Fogliano and Bowers Headed to All-American Rounds

After day one of competition at the 2008 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa the Heidelberg College senior duo of Ryan Fogliano (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) and Ryan Bowers (Lima, Ohio / Elida) have positioned themselves amongst the best in the nation. Fogliano is competing in the 197 pound weight class, while Bowers is taking part in the 285 pound weight class. The duo are set to take part in day two of wrestling and will finish in the top-eight of their respective weight classes, which carries All-American honors.
 
Fogliano, seeded No. 5, opened the championships with a 7-4 setback to Anthony Newmann, before rebounding in the consolation bracket to upset No. 3 seeded Paul Hartt of Lakeland 10-4 to earn a top-eight finish.
 
Entering the championships as a No. 5 seed, Bowers had a quick start, claiming Heidelberg’s lone first round victory, a 2-0 decision over Josiah Payne form Cornell. In his second match on the day, Bowers posted a 3-1 upset over No. 4 seeded Jaran Rutledge of Knox.
 
Heidelberg was also represented by freshman Jerrad Hoxie (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Forest Hills Northern) at 125 pounds. Hoxie fell in his opening match, but bounced back to post a 14-0 major decision over William’s Ethan Cohen in the consolation bracket. Hoxie was eliminated from the tournament by Ohio Northern’s David Penny, 7-4.
 
At 141 pounds, senior Nick Sanchez (Lima, Ohio / Bath) finished his third trip to the NCAA Championships with a 1-2 record. Seeded sixth, Sanchez opened action with a 7-4 win over James Beshada of Merchant Marine Academy before falling 9-1 to Jason Adams of Augsburg. In the consolation bracket, Sanchez fell 13-11 to Dylan Rittenburg.
 
Rounding out Heidelberg’s list of qualifiers was sophomore Zach Mizer (Canton, Ohio / Perry) at 149 pounds. Mizer fell to No. 5 seeded Jeff Kastel of Elmhurst 5-1 on his first match. Dropping to the consolation bracket, Mizer posted a 2-1 decision over Gettysburg before falling 6-1 to Johanson Quist of Luther to finish the championships with a 1-2 record.