March 1, 2008

Brackets
Team Standings

Johnstown, Pa. -Junior Brian Pogel and sophomore Andy Lamancusa entered the 2008 NCAA Division II East Region Wrestling Championships as the No. 1 seed in their weight classes and they finished on top, winning individual titles and in the process helped the Lakers to a third-place team finish.

For Lamancusa, it was his second-consecutive East Region title at 157 pounds. Pogel, despite being a junior, was in his first appearance at the regional and with his 5-2 win over Latra Collick of Newberry in the finals, he notched his 33rd win of the season, setting a new school record for wins in a season.

Red-shirt freshman Josh Shields, also in his first regional appearance, placed second at 174, senior Hudson Harrison took third at 165 and Trevor Gallo also took third at 197 pounds. Junior Bryan Wolff placed fifth at 184, as well.

As a team, the Lakers finished in third with 87 points. Newberry earned 129.5 points to dethrone five-time defending champion Pitt-Johnstown, which finished as the runner-up.

Both of Pogel wins on Saturday were by decision. He downed Kayne Melko of West Liberty State 3-2 in the semis before his winning his title bout 5-2.

Lamancusa exacted some revenge in the semifinals, defeating Mikel Bush of Limestone, 9-4. Bush had defeated Lamancusa in the final seconds of a dual two weeks ago. In the finals, Lamancusa cashed his second-straight ticket to the NCAA Championships with a 4-2 win over sixth-seeded Phil Bliss of Belmont Abbey.

Harrison fell in the semis to third-seeded J.J. Davis but earned his fourth trip to nationals with a 10-1 major decision over Shippensburg's Jacob Wilson.

Shields also reached the championship bout but fell to third-seeded Albert Miles of UPJ, 7-4. Shields still earned his first berth to nationals. Gallo also will make his first nationals appearance after downing West Liberty State's Mitch Knapp for third place.

The five Lakers travel to the national championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa on March 14-15.