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By DOUG PAPE [email protected]
Thursday, February 28, 2002 Page: 1B
Prior to a recent practice, Dave Shafer place-kicked a volleyball off the wall
of the King’s College wrestling room.
What place does a volleyball have in a wrestling room? Was the
dirt-darkened ball his friend? Tom Hanks’ character in the movie “Castaway”
had a volleyball buddy named “Wilson.”
No, Shafer’s little game of kickball was more symbolic than anything. He
and teammates Mitch Marcks, Jim Morgan and Jason Schlingman are taking a
relaxed attitude into this weekend’s NCAA Division III Wrestling
Championships.
“The nerves are off right now. This is fun and I’m sure the guys will say
the exact same thing,” Shafer said. “We’re going in to this with no nerves
and to give it everything we got and I think we’ll do fine.”
Session one of the tournament, which is co-hosted by King’s and the
University of Scranton, begins tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at the First Union Arena
with preliminary and first rounds along with consolation first and second
rounds. Session two begins at 6 p.m., with the quarterfinals followed by
third- and fourth-round consolations.
Session three begins at 11 a.m. Saturday with the semifinals, followed by
quarterfinal and semifinal consolations. The consolation matches for third,
fifth and seventh place start at 5 p.m. and the finals are at 7:30.
Shafer, a junior 157-pounder, and Marcks, a sophomore at 125, have the best
chances to place high in the event. The top-eight finishers earn All-American
status.
Shafer, 22, a Hazleton Area product, was an alternate in last year’s event
and didn’t get to wrestle. That fueled him to a 32-1 record this season and
the Middle Atlantic Conference title, which automatically qualified him for
nationals. He was selected as the Outstanding Wrestler at the MACs.
“I’m just thankful more than anything because I was real close last year
and I knew I could do it this year,” he said. “If I go out there and give it
everything I got, I have a good shot of making it far in the tournament.”
Marcks, 19, is making his second trip to nationals. He earned one of two
MAC wild-card berths last year after finishing second in the league. He
compiled a 35-2 record en route to the MAC title this season.
“I think the second time will be a lot better,” he said. “I was a
freshman last year, but this year, as a sophomore, I’m more prepared and
hopefully the nerves won’t be as high.”
Morgan, a sophomore 149-pounder, is also making a return trip to Division
III’s grandest event. The Scranton native was the 141-pound MAC champ last
season, but finished second at 149 at the recent league championships and got
a wild-card berth to nationals. The 20-year-old takes a 24-5 record into the
event.
“Last year I had an idea of what to expect, but it was totally different
from what I pictured,” he said. “Last year, kind of just being there was
good enough, this year I know what it’s about and I want to go out there and
do well in it.”
Schlingman, a senior Meyers product, is the lone returning All-American for
the Monarchs after finishing eighth at nationals last season. The 184-pounder
compiled a 32-6 record. He got a wild-card berth to nationals after finishing
second to Delaware Valley’s Andy Povenski at MACs for the third consecutive
year.
“At Christmas break I was probably the lowest of my season,” Schlingman,
23, said after a poor showing at the Division III National Duals at Ohio
State. “I’m starting to come back up now. I’m feeling good and hopefully I
can peak out this weekend and get a place.”
The Monarchs will have an advantage over visiting teams with the tournament
in their back yard.
“Last year we were in an airport hustling around and renting cars and
grabbing a piece of pizza,” said King’s coach Ned McGinley. “So certainly
this is a much better situation for them to already be here and resting.”
Besides individual accolades, the Monarchs will be shooting for a top-10
finish in the team competition.
“It depends on how high you get them and we have the potential for all
four of them to be all-Americans,” McGinley said. “Obviously, we’re not in
the hunt for a team title (Augsburg College of Minneapolis qualified its
entire team), but we’re in the hunt to get in that eight to seven slot, which
would be wonderful.”