March 19, 2008

Weekly Release: at NCAA Championship

 

NCAA Championship

Tony Mustari & Reece Hopkin

Thursday-Saturday, March 20-22 • St. Louis, Mo. • Scottrade Center • All Day

 

Two To Nationals

Northern Colorado wrestlers Tony Mustari (So, 125-Pounds) and Reece Hopkin (Sr, 285-Pounds) both earned berths to the NCAA Championship for the second-straight year. Mustari received an at-large berth after finishing second at the NCAA West Regional, while Hopkin won the heavyweight title for the second consecutive season. Mustari is 31-6 this season, while Hopkin sports a record of 28-5.

 

2007 NCAA Recap

At last year's NCAA Championship, Northern Colorado finished tied for 54th place with two points. Tony Mustari, a true freshman went 0-2 at 125-pounds, while Reece Hopkin went 1-2 in the heavyweight class. Shawn Vincent went 1-2 at 184-pounds, while Kenny Hashimoto went 0-2 at 141-pounds and Luke Salazar was 0-2 at 157-pounds.

 

Second Place

Northern Colorado finished the 2008 regular season in second place in the Western Wrestling Conference standings, behind two-time champions Northern Iowa. Last season the Bears posted a 2-4 record in the first year of the league.

 

Undefeated

The Bears had a pair of wrestlers finish with perfect 6-0 records in Western Wrestling Conference action in sophomore 125-pounder Tony Mustari and senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin. Since the formation of the conference, Hopkin is undefeated with a 12-0 record, while Mustari is 10-2.

 

West Regional Recap

Senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin continued his dominance over wrestlers from the Western Wrestling Conference, winning his second-straight NCAA West Region heavyweight title. The Bears finished fourth with 47.5 points, while Northern Iowa posted 119.0 points to win its 23rd straight regional title. Sophomore 125-pounder Tony Mustari finished second, losing in the finals, 7-5 to Eric Hoffman of North Dakota State, but earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship. At 157-pounds, freshman Rocco Depaolo finished third, while junior Ryan Johnson was third at 174-pounds and Patrick Carey finished third at 197-pounds.

 

Going Streaking

Sophomore 125-pounder Tony Mustari has won 14 of his last 16 bouts, including his final nine in dual matches, while senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin has also won his last 12 matches and 14 of his last 15. Against teams in the West Regional, Hopkin has won his last 15 bouts, dating back to the formation of the Western Wrestling Conference.

 

Working His Way

With his 12 straight victory, senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin brought his career record to 98-30, with a 28-5 mark this season. He moved into a tie for fourth on the career charts with his latest victory and is four wins shy of tying for third (Brody Olson, 1999-03) with 102 and two victories shy of becoming just the fourth wrestler at Northern Colorado with 100 wins. The school record for victories is 126 by Mike Leberknight (1989-93).

 

Honored Squared

Junior 149-pounder Daniel Prater was named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week after posting a perfect 6-0 record in Oregon. Senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin was named the Western Wrestling Conference wrestler of the week after posting a perfect 3-0 record at the Northern Quadrangular. 

 

That's Outstanding!

Sophomore Tony Mustari was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Old Chicago's Northern Colorado Open. Mustari won the 125-pound division, posting a perfect 4-0 record on the day, with two wins coming on pins. 

 

A New Bear

Head Coach Jack Maughan announced the signing of Ray Hall to a National Letter of Intent. Hall will enroll at Northern Colorado in Fall, 2008.

Ray Hall, 160-pounds, Kansas City, Mo. (Oak Park HS)

Hall has earned 10 letters for Oak Park High School, with three to date in wrestling and track & field and four in football. He currently has a record of 116-22 for the Northman and won the 2007 Missouri state championship after placing third as a sophomore and second as a freshman. At the 2007 Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Hall took fourth place and he is a four-time All-American. He is projected to wrestle at either 157 or 165 for the Bears.