Zempel Goes 2-2 At National Championships
Posted: 3/8/2008
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Sophomore Trent Zempel finished just one win away from earning his first All-American honor.

Cedar Rapids, IA — It was a bittersweet weekend for Messiah College sophomore Trent Zempel, as the 165-pounder finished just one win away from achieving All-American status at the 2008 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships at U.S. Cellular Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Zempel — ranked ninth among all 165-pounders entering the event — finished the weekend with a 2-2 record, needing to win one of his final two matches to finish in the weight class’s top eight.

Zempel, seeded eighth in the national championship bracket, defeated unseeded Michael Morin of the University of Southern Maine (Gorham, Maine) by a 4-2 score to advance out of the first round. He then took out Matt Schrupp of Saint John’s University (Collegeville, Minnesota) in the second round, collecting a 3-2 decision.

Zempel’s efforts hit a stonewall against the top seed in the weight class, however, as top-ranked Tim Palmer of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse dealt Zemepel a 13-2 loss in the third round. Sent to the consolation bracket, Zempel lost a narrow 6-5 decision to Gino Russo of Baldwin Wallace College, concluding his time on the national championship mat.

Palmer eventually finished in fifth place in the weight class while Russo finished sixth, as that duo sparred in the fifth-place match. Zempel needed just one more win in either bracket to secure his first All-American honor, as the top eight wrestlers in each weight class claim that accolade.

Wartburg College won the team national title, finishing with 147 points and a tournament-best nine All-American finishes. Messiah, by virtue of Zempel’s two wins, finished tied for 43rd place with Ursinus College. Sixty institutions were represented at the meet.

For a look at the national championship’s complete 165-pound weight class bracket, click here. For a list of team scores at the event, click here. Detailed brackets from all weight classes can be viewed here.