Wrestling

BEREA, OHIO — Baldwin-Wallace College senior 165-pound wrestler Gino Russo (Northfield Center/ Macedonia Nordonia) had a 3-3 record, placed sixth for the second straight season and earned NCAA Division III All-America honors for the second straight year (top eight earn All-America acclaim) as he competed this weekend (Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, 2008) at the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament hosted by Coe (Iowa) College at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

 

Yesterday (Friday, March 7), Russo received a first round bye. In his his first match and in the second round, he lost a 5-2 decision to Justin Hanson of Wartburg (Iowa) College. In the third round and his first round in the consolation bracket, he defeated Frank Heffernan of Wilkes (Pa.) University, 9-7. In his fourth round match, Russo beat eighth-seeded Trent Zempel of Messiah (Pa.) College, 6-5, to advance to the semifinals. With that win, he also earned Division III All-America honors for the second straight year.

 

Today (Saturday, March 8), in the fifth round and consolation quarterfinal, Russo defeated Justin Bonitatas of the College of New Jersey, 12-10, with a late takedown and back points. In the semifinals and sixth round, he suffered his second loss, 6-0, to sixth-seeded Ben Youel of North Central (Ill.) College. In his final match, Russo was pinned by No.1-seeded Tim Palmer of the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse. Russo ended his season with a 27-5 record and had a 92-29 career mark.

 

Russo qualified for this year's NCAA Championship Tournament two weeks ago when he won his second straight 165-pound title at the 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship Tournament.

 

A year ago, Russo advanced to the Division III National Tournament where he earned All-America status with a sixth place finish. With his two wins at the OAC Tournament, Russo also improved his career record to 89-26 overall, including 48-8 the past two seasons.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the 2008 NCAA Division III National Wrestling Championships, please log onto the Coe College Web site at www.coe.edu/ncaawrestling/ .

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION , please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu .To contact Head Coach Rich Fleming , please call 440-826-3258 or e-mail at rfleming@bw.edu . You can get all of the latest B-W athletics information by visiting our Web site at www.bw.edu/athletics.