Wrestling News

LaFORGE FINISHES AS 141-POUND NATIONAL RUNNER-UP
Senior Becomes 51st All-American In Aggie History

DUBUQUE (IA) - Delaware Valley College senior wrestler Ricky LaForge (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Indian Hills) finished as the NCAA Division III 141-pound runner-up and earned All-America honors at the national championships held at Loras College.

LaForge, the No. 2 seed, dropped a 7-3 decision to top-seeded Quincy Osborn of Augsburg in what was a battle of former Division I national qualifiers. LaForge, who transferred from Hofstra, took an early 2-0 lead as he registered a takedown just 25 seconds into the match. Osborn, a University of Minnesota transfer, escaped a minute later and the first period ended with LaForge up by a 2-1 margin.

LaForge chose the down position to start the second period, but Osborn rolled him over for a two-point near fall and a 3-2 lead just 52 seconds into the stanza. It remained that way into the third as Osborn chose the neutral position for the final period. Osborn registered a takedown 35 seconds in for a 5-2 lead. LaForge was penalized a point for stalling to make it 6-2. LaForge earned an escape with 14 seconds remaining, but Osborn (49-2) had more than two minutes of riding time for another point and the 7-3 final.

LaForge finished with a 32-3 record in his lone season with the Aggies and ended his collegiate career with a 114-33 mark. He became the 51st All-American (top eight finish) in Delaware Valley wrestling history and the fourth wrestler in as many years to reach the NCAA Division III finals (Josh Housekeeper was the 184-pound runner-up in 2004 while Jamall Johnson was the 197-pound runner-up in 2005 and the national champion last year).

LaForge reached the finals with relative ease as, after a bye in the preliminaries, he needed just 48 seconds to pin Derrick Smith of Oswego State in his opening match. LaForge made even quicker work of seventh-seeded David Manoogian of Case Western in Friday's quarterfinals as he dropped him in 40 seconds.

LaForge never trailed in Saturday morning's semifinal match as he registered two takedowns, a pair of escapes and had riding time for a 7-4 victory over sixth-seeded Michael Bonora (48-3) of Rhode Island College

Junior 157-pounder Ryan Herwig (Glen Burnie, MD/Mt. St. Joseph's) and sophomore heavyweight Kyle Bilquist (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) also competed at the NCAA Division III Championships but were eliminated on Friday.

For the second straight year, Herwig (33-15) reached the third round of consolations and was one victory away from a top eight finish and All-American honors before being eliminated from the tournament.

Herwig dropped a 10-8, overtime heartbreaker to No. 8 Pat McAuley of Cornell in the first round to fall into the consolation bracket. He recovered by pinning unseeded Ryan Higgins of Oneonta State in just 61 seconds and followed with a 15-10 victory over unseeded Mark DeCiccio of Springfield. However, Herwig's run came to an end as he dropped a 9-1 major decision to third-seeded Aaron Wernimont of Wartburg.

Bilquist was ranked as high as third during the year, but his loss in the regional finals dropped him out of the rankings and seedings for the national tournament. He was paired with fourth-seeded John Miller of Luther in the opening round and Miller avenged an earlier-season loss (Bilquist pinned Miller in the first period at the National Duals) by dropping Bilquist in 4:30.

Bilquist then took on unseeded Andrew Neumann of No. 1 Augsburg in the consolation bracket and was pinned with 28 seconds left in the first period (2:32). Bilquist's first season with the Aggies ended with a 38-7 record.

Delaware Valley finished in 18th place in the team standings with 23 points. Augsburg easily outdistanced Wartburg for the national title.

HOW DELAWARE VALLEY COLLEGE WRESTLERS FARED
Ricky LaForge - 141 pounds - (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Indian Hills) - Seeded 2nd out of 20 Wrestlers
Championship Preliminaries (Friday): Bye
Championship First Round (Friday): Won by fall over Derrick Smith (Oswego State), 0:48
Championship Quarterfinals (Friday): Won by fall over #7 David Manoogian (Case Western), 0:40
Championship Semifinals (Saturday): Won by decision over #6 Michael Bonora (Rhode Island Coll.), 7-4
Championship Finals (Saturday): Lost by decision to #1 Quincy Osborn (Augusburg), 7-3
- LaForge, a senior, finished with a 32-3 record and 141-pound national runner-up. He also became the 51st All-American in Aggie wrestling history -

Ryan Herwig - 157 pounds - (Glen Burnie, MD/Mt. St. Joseph's) - Unseeded out of 17 Wrestlers
Championship Preliminaries (Friday): Bye
Championship First Round (Friday): Lost by decision to #8 Pat McAuley (Cornell), 10-8 OT
Consolation First Round (Friday): Won by fall over Ryan Higgins (Oneonta State), 1:01
Consolation Second Round (Friday): Won by decision over Mark DeCiccio (Springfield), 15-10
Consolation Third Round (Friday): Lost by major decision to #3 Aaron Wernimont (Wartburg), 9-1
- Herwig, a two-time national qualifier, saw his season end with a 33-15 record -

Kyle Bilquist - 285 pounds - (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) - Unseeded out of 15 Wrestlers
Championship First Round (Friday): Lost by fall to #4 John Miller (Luther), 4:30
Consolation First Round (Friday): Lost by fall to Andrew Neumann (Augsburg), 2:32
- Bilquist, a sophomore, saw his season end with a 38-7 record -