Cortland Wins Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Team Title
Four Red Dragons Qualify for NCAA Championships

Joe Murphy won his second straight conference title and became the fifth Cortland wrestler to reach 100 career wins

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Three wrestlers won conference titles and all 10 entries finished in the top four of their weight classes to lead Cortland to the team crown at the nine-team Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) Championships, hosted by RIT.

Cortland won its fourth league title overall and third in four years. The Red Dragons finished first previously in 1999 and 2007 and was co-champion in 2008. Cortland finished with 141.5 points, followed by Brockport (126), Ithaca (124.5) and Lycoming (117) in a tight top four.

Seniors Mike Ciaburri (Palmyra/Palmyra-Macedon), Martino Sottile (Brentwood) and Joe Murphy (St. James/Smithtown) won individual titles to automatically qualify for the NCAA Div. III Championships March 5-6 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Murphy also became the fifth wrestler in Cortland history to reach the 100-career win mark.

Junior Aljamain Sterling (Uniondale) finished second at 133 pounds and was one of five "wild card" selections to the NCAA Div. III Championships in a vote of the league's coaches. In addition, Cortland head coach Brad Bruhn was voted as the ECWC Coach of the Year for the third time. He also won the award in 2006 and 2008. Bruhn guided the Red Dragons to a 16-4 dual-match record in addition to their league title.

Ciaburri won as the third seed at 174 pounds with a 3-0 record. He defeated the second seed and defending champion David Priest of Ithaca in the semifinals, 3-2, and also won 3-2 in the finals against top-seeded Chris Wade fo Oneonta. He'll bring a 25-8 record into his first NCAA Championship appearance. Ciaburri was the ECWC second-place finisher at 174 pounds last year.

Sottile entered the 197-pound bracket as the top seed and won all three of his matches. He beat fourth-seeded Tom Voorhis of Brockport in the semifinals 6-1 in overtime and posted a 6-1 win in the finals over second-seeded David Sbriscia of Ithaca. Sottile, last year's 184-pound runner-up, is 21-8 on the season. He's making his first NCAA showing in his second year at Cortland after wrestling two seasons at Nassau Community College.

Murphy successfully defended his ECWC heavyweight title with three victories to earn a return trip to nationals. The top seed in the bracket, Murphy notched his 100th career victory with an opening 18-5 major decision versus Messiah's Zane Bachert. He won 2-0 in the semifinals over Brockport's Patrick Krenz and won 2-1 in the title bout versus Ithaca's Joe Goetz. Murphy is 32-5 this winter and 102-38 in his Red Dragon career.

Sterling finished second at 133 pounds with a 2-1 mark. The top seed, Sterling won by technical fall in the first round and was a 1-0 winner n the semifinals, but lost to Ithaca Chad Winowich in the finals, 3-1. Sterling is 23-6 entering his first NCAA appearance.

Five Red Dragons earned third-place finishes. Freshman Sean Kempf (Wantagh/MacArthur) was 3-2 at 125 pounds, sophomore Mark Arcara (Harrison) finished 3-1 at 141 pounds, junior Stephen Perez (Bronx/Francis Lewis) was 3-1 at 149 pounds, senior Kevin Sackett (Webster/Webster Thomas) went 3-1 at 157 pounds and senior Will Brodfuehrer (Canastota) was 4-2 at 165 pounds. Freshman Jared Myhrberg (Queensbury) finished fourth at 184 pounds with a 3-2 record, but just missed on a third-place showing. He lost 3-1 in overtime in the third-place match. Perez was named as the league's second alternate to the NCAA Championships and will compete if two of the qualifiers are unable to attend.