“We are going into the tournament in really good shape,” KU
ninth-year head coach Robert Fisher said. “Our guys
feel strong and confident. We have a good shot at taking quite a few
guys to nationals this season.”
Joe Kemmerer (sr. Mountain Top/Crestwood),
as a former East Regional champion at 133 pounds, leads the Golden
Bears into the tournament. Ranked at No. 1 in the nation, Kemmerer
is 21-0 on the season and looking for his second NCAA title.
John Paukovits (so. Northampton/Northampton),
at 141 pounds,
David Zeek (jr. Newtown/Council Rock North),
at 165, and
Scott Snyder (jr. Slatington/Northern Lehigh),
at 197, also have more than 20 wins apiece for KU.
Paukovits, in his first year competing at KU, is 22-8. He finished
first at the Shorty Hitchcock Open at Millersville on Jan. 10.
Zeek
placed third at that tournament, and at 20-5 on the season, is
looking to make a return trip to nationals. Zeek was 21-14 last
season and qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing
fourth at the East Regionals. He now has 49 wins in three seasons at
KU.
Snyder finished second in at the Shorty Hitchcock Open and third at
the East Stroudsburg Open on Nov. 15. He is 20-6 overall on the
season and 38-17 at KU. Last year, he finished fifth at regionals
and he’ll look to improve on that finish this season.
Also
looking to improve on last year’s regional performance is
Chris Chambers (sr. Holland/Council Rock South),
who after qualifying for nationals his freshman and sophomore
seasons, missed out on a trip with a fifth-place finish last season.
Chambers, at 157, is 16-15 this season, pushing his career win total
up to 78.
Other
double-digit winners competing this weekend for KU will be
Brett Martinez (jr. Slatington/Northern Lehigh),
at 149, and
Sonny Flood (sr. Southampton/William Tennent),
at 165.
Martinez is 17-13 on the season and Flood is 13-12.
Also
competing for KU will be
Clayton Youtz (fr. Dauphin/Central Dauphin),
Eric Sergent (fr. Nazareth/Nazareth)
and
Robert Knopf (fr. Stroudsburg/Pocono Mountain East).
Youtz
has been KU’s primary starter at 125 for most of the season, going
7-16 in his first year.
Sergent took over at 184 pounds late in the season, going 4-5.
At heavyweight, Knopf has wrestled only five bouts, but he’s 3-2 and
looking to make a stand this weekend.
Coach Fisher knows that his wrestlers will have to be at the top of
their game in order to secure a bid to nationals.
“Anything can happen in such a tough tournament,” Fisher said. “All
of the weight classes are extremely tough and deep. In many of the
weight classes, as many as five or six guys have a shot to win the
title. We need to step up and wrestle our best this weekend.”
.jpg){kind=logo}
