Myers secures All-American honors for second straight year

LA CROSSE, Wis. - The first day of the 2012 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships is in the books at the LaCrosse Center in La Crosse, Wis. Olivet College junior James Myers (Indian Creek, Ohio/Monroe) posted a 2-1 record today and has secured All-American honors for a second straight year, while the other four Comet wrestlers have dropped out of the tournament.

Seeded eighth at 165 pounds, Myers scored seven points in the third period to beat Quint Eno from Elizabethtown (Pa.) College, 9-5, in the first round. The match was tied at 2-2 to start the third period. After Eno got a two-point near-fall, Myers quickly escaped and took Eno right to his back for a takedown and his own two-point near-fall in the final 33 seconds of the match. He fell to No. 1 seed Nick LeClere from Coe (Iowa) College, 8-1, in the quarterfinals.

In his first consolation match, Myers bounced back with a 19-2 technical fall victory over Ryan Renon from Lakeland (Wis.) College. He used a takedown and eight total near-fall points to take a 10-2 lead after one period. Myers then got a reversal and six more back points in the second period to close out the match. He will face Nicholas Sanko from Ithaca (N.Y.) College tomorrow morning.

Junior Logan Renas (Big Rapids), the seventh seed at 285 pounds, bowed out of the tournament with a 1-2 record. He defeated Patrick Walsh from Bridgewater State (Mass.) University, 8-2, in his first round match. There was no scoring in the first period. After choosing to go on bottom to start the second period, Renas scored a reversal with 28 seconds left and two-point near-fall a short time later to go up 4-0. Those would be the only points he would need, as Renas also scored two takedowns during the third period.

In the quarterfinals, he was shutout by No. 2 seed Chad Johnson from Augsburg (Minn.) College, 9-0. Down in the consolation bracket, Renas dropped a 4-3 decision to top seed Derick Hesson from University of Mount Union (Ohio). After trailing 3-1 entering the final period, he got a reversal to tie the match but Hesson earned an escape point to gain the win.

Senior Trevor Tyler (Roscommon), seeded No. 7 at 174 pounds, ended his collegiate wrestling career with a 1-2 record. He lost his first round match, 11-5, to Matt Cross from Messiah (Pa.) College. He was unable to recover from three takedowns in the opening period.

Dropping down to the consolation bracket, Tyler led his next match from start-to-finish, beating Matt Heisey from York (Pa.) College, 11-7. He ended his collegiate career with a tough 14-10 loss to top seed Jules Doliscar from Ithaca (N.Y.).

Sophomore Robbie Bidlingmaier (Chesterfield Twp./Anchor Bay) and senior Justin Leonard (Webberville) each lost two matches and were eliminated from the tournament. In the 125-pound bracket, Bidlingmaier fell to Sean Ambrocio from Concordia (Wis.) University, 6-1, and was pinned by Brandon Gauthier from Rhode Island College. Leonard dropped 14-3 and 13-4 major decisions in his two matches.

Action resumes Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CT.