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SPARTAN WRESTLING—2008/09

ncaa championships day one...

CLEVELAND, OH (March 6, 2009) - Just being invited to the NCAA Championships was not enough – senior wrestler Drew Gardella (Sagamore Hills, OH-pictured) wanted to accomplish the one thing that has eluded him during his career. This weekend he put his name among the school’s all-time greats by becoming the eighth All-American in Case Western Reserve University wrestling history.

Gardella began his quest on Friday with a 12-2 decision win over former All-American Tyler Branham [New Jersey]. He would then lose his next match 15-4 to returning national champion Jacob Naig [Wartburg] which sent him down into the third-place bracket. He then recorded a 5-0 win over the number seven seed Dan Vito [Merchant Marine] which would set up a match with a well-known opponent to Gardella, John Carroll’s Dan Mizener.

Gardella had wrestled four matches against his cross-town rival already this season, with both him and Mizener sitting at two wins apiece. But Gardella would take the series lead on wrestling’s biggest stage by getting a 9-7 decision win over Mizener which earned him All-American status.

At day’s end, Gardella had compiled a 3-1 record and will continue wrestling tomorrow in hopes of earning a third place title in the 149-pound weight class.

Freshman national qualifier Isaac Dukes (Ravenna, OH) was given the daunting task of wrestling returning national champion Aaron Wernimont [Wartburg] in his bracket’s opening round. Wernimont came into the day with a 41-0 record on the season, including a win over Dukes back in November. Dukes would give him all he had, but Wernimont would escape with a narrow 7-6 victory bumping Dukes into the third-place bracket.

Dukes would then lose to Johanson Quist [Luther] in his next match, ending his run in the bracket and his first career trip to the NCAA Championships. Dukes wraps up his season with a 29-11 record and the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year award.

Click here to read about day two...

Individual Results -- Team Results

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