Wrestlers qualify three

In one of the closest EIWA championships in years, the Penn wrestling team qualified three wrestlers to Nationals and finished in sixth place as a team. Gary Baker, Brandon Slay and Joe Allen all qualified for Nationals March 17-19 by placing second, third and second, respectively, at the EIWAs March 4-5. Two other wrestlers placed for the Quakers. Sean O'Hara, 134 pounds, entered the tournament seeded eighth but wrestled extremely well to place fourth. Senior Brian Butler, 190 pounds, who was top seeded entering the championships finished in fifth place. Although last year Penn placed higher, fifth, at the EIWAs, this year's squad earned more team points, and qualified more wrestlers to Nationals. "The team race this year was very close," Quaker coach Roger Reina said. "At different times in the tournament the team was as low as ninth and as high as third. I've never seen so close a team competition." Although Syracuse, ranked 18th nationally, was the clear No. 1, the second through sixth place finishers were all within a few points of each other. If Penn had won just one more match in the later rounds the team would have finished fourth. The Quakers entered the championships with lofty goals and seemed dissatisfied with the sixth-place finish despite wrestling well. "It was a little disappointing," Allen said. "We got some bad breaks." Wrestling in his first EIWA championships, Allen, a sophomore heavyweight, did not disappoint, finishing second. "I knew it would be tough competition," Allen said. "There were five top 20 wrestlers there in my weight class. I just wanted to place in the top three and qualify for Nationals." Allen qualified in dramatic fashion, by defeating two opponents in overtime before losing in the finals to Navy's Dan Hicks, ranked 11th nationally. In the quarterfinals Allen defeated Cornell senior, and high school nemesis, Bruce Morgan, 9-4, in overtime. Earlier this year Allen defeated Morgan to seal a Quaker victory over the Big Red, this time Allen's victory sealed his spot at Nationals. With the score tied at 4 at the end of regulation Allen recorded a two-point takedown, and three back points simultaneously to win the sudden-death overtime. Earlier in the tournament, Allen, ranked 19th nationally, defeated Syracuse freshman Bill Gleaseman, ranked 13th. Allen again locked up the victory during a 5-3 sudden-death overtime win. In the finals, Hicks, a junior, won 6-4. Allen was happy with his performance against Hicks, ranked 11th. Baker, a captain who has been Penn's most consistent wrestler this year, also made it to the finals. Baker, a senior who wrestles at 118 pounds, entered the EIWAs with the top seed. He easily defeated his first two opponents recording a major decision and a pin. In the semifinals Baker had his first test, as he defeated Todd Thornburg of Army 7-3. In the finals Baker narrowly lost to second-seeded Jeff Cervone, 6-5. Baker came back from a 4-1 deficit, but he was unable to come away with the win. Slay, a freshman who wrestles at 167 pounds, will also be competing this weekend at Nationals, after his third-place finish at EIWAs. Slay lost in the semifinals to Rick Hepp, from Lehigh. Hepp was an NCAA all-American in 1993, and is currently ranked fourth in the country. Slay bounced back from the loss to defeat Kevin Sheridan of Rutgers 8-3. After qualifying for Nationals last weekend, Slay, Baker and Allen spent spring break practicing twice a day in order to prepare for what Reina calls "the pinnacle of collegiate wrestling." This weekend 32 wrestlers per weight class will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., where they will battle it out in the Dean Dome in front of more than 10,000 spectators. During the week Slay, Baker and Allen also practiced at the Fox Catcher Wrestling Club. Fox Catcher is a prestigious club outside Philadelphia where wrestlers train for the Olympics. "We're a little bit sore and banged up after this week," Allen said. "This year I just want experience, if I win a match I'll be happy." Baker is probably Penn's best chance for all-American. If one of the Quakers can place in the top eight out of the 32 per weight class, he will earn all-America honors. In a season which saw Penn win its first Ivy title in 22 years, break the single-season record for victories with 18, then send three wrestlers to Nationals, an all-American would be the perfect ending to an already impressive year.