Jan. 7, 2006

Indianapolis, Ind. - Juniors Zack Schafer and J.J. Zanetta won individual championships as Mercyhurst captured fifth place at the Midwest Classic.

Schafer, wrestling at 165, won for the second straight year, while Zanetta won for the first time at 141.

The Lakers also had a trio of sixth place finishes and a seventh place winner. Payne Lint (125), Will Tedder (157) and Rich Froats (197) all finished sixth at their weights, while Frank Zatta captured seventh at 184.

In his first bout of the day in the semifinals, Zanetta handled the top seed, Kyle Burke of Upper Iowa, 7-5. Then in the finals, he captured a 9-3 decision over seventh-seeded Craig Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside. Zanetta was the five seed at 141.

Schafer defended his top seed at 165. In the semis, he shut out the four seed, Adam Morris of Findlay, 5-0. He needed a 3-1 tiebreaker in the finals to claim the crown, however, defeating Eric Lakia of Ashland.

Ashland and Upper Iowa tied for first place with 130.5 points each. Raymond Dunning of Adams State was named the Outstanding Wrestler. John Wilcox of Missouri Baptist had the most falls in the least time with three in 8:47.

Lint entered the tournament unseeded, but had to face the top seed in the fifth place match, falling to claim sixth.

Tedder had advanced to the semifinals, but come up on the short end of an 11-9 tie-breaker to move to the consolation bracket and earn sixth place.

Froats was seeded third at 197, but had to forfeit a pair of matches for his sixth place finish.

Zatta was unseeded but used a 4-3 decision over Ohio Northern's Ben Plowman to capture seventh place.

The Lakers now travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the NWCA National Duals on January 14-15.

Team Standings | Brackets

Day One Recap