From NYU Athletics
New York University's three All-American wrestlers -- Brandon Jones, Nathan Pike, and Patrick Sheehan -- wrapped up their stellar seasons at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 14, in Hershey, PA. The trio of grapplers each cemented their status as All-Americans on Friday night, and wrestled Saturday to determine placing.
NYU will finish the event with 31 points. The squad heads into tonight's final round in 11th place.
Jones (141), a three-time All-American, finished in fourth place. He began the day defeating Michael Ferinde of Johnson & Wales with a 9-5 decision. The senior captain followed that up with an 11-5 consolation semifinal victory against sixth-seeded Nick Stegar of Loras College to earn a spot in the third-place match. Jones was defeated in his final bout against top-seeded Kaleb Loht of Messiah College.
"Brandon's our first three-time All-American and he's absolutely one of the best wrestlers to attend NYU," said Head Coach Bruce Haberli. "He had a poor draw but never complained once, He's been a great role model and great leader, he's going to succeed at whatever he does. There is no doubt."
The West Des Moines, IA, native finishes his career as one of the most successful NYU wrestlers of all time. In addition to being a three-time All-American, Jones won three regional titles, was named All-University Athletic Association (UAA) three times and ends his career with a 65-10 (.867) record in an NYU singlet.
Pike (133) opened up Saturday's session with his second one-point win of the tournament, defeating fourth-seeded Connor Campo of Wartburg College in a 9-8 decision. In the consolation semifinals, Pike was upended by sixth-seeded Evan Obert of Luther College by a tough 7-3 decision. He then fell in a tight fifth-place bout to top-seeded Nathaniel Giorgio of the United States Coast Guard Academy. The junior wraps up his first season at NYU with an impressive 25-9 record.
"Nathan is a tremendous wrestler and won some big matches this season," added Haberli. "If he keeps working on and off the mat, I think he could wrestle for the national championship next year."
Sheehan dropped his first bout of the day, falling to fourth-seeded Christopher Chorzepa of Williams College. In the seventh-place bout he avenged a loss from earlier this season and defeated third-seeded Tyler Beckwith of SUNY Cortland 7-2. He finishes his senior season with a 26-5 record.
"I'm proud of the way Patrick bounced back after a difficult draw," explained Haberli. "His two wins last night to earn All-American status show how determined he is. We're going to miss his leadership, but he's another guy I know will succeed going forward."
In addition to the three All-Americans, NYU freshman Jacob Donato also qualified for the NCAA Championships. The 125-pounder fell one bout short of All-American status in his rookie season.
"Jacob showed how good he can be these last few weeks," concluded Haberli. "He beat the NCAA third-place winner (Johns Hopkins' Paul Bewak) at regionals to get here. To make it as far as he did as a freshman is impressive, there's no reason to believe he won't get back here next year."