Wrestling 3/9/2018 7:00:00 PM

Ghione surges into semifinals, becomes E-town's 19th DIII All-American

CLEVELAND -- Joe Ghione's ultimate goal is still in sight.

Elizabethtown's lone representative at the 2018 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships advanced to the semifinals with a pair of decisions on Friday, locking up All-America honors in the process.

Ghione is the 19th DIII All-American in program history (20th All-American overall) and first since 2013, but the senior will wait to celebrate those accolades. For now, the focus is solely on a 141-pound national championship.

Ghione worked past Loras College's Kevin Kelly, ranked sixth by D3wrestle, with a 6-2 decision in the second round. The Blue Jay senior led from start-to-finish, registering a pair of takedowns, an early second period escape and 1:02 of riding time.

Kelly's escape off the bottom to start the third cut Ghione's lead to 3-2, but with just under a minute to go, Ghione took the Duhawks' junior transfer down for a 5-2 advantage.

The win over Kelly put Ghione in position to secure All-America honors with another victory in the quarterfinals. Standing in his way was Augsburg's David Flynn, last year's third-place finisher at 141.

Ghione looked low a number of times in the opening minute and finally struck for a takedown at 2:11 and a 2-0 lead. Flynn escaped quickly, but Ghione countered with another takedown in the final 65 seconds and held a 4-2 edge after one period.

Working from the bottom to start round two, Ghione masterfully gained position on Flynn for a reversal 51 seconds in. Flynn picked up an escape late in the second and another early in the third, but it proved to be the only way he'd score in the match, as Ghione held on, 6-4.

Ghione will face top-seeded Brett Kaliner of Stevens in the semifinals Saturday morning. Kaliner, ranked No. 1 by D3wrestle and No. 3 by the NWCA, earned a 16-9 decision over Ghione in the Mideast Regional semifinals in their only prior meeting. Elizabethtown hasn't had a wrestler advance to a national championship bout since Tyler Erdman at 125 lbs. in 2010.

The championship semifinals are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Joe Ghione: 141/149; 5' 5"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Joe Ghione
: 5' 5"; Senior
: 141/149