INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Clarion University’s Taylor Ortz, a Brookville graduate, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship at 149 pounds Tuesday.
(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
Ortz’s berth brings the Golden Eagles’ total 2018 NCAA qualifiers to four, as Ortz joins Greg Bulsak (184), Dustin Conti (197) and Brock Zacherl (141). Clarion has not had four NCAA qualifiers since the 2012 championships.
Ortz has compiled a 26-10 record to date and reached the finals of the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) 149-pound bracket last week. The redshirt freshman went 12-3 in his first taste of dual match action this year, including a win over Eastern Michigan’s Kyle Springer in the final weekend of the season. At the EWL Championships he pinned Rider’s Gary Dinmore with three seconds remaining in the third period to punch his ticket to the title bout, and earlier in the tournament added a technical fall over Bloomsburg’s Braden Stahlnecker.
All told, Ortz went 12-4 after the calendar flipped to 2018 as he helped Clarion to their first winning dual record since 2002-03. The Golden Eagles went 10-7 overall and 4-2 in EWL team competition this year.
The NCAA will release the official brackets and seeding during an online stream on Wednesday, March 7. The broadcast begins at 6 p.m.
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