Michael Kemerer has won some big matches in his college wrestling career at Iowa, but the one he registered last Friday night turned heads around the country.
Kemerer, a redshirt senior out of Franklin Regional who is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 174 pounds, worked his way past No. 1 Mark Hall as the top-ranked Hawkeyes clipped No. 2 Penn State, 19-17, in a Big Ten showdown in Iowa City.
It was Kemerer’s fourth straight win over a top-eight opponent and likely moved him closer to the No. 1 spot.
“I’m not really about proving stuff to anybody but myself,” Kemerer (10-0) told Hawkeyesports.com. “The goal is March. It was good to go out and get this win and prove, but at the same time, nationals is what we’re looking to, and we have to just keep getting better every day until then.”
Kemerer, who added a 13-3 win against Michigan State on Sunday, missed last season with an injury after going 27-3 and taking fourth at the NCAA finals as a sophomore.
No. 1 Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) also earned a win by technical fall at 125 pounds to move to 19-0.
The much-anticipated match drew 14,905, the seventh-largest wrestling audience in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history.
Wrestling
Pitt-Johnstown: Senior Chris Eddins (Greensburg Salem), ranked No. 1 in the nation at 149 pounds, won by pin and redshirt senior Devin Austin (Penn-Trafford) by technical fall at 165 as the fourth-ranked Mountain Cats blanked Shippensburg, 44-0, to give longtime coach Pat Pecora his 616th career win, tying him for the most coaching wins in the sport in all collegiate divisions.
Seton Hill: The Griffins won a pair of dual matches over the weekend: 32-6 over Emmanuel and 41-8 against Mercyhurst Northeast. They won eight of 10 bouts in each match.
Redshirt senior Austin Shaw (Greensburg Salem), redshirt sophomore Alec Shaw (Greensburg Salem) and redshirt junior Jake Beistel (Southmoreland) were among the winners for the Griffins.
Austin Shaw (Buffalo) and Beistel (St. Francis Pa.) are Division I transfers.
Men’s basketball
Lehigh: Freshman Reed Fenton (Latrobe) made 6 of 10 shots from 3-point range and finished with 18 points in an 80-79 loss to Army.
Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Cam Seigfreid (Penn-Trafford) had 23 points (8 of 11 shooting), six rebounds and four steals, junior Matt Johnson and sophomore Jojo France scored 14 apiece and junior Torian Jenkins had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats (16-4, 12-2 AMCC) in a 92-72 win at Pitt-Bradford.
Seton Hill: Senior Nate Davis scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Griffins (4-14, 3-11 PSAC) to a 73-67 win over Clarion. Sophomore Tommy Sekunda added 13 points, and freshman Marrek Paola had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Women’s basketball
La Roche: Senior forward Jenna Cole (Norwin) had 17 points and seven rebounds to help power the Redhawks (14-5, 14-1 AMCC) to a 71-60 win over D’Youville.
Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Nadege Durand scored a season-high 26 points (10 for 20 FGs) and made four 3-pointers in a 65-52 win over Penn State Behrend. It was UPG’s first win at Behrend since 2015.
Point Park: Junior Michelle Burns (Hempfield) had 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Pioneers (15-9, 5-5 RSC) to an 83-82 victory over Alice Lloyd (Ky.).
Westminster: Sophomore guard Magen Polczynski (Norwin) had 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Titans (17-3, 10-1) in a 76-72 win against Waynesburg.
