Spring Break
Eau Claire's lone representative competes at nationals
Junior Josh Holforty finishes sixth in the country after weekend championship tournament
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Sports
UW-Eau Claire's lone representative to make it to nationals, junior Josh Holforty, placed sixth after two days of competition in the NCAA Div. III Championships.
Holforty earned one of nine at-large bids on Feb. 24 that were available to those in the WIAC. The bids were chosen by the WIAC head wrestling coaches. The top 10 conference champions earned automatic bids, with Holforty in third place after losing to UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater opponents. Holforty entered the competition with a 28-8 overall record.
Holforty, ranked No. 7 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, and also the No. 7 seed, won his first two matches on Friday to advance to the semifinals.
Holforty, who wrestled in the 197-pound weight class, defeated Rob Kramer of Coe College (Iowa) by a score of 4-2. Holforty defeated Kramer earlier this season in a 7-1 decision.
He then faced Alec Bonander from Luther College (Iowa). Bonander, ranked and seeded in the No. 2 slot, had a bye the first round.
Holforty pulled off the upset, defeated Bonander 5-2.
Saturday was not so successful for Holforty, who had to face Matt Miller from Lycoming College (Penn.). Miller defeated Holforty 3-0, which knocked Holforty down to the third place bracket.
That meant a rematch against Kramer, who managed to pin Holforty at the 4:05 mark. Holforty had previously knocked Kramer down to the third place bracket with his victory on Friday.
With the loss, Holforty had to face Bonander again for a chance at fifth place. However, Bonander won the match with a medical forfeit by Holforty.
The winner of the championship and the runner-up had not been determined as of press time.
Holforty earned one of nine at-large bids on Feb. 24 that were available to those in the WIAC. The bids were chosen by the WIAC head wrestling coaches. The top 10 conference champions earned automatic bids, with Holforty in third place after losing to UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater opponents. Holforty entered the competition with a 28-8 overall record.
Holforty, ranked No. 7 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, and also the No. 7 seed, won his first two matches on Friday to advance to the semifinals.
Holforty, who wrestled in the 197-pound weight class, defeated Rob Kramer of Coe College (Iowa) by a score of 4-2. Holforty defeated Kramer earlier this season in a 7-1 decision.
He then faced Alec Bonander from Luther College (Iowa). Bonander, ranked and seeded in the No. 2 slot, had a bye the first round.
Holforty pulled off the upset, defeated Bonander 5-2.
Saturday was not so successful for Holforty, who had to face Matt Miller from Lycoming College (Penn.). Miller defeated Holforty 3-0, which knocked Holforty down to the third place bracket.
That meant a rematch against Kramer, who managed to pin Holforty at the 4:05 mark. Holforty had previously knocked Kramer down to the third place bracket with his victory on Friday.
With the loss, Holforty had to face Bonander again for a chance at fifth place. However, Bonander won the match with a medical forfeit by Holforty.
The winner of the championship and the runner-up had not been determined as of press time.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Jeff Krause
posted 3/10/08 @ 12:15 AM CST
Good story. But I read the head. Read the subhead. Had to get to the third sentence to know it was wrestling.
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