March 8, 2009

Final Brackets

YPSILANTI, Mich. - After the final day of competition, the Ohio wrestling team finished the weekend in sixth place at the 2009 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships. Four Bobcats placed in the top four of their respective weight class, including redshirt junior Clay Tucker who placed third at 157 pounds.

Central Michigan took the team title for the eighth-straight year, followed by Kent State, Northern Illinois, Buffalo and host Eastern Michigan.

At 133 pounds, Ohio's Quentin Keyes (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) faced Kevin Smith of Buffalo in the fifth-place match and won an 8-5 decision to earn fifth. Keyes finished the year with an 18-13 ledger, the second-most wins on the team. At 141, sophomore Germane Lindsey wrestled Northern Illinois' Pat McLemore in the consolation finals and dropped an 8-5 decision to place fourth. Lindsey ended the season 10-9 for the year.

In his third-place performance, Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) lost the championship bout to NIU's Bryan Deutsch by a score of 12-7 and was defeated by Central Michigan's Tyler Grayson in the second-place match, 5-2. He ends the season with a 21-16 record, the first 20-win season of his career and the most wins for Ohio this year.

Redshirt freshman Nick Purdue (Genoa, Ohio) battled Kent State's Chris Estep in the consolation finals at 174 and lost a tight 2-1 match to finish in fourth place. He closes the season with an 18-13 mark, tied for second on the team in wins with Keyes. At 184 pounds, sophomore Erik Schuth (Spencerport, N.Y.) claimed fifth place due to a forfeit by Derek Foore of Eastern Michigan and finished the year 12-6.

Finally at heavyweight, redshirt freshman Andy Hartshorn (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) finished in fourth place after losing a close 2-0 decision to David Wade of the host Eagles. He wraps up the season with a 13-14 record.

The Bobcats round out the 2008-09 season at 9-9-1 overall and 3-2 in league action, which tied for third place in the MAC in the regular season.