The end of this year’s wrestling season has arrived and Shippensburg finished with an overall record of 7-13 and 1-6 in the PSAC. It was an up and down year for the young team but the postseason was very friendly to the Raiders. The team traveled to West Virginia for the NCAA super Region 1 Championships on Friday and Saturday. The weekend would end up being a great showing for Coach Bloomquist and his team.
Friday:
The first day was filled with tons of action and matchups for all ten Shippensburg wrestlers.
Junior Cameron Throckmorton, the Raiders’ highest-ranked performer, kicked things off by winning both of his matches, one by pin and the other by decision.
Joining Throckmorton was Dante Steffenino, Karl Lightner, Mike Hafer, Jalal Paige, Arthur Watkins, and Mike Springer. All of the wrestlers that advanced won at least two of their matches on Friday, an excellent showing for the program.
The team finished ninth as a group and had seven wrestlers advance to competition on Saturday.
Saturday:
Of the seven competitors for Shippensburg, four ended the weekend with a ticket to St. Louis to compete in the National championships, the most to make the trip since the 2006-07 season.
Once again Throckmorton led the way despite suffering from an illness throughout the weekend. The junior punched his ticket very quickly but couldn’t compete for the championship on Saturday for medical reasons.
The three other wrestlers to advance were Springer, Lightner, and Paige.
Springer battled back after being down multiple times over the weekend and was able to reach the national championship by taking down the 8th, 6th, and 4th seeded competitors in the tournament.
Lightner won all three of his matches at 133 pounds, securing a third-place finish in his weight class. He scored a 15-5 revenge win over Gannon’s Aaron Smith, and avenged another loss to Long Island University Post’s Joe Calderone, the No. 2 seed, with an 8-2 win that guaranteed his his first NCAA Championship appearance.
Paige ensured his second straight trip to nationals with several close wins at 197 pounds. The sophomore beat Seton Hill’s Morris Lawson with a 6-3 decision, and scored a 4-3 decision over Notre Dame’s Garrett Linton.
Coach Bloomquist commented that he was very proud of his team as they finished seventh overall and sent a large number of wrestlers to nationals. The four Raiders will travel to St. Louis on March 13 for the National Championship.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.