Three Scarlet Knights Compete at NCAA Wrestling Championships
Mar 21 | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS, MO. – Senior Matt Pletcher (Eastamton, N.J.), sophomore D.J. Russo (Netcong, N.J.) and freshman Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.) competed in the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Thursday and Friday inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Pletcher was defeated by Central Michigan’s Trevor Stewart, 4-0, in the 165-pound weight class first round and was eliminated from competition with a 6-4 loss to William Garvin from Tennessee-Chattanooga in the consolation bracket. He finished the season 33-13 overall and completed his collegiate career as one of the winningest wrestlers in school history with 77 career victories to rank 21st on the RU list.
At 157 pounds, Winston rebounded from a 5-2 loss to Tyler Safratowitch of Minnesota to post a 10-3 win against Ohio State’s Jason Johnstone in the consolation round. Northwestern’s Jason Welch defeated Winston, 9-1, in round three of the consolation bracket to eliminate the Scarlet Knight from competition. Winston, ranked 11th nationally, finished with 39 wins in his first season of collegiate wrestling for the Scarlet Knights.
Russo, wrestling in the heavyweight class, pinned David Marone of Virginia Tech in 4:48 in his opening round match before suffering a hard-fought 8-6 loss to Oklahoma State’s Jared Rosholt in round two. He posted his second win of the tournament with an 8-4 decision of Oklahoma’s Nathan Fernandez in round three of consolation bracket. Pittsburgh’s Zach Sheaffer pinned Russo in 2:39 to eliminate him from competition. He finished the year 33-16.
