NCAA Wrestling Championships
Broncs 1-3 Day Two
PHILADELPHIA, PA-The Rider University wrestlers won one of four matches on Friday at the 81st annual NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, hosted by Rider and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at the Wells Fargo Center. The three Broncs who qualified for Nationals went 5-6 in the tournament."I thought all three of our kids were very competitive," said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. "They beat some good kids. It was a good step forward."
Sophomore Jim Resnick (Media, Pa./Penncrest) defeated Joe Booth of Drexel 5-3 (sv) in the consolations Friday morning before losing 5-1 to Brandon Hatchett of Lehigh. Resnick (21-9) went 2-2 in the tournament. Resnick defeated the tenth seed on Thursday before losing to the seventh seed.
Sophomore Zac Cibula (Luxemburg, Wisconsin/Luxemburg Casco) went 1-2 in the tournament. Friday morning Cibula (28-12) lost 13-5 to Eric Terrazas of Illinois in the second round of consolations.
"The two sophomore gained very valuable experience," Taylor said. "This will help them down the road. They had good seasons and both can get a lot better."
Senior Rob Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) lost 7-5 to Jacob Swartz of Boise in the consolations Friday morning. Morrison went 2-2 in the tournament and finished his final season with a 31-9 record and his career with 84 victories.
"Robbie competed very hard out here," Taylor said. "I think it was a good way for him to end his senior year. Obviously he would have like to place but he competed hard in every match. He beat some very good wrestlers and lost some close matches. I'm very proud of him and the career he had. He accomplished a lot and did a lot for our program."
Morrison was a two-time NCAA qualifier.
Morrison was ranked 20th in the nation in the final regular season rankings and was the top seed in the Colonial Athletic Association 174 pound weight class. Morrison comes from a long line of outstanding Rider wrestlers. His All-American Father Tim Morrison finished fifth at 1983 NCAA Championships, his uncle Dan Morrison entered 1982 NCAA championships 40-0 with 15 pins and his older brother TJ Morrison was four-time NCAA qualifier (2005-08).
Cibula was named the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler, winning his 149 pound weight class. Cibula was a four-time Wisconsin High School State Champion.
Resnick is a local wrestler, growing up just 10 minutes from the South Philadelphia sports complex. This was Resnick's second trip to Nationals in as many seasons.
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