For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Wrestling Contact:  Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

For more information on Navy Athletics, log on to www.NavySports.com

The Road to the 83rd NCAA Wrestling Championship

Date:  March 21-23, 2013

Location:  Des Moines, Iowa

Venue:  Wells Fargo Arena (17,100)

Navy’s dual record:  6-1, 3-1 EIWA

History:  Navy’s best finish was fourth in 1954 ... the Mids finished 48th last year ... Penn State is the defending champion.

All-Americans under Bruce Burnett:  Mark Conley (2001, ‘02), Frank Edwards (2003), Matt Stolpinski (2007, ‘08), Joe Baker (2008, ‘09), Ed Prendergast (2008), Bryce Saddoris (2009, ‘11).

Highest Finish under Bruce Burnett:  18th in 2007 and ‘08

Television:  Sessions 1, 2, 3 on ESPN3 (internet), Sessions 3, 4, 5 on ESPNU, Session 5 on ESPN.

Live Stats:  Available via TrackWrestling.com 

Schedule of Events  (CT)

Thursday, March 21

Session 1 (Pigtails, Round of 32): 11:00 am, ESPN3

Session 2 (Round of 16, Wrestleback Prelims): 6:30 pm, ESPN3

Friday, March 22

Session 3 (Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks): 10:00 am, ESPNU/ESPN3

Session 4 (Semifinals, Wrestlebacks): 6:00 pm, ESPNU

Saturday, March 23

Session 5 (Consolation Semifinals, Medal Rounds 3rd-8th): 10:00 am, ESPNU

Session 6 (Championship Finals): 7:00 pm, ESPN

• Six members of the Navy wrestling team will begin their quest for a national title on Thursday morning when they make journey Des Moines, Iowa for the 83rd NCAA Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Arena. Session 1 of the tournament is set to begin at 11:00 am (central) / 12:00 pm (eastern).

• Representing Navy is two-time NCAA qualifier Bobby Barnhisel (River Forest, Ill.), along with 149-pound junior Ray Borja (Virginia Beach, Va.), 165-pound sophomore Peyton Walsh (Glen Allen, Va.), 174-pound freshman Mathew Miller (Edgewood, Md.), 184-pound senior Mason Bailey (Fairmont, W.Va.) and senior heavyweight Dan Miller (Berlin, Md.) who will make their debut at the national tournament.

• All six of Navy’s NCAA qualifiers earned automatic berths via their placement at the EIWA Championship held at The RAC in Piscataway, N.J., on March 8-9, including Dan Miller who was crowned the 2013 EIWA Heavyweight Champion.  

• Navy has placed among the top 25 in three of the last six championships, including back-to-back 18th-place finishes in 2007 and ‘08 which is its best placement since 1990 when Navy finished 13th.

• The program’s best finish in NCAA Tournament action was a fourth-place finish in 1954.

• Navy has won three national titles, by two men - Pete Blair won the 191-pound title in 1954 and `55, while Dan Muthler earned the crown in 1973 at 142 pounds.

• At least one Navy wrestler has participated in the NCAA Championship in each of the last 17 years, including all 13 under head coach Bruce Burnett.

• This is Navy’s 65th NCAA Tournament appearance ... in addition to winning three individual titles, 61 All-America citations have been awarded to Navy wrestlers over the years, including 10 by six different wrestlers under Bruce Burnett’s direction ... among those All-Americans, Mark Conley, Matt Stolpinski, Joe Baker and Bryce Saddoris garnered honors multiple times during Burnett’s tenure.

First-Round Matches

149 - Raymond Borja (22-7) vs. Tyler Bedelyon, Clarion (20-14)

157 - #15 Bobby Barnhisel (32-6) vs. #17 David Bonin, Northern Iowa (26-7)

165 - Peyton Walsh (28-11) vs. the winner of #13 Mike Ottinger, Central Michigan (23-13) / Ryan Leblanc, Indiana (22-8)

174 - (12 seed) #10 Mathew Miller (24-5) vs. #13 John-Martin Cannon, Buffalo (11-8)

184 - #17 Mason Bailey, Navy (29-13) vs. John Rizqallah, Michigan State (23-9)

285 - #19 Dan Miller (21-11) vs. (10 seed) #7 Jarod Trice, Central Michigan (22-4)

149 — Raymond Borja, Jr. (22-7, 3-2 dual)

• Making his NCAA Championship debut, Borja will face Clarion’s Tyler Bedelyon in his opening-round bout ... a junior and first-time NCAA qualifier, Bedelyon received an at-large bid to the tournament after putting together a 20-14 record and placed fourth at the EWL Championship ... Borja and Bedelyon met up in the second round of the Clarion Knight Point Open where Bedelyon dealt Borja a 3-1 loss in what was Borja’s first tournament of hte year.

• Holds a 3-5 record against the field, including wins over Air Force’s Cole VonOhlen, American’s Kevin Tao and Cornell’s Chris Villalonga.

• Placed third at the EIWA Championship to earn an automatic bid to participate in the NCAA Championship.

• Prior to this season had never reached double digit wins.

157 — Bobby Barnhisel, Sr. (32-6, 4-1 dual)

• Ranked 15th nationally, he is making his second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance ... dropped back-to-back matches at last year’s championship to Frank Hickman of Bloomsburg (Fall, 2:41) and Eastern Michigan’s Aaron Sulzer (8-3).

• Seeded third at the EIWA Championship, Barnhisel lost his semifinals match against Lehigh’s Joey Napoli to fall to the wrestlebacks ... pinned fourth-seeded Scott Winston of Rutgers and won his third-place match by way of a 4-0 shutout over fifth-seeded Jake O’Hara of Columbia.

• Holds a 7-4 record against the field, including wins over Ohio State’s Josh Demas, Boise State’s Georgi Ivanov, South Dakota’s Cody Pack, The Citadel’s Mathew Frisch, Air Force’s Joshua Kreimier, Rutgers’ Scott Winston and Columbia’s Jake O’Hara.

• Began the season by winning 19 of his first 20 matches including each of the first 14 bouts.

• Won four tournament titles - Eastern Michigan Open, Roadrunner Open, Navy Classic, All-Academy Championship - and placed among the top four in two others - Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (4th) and EIWA Championship (3rd).

• Heads into the tournament with a four-year mark of 67-27.

• His 32 wins this season are tied as the fifth-most wins at his weight class in program history ... he is the 28th different wrestler in Navy history to reach 30 wins in a season ... 32 wins are tied as the 31st most in school history.

• Slated to meet 17th-ranked David Bonin of Northern Iowa in the opening round, who owns a 26-7 record ... Bonin, the reigning MAC Champion at 157 pounds, is a three-time NCAA qualifier.

165 — Peyton Walsh, So. (28-11, 6-1 dual)

• Entering the tournament with a 6-6 record against the NCAA field, Walsh is a first-time NCAA qualifier.

• Punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship by way of his fourth-place finish at the EIWA Championship.

• Unseeded, he will battle the winner of the Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) vs. Ryan Leblanc (Indiana) pigtail match ... Ottinger, a sophomore, holds a 23-13 record and is coming off a Mid-American Conference title at 165 pounds ... ranked 13th nationally, Leblanc owns a 22-8 record and qualified for nationals with a seventh-place showing at the Big Ten Championship.

• Needs just two wins to reach the 30-win club becoming only the 29th different wrestler to do so in school history ... one of four Navy wrestlers to post at least 25 wins this season.

• Walsh’s 28 wins are the fourth most at the 165-pound weight class in school history ... the record is 31 set by Frank Edwards in 2002-03 and later tied by Matt DeMichiel in 2008-09.

174 — Mathew Miller, Fr. (24-5, 5-2 dual)

• Earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship after placing second at the EIWA Championship. 

• Ranked nearly the entire season, Miller owns a 5-5 record against the field and is ranked 10th heading into the Championship.

• Opened the year by winning 12 of his first 13 matches, including 11 straight.

• Has won three tournament titles - Eastern Michigan Open, Roadrunner Open, All-Academy Championship - while placing second at the EIWA Championship and fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

• Navy’s only seeded wrestler, he received the 12th seed and will face 13-ranked John-Martin Cannon of Buffalo ... a redshirt senior, Cannon is making his third appearance at the NCAA Championship and is coming off a second-place finisher at the Mid-American Conference Championship ... he enters the tournament with an 11-8 record.

184 — Mason Bailey, Sr. (29-13, 4-3 dual)

• Earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship after placing second at the EIWA Championship. 

• Owns a 3-9 record against the field and is on tap to meet Michigan State’s John Rizqallah in the opening round ... Rizqallah, who boasts a 23-9 record, received an at-large bid.

• Placed among the top eight in all seven of the tournaments in which he wrestled, including the top three in a trio of tourneys.

• Needs just two wins to reach the 30-win club, becoming only the 29th different wrestler to do so in school history ... one of four Navy wrestlers to post at least 25 wins this season.

• The 29 wins by Bailey are tied as the fifth most in school history at 184 pounds.  Antonio Miranda set the record in 2006-07 with 33 victories.

285 — Dan Miller, Sr. (21-11, 5-2 dual)

• Earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship after winning his first EIWA Championship title ... Miller is Navy’s first EIWA individual champion since 2009 when both Joe Baker (133) and Bryce Saddoris (149) took home titles ... he is also the Mids’ first heavyweight to win a title since Ed Prendergast won back-to-back crowns in 2007 and ‘08.  

• Beat both the No. 1 (Billy Smith, Rutgers) and No. 2 seeds (Blake Herrin, American) at the EIWA Championship ... lost to both competitors during the regular season ... also defeated fifth-seeded Joe Stolfi at the EIWA Championship ... all three of Miller’s EIWA foes are also competing at the NCAA Championship.

• Ranked 19th, he owns a 6-7 record against the field and will face 10th-seeded Jarod Trice of Central Michigan in his opening match on Thursday ... Trice, ranked seventh in the country, has put together a 22-4 record and placed second at the Mid-American Conference Championship.

### Go Navy ###

--
Stacie Michaud
Navy Associate Sports Information Director
566 Brownson Rd. | Annapolis, MD  21402
410.293.8773 | 410.212.3761 cell
www.NavySports.com