fox Maxwell (Bridgewater State) and a 7-0 win over Jaden Datz (Washington and Jefferson).


Lamb fell 5-3 in overtime in the consolation quarterfinals and then fell in the seventh-place match by fall (1:29) to No. 4 Seth Brossard (UW-LaCrosse).

"Austin Lamb's placement only tells you part of the story. He was in position to win in each match he lost. The margin for error is so small at the National Championships and he proved to everyone that he can compete with anyone. He met one of his goals as a collegiate wrestler when he won his match in the 'blood round' in which he earned All-American honors. His goals will change to be at the top spot in the future. Having completed his second year of college wrestling, we are excited about his future," Bovenzi said.

Harkless finished 1-2 in the tournament with two of his three opponents ranked. Harkless lost a tough 3-2 decision in the opening round to the eventual national champion at 197 pounds, Cody Baldridge of Baldwin Wallace. Unlike Baldridge's championship 3-2 win where he led the entire bout, against Harkless the bout was tied heading into the final 30 seconds.

Harkless' win came by fall against Central's Gage Linahon in 2:47. After facing Baldridge, Harkless fell 3-1 to No. 8 Tyler Hannah (UW-Platteville).

"Freshman 197-pounder Josh Harkless wrestled the top seed and eventual national champion in the first round and gave him his closest match. Josh lost by one and just needed to get one takedown to get the victory. He followed up that match with a pin in the wrestle back and fell on a last second takedown to his final opponent. Josh is very motivated by this experience and we look forward to his very bright future here at RIT," said Bovenzi.

Warburg took the team title with 79 points, one ahead of Wabash. Augsburg and North Central finished with 62.5 points, followed by Stevens Institute of Technology (46.5), Coe (40.5) and RIT (37).


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