TULSA, Okla. — When Princeton University’s 125-pounder Patrick Glory made his second straight finals appearance on Saturday night, two All-American wrestlers from Princeton and Rider completed stellar performances earlier in the day at the NCAA Championships.
After falling by a tough one-point decision in the semifinals, Princeton’s 167-pounder Quincy Munday bounced back with two high-quality wins over formidable opponents to finish third.
First, Monday beat Wisconsin’s Dean Hamity 9-7. The Princeton senior then capped off a stellar career with the Tigers, which included a runner-up finish at the national championships last year, with a 3-2 decision over Michigan’s Cameron Amin. Monday’s final record for the year was 27-3.
“It was just heartbreaking, it was really hard, I was really hurt, especially the way (the semi-final) ended,” said the report released on Monday. “I didn’t go out on my terms, so I decided to do it (finish third).”
After losing in the semifinals, 197-pounder Ethan Laird lost two more matches Saturday to finish sixth. Laird’s day started with a 5-2 loss to Cal Poly’s Bernie Truax. He then lost again 7-3 to Iowa’s Jacob Warner in the fifth/sixth match.
Although Laird finished the year with three straight losses, his final record of 28-4 and semifinal appearance was one of the best seasons in Raider wrestling history.
The two New Jersey scholastic wrestlers who placed third were Penn State freshman Shane Van Ness (149 pounds) (Blair Academy) and Cornell (174 pounds) Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic).
As expected, Penn State won the team championship for the 10th time in the last 12 years the tournament has been held, officially locking it in contention.
For the second year in a row, Penn State advanced five wrestlers to the finals. And after the scrimmage was over, Penn State was 45 points ahead of second-place Iowa.
