Cavaliers Claim Third-Consecutive State Championship
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January 23, 1999
Lexington, Va. – Virginia’s Craig Fenstermaker (Hilton Head, S.C./Northampton (Pa.)) defeated 19th-ranked Isaac Moore of VMI 7-1and wonhis second state title, helping the Cavaliers to claim their thirdconsecutive state championship today in Lexington. Fenstermaker, who pinnedJames Madison’s Elliott Williams in the semifinals, was named thetournament’s Outstanding Wrestler, marking the third consecutive year thata Cavaliers has been so honored.
Virginia started the afternoon by claiming the 125-pound title whenfreshman Bob Seidel (Wall, N.J./Wall) received a medical forfeit fromteammate Matt Roth (Wescosville, Pa./Parkland). Seidel had pinned his threeopponents in the draw.
Cavalier P. J. Bory (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) won the 141-poundweight class with a 3-0 upset of top-seeded Mike Coyle of James Madison.Virginia’s John Pozniak (State College, Pa./State College) also competed ina title match, but fell to top-seeded Jason Grant of George Mason 3-2 inthe 149-pound class. Greg Francesca (Union, N.J./Blair Academy) took fourthplace in the 157-pound class.
Virginia’s Jim Harshaw (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley), theOutstanding Wrestler the last two years at this competition, won his thirdconsecutive title with an 11-6 come-from-behind victory at the 165-poundclass. He is only 16th wrestler in state history to claim three titles.
Ryan Painter (Rainelle, W.V./Rainelle) also competed in the titlebout , but he lost to fourth-ranked and top-seeded Leslie Apedoe of VMI 8-3in the heavyweight class. Teammate Jeremy Wilkins (Raleigh,N.C./Ravenscroft) took third place at heavyweight.
Virginia has now won seven team titles in the championshipshistory, more than any other school. The Cavaliers are also the first teamto win three consecutive titles. Final team scoring is listed below.
Wgt Championship Bouts125 Seidel (UVA) med. forf. from Roth (UVA)133 Sean Shea (GMU) med. forf. from Joel Jimenez (ODU)141 Bory (UVA) dec. Coyle (JMU) 3-0149 Jason Grant (GMU) dec. Pozniak (UVA) 3-2157 Jeff Rusak (ODU) dec. Matt Erwin (VMI) 12-6165 Harshaw (UVA) dec. Jeff Cies (Va Tech) 11-6174 Nathan Rickman (JMU) dec. Trace Head (Va Tech) 8-4184 Keith Sholders (GMU) dec. Brad Krepps (ODU) 10-6197 Fenstermaker (UVA) dec. Moore (VMI) 7-1HWT Apedoe (VMI) dec. Painter (UVA) 8-3
TEAM SCORING
1. Virginia 1372. James Madison 1293. VMI 1184. George Mason 1155. Old Dominion 113.56. Virginia Tech 61.57. Norfolk State 26.58. Apprentice School 22.5