ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Nine of 12 Campbellsville University wrestlers placed in the Top 6 of their weight class Saturday, as the Tigers finished fourth in the NAIA East Region Qualifier at Lindenwood University.
Entering the day, 11 of CU's 12 wrestlers had qualified for the NAIA National Tournament, and the Tigers made it 12 as
Nick Waldrop took home a third-place finish at 157 pounds to punch his ticket to Iowa.
Waldrop, a sophomore from Oakland, Calif., fell in the third round of the winner's bracket but wrestled back with two pins and two decisions in the consolation bracket. He defeated third-seed Vince Hannon of Lindenwood, 4-1, in the third-place match.
The only Tiger to take home the No. 1 seed from the East was
Tim Thurston at 133 pounds. Thurston defeated Wade Low of McKendree University by a 4-2 decision. He wrestled in only two other matches, winning by tech fall and a major decision.
Johnny Papesh (125) and
Tommy Pretty (141) were second-place finishers for Campbellsville. Dante Rini of Notre Dame College got payback against Papesh with a 5-3 decision in the 125-pound final, while Pretty lost to Brett Freeman, 6-1. Freeman is the only wrestler to beat Pretty this season. Both of his wins over the 2010 national champion have come in the past month.
Waldrop was the only third-place finisher for CU, but
Allen Scruggs also advanced to a third-place match. Scruggs finished fourth after losing a 4-2 decision to Lindsey Wilson College's Andrew Hairston. It was the second meeting of the day between the two, as Hairston sent Scruggs to the consolation bracket with a 6-3 decision in round three.
Three Tigers placed fifth in the tournament, as
Matt Milton placed at 149 pounds, followed by
Josh Ashbrook at 174 and
Spencer Adams at 197. All three took fifth-place by forfeit. At 197, the fifth-place match was a rematch of Adams' 13-3 major decision from round one against Dutch Fullerton of Missouri Baptist University. The 174-pound fifth-place match was a near even draw, as
Caleb Browner of Campbellsville was the one who forfeited to Ashbrook to finish sixth. Browner was 2-1 in matches wrestled. Milton was also 2-1 in matches wrestled and took fifth after Lindsey Wilson's Zach McCormick forfeit.
Three other Tigers did not place.
Conor Young and
David Clemens were both two-and-out at 157 pounds and 165 pounds, respectively.
Tyler Alsip was 1-2 in matches wrestled at 133 pounds.
Campbellsville will take a week off before traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the NAIA National Championship Tournament, March 3-5.
