Junior Cody Lovejoy wins NCAA III Mideast Regional title at heavyweight, leads Wrestlng to seventh place finish

By Tim Glon

| NCAA III Mideast Regional Site | Ohio Northern Individual Results |

YORK, Pa. -- Ohio Northern junior Cody Lovejoy won the heavyweight title at the 2014 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional on Sunday at M&T Fieldhouse.

Lovejoy, who is ranked No. 7 nationally, went 3-0 with two pins to win his weight class and improve to 40-3 on the season with 24 pins.

He also earns a bid to participate in the 2014 NCAA III Championships March 14-15 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Ohio Northern finished seventh out of 17 teams with 57.5 points. Messiah (Pa.) won the team title with 109 points, Mount Union was second with 76 points and Waynesburg (Pa.) was third with 72.5 points.

Three other Polar Bears placed in their respective weight classes, but did not qualify for the NCAA Championships, as just the top three placers in each weight class earn bids.

Sophomore Tyler Gargano came close, finishing fourth in the 174-pound weight class.

He finished with a 4-2 record with two pins, but was defeated in the third place match 11-4 by No. 8-ranked Anthony Bonaventure of Waynesburg.

Gargano ends his season with an impressive 30-6 record.

Sophomore Colt Lovejoy placed fifth at 165 pounds with a 4-2 record and one pin and senior Michael Pawlitz was sixth at 197 pounds with a 3-3 record and two pins.

Lovejoy ends his season with a 22-8 mark and seven pins and Pawlitz finishes at 20-10 with 14 pins.