SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Kutztown University supporters held their breath watching a pair of injuries to Golden Bear wrestlers at Friday night's NCAA Wrestling Championships.
 
In his national quarterfinal match, returning All-American Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, Pa./Council Rock South (Lock Haven)) went down with a leg injury in a 1-0 bout. The cause of the injury was due to a ruled illegal move by his opponent, and after being attended to for nearly five minutes, Martoccio was unable to continue.
 
Since the injury was caused by an illegal move, Martoccio was declared the victor and needed to be carried to and from the mat by his coaches to have his hand raised. The win earned Martoccio his second straight All-America honor to be the fifth two-time All-American in program history.
 
KU athletic trainer Jack Entriken worked on Martoccio post-match at the on-site training room, and after nearly 15 minutes, Martoccio was able to walk under his own power and spend the remainder of Friday's night's session with his family in the stands.
 
Martoccio will be reevaluated on Saturday.
 
Martoccio advances to Saturday's 157-pound semifinal against third-ranked Brady Bersano of California Baptist.
 
Kutztown's Brandan Clark (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) also competed in a national quarterfinal, a win shy of becoming an All-American. He had a tall order in front of him with defending national champion Romero Cotton of Nebraska-Kearney. Clark was taken down and pinned early, but when he hit the mat, he suffered an upper body injury that required him to be taken to the athletic training room.
 
The injury held Clark out of his following match as he bowed out of the national tournament for the final time. Clark, a redshirt-senior and team captain, celebrated his second career national championship appearance this year. He concludes his career with 69 career wins for ninth-all time in program history.
 
Ryan Appleby (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere) competed in the consolation bracket Friday night in his first career national tournament. He went up against Coker's Austin Akins and despite getting pinned by Akins earlier this year, Appleby battled into overtime after a 1-1 tie through regulation. Appleby had many near-takedowns, but was unable to secure a win as an overtime takedown for Akins gave him a 3-1 victory to end Appleby's season.
 
Appleby won 16 matches and was the runner-up in Super Region I in his first year as a starter. A redshirt-sophomore, Appleby returns for two more years at Kutztown with great experience under his belt.
 
Action begins Saturday, March 12, at 10 a.m. Central Time.


SESSION 1
 
Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, Pa./Council Rock South (Lock Haven)) and Brandan Clark (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) won their opening round matches to advance to the championship quarterfinals Friday night, beginning at 6 p.m. Central time. Ryan Appleby (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere) faced off against nationally-ranked Donnell Walker of Maryville and dropped a 10-3 decision.
 
Martoccio began his road to a hopeful repeat All-America weekend with a 6-2 decision over Western State's Ian Steen at 157 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Steen took a 1-0 lead off an early escape point, but was quickly under fire from Martoccio. Later in the period, Martoccio worked a takedown and two back points for a 4-1 lead. He earned an escape point in the final period for the 6-2 win.
 
Martoccio will face Maryville's Greg Hegarty in the championship quarterfinals Friday night.
 
Clark was laser-focused and turned in one of the best wins of his career. Squaring off against the second-ranked 197-pounder in the country, Joseph Brandt of Ashland University, Clark controlled the tempo and fought hard for every point. No takedowns were scored, but Clark used escape points and a neutral start to the third period to earn a 3-2 win in the first tiebreaker.
 
It marked Clark's second career national tournament win after also winning his first match of the 2012 National Championships as a freshman.
 
Next up, Clark will face fourth-ranked Romero Cotton of Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Appleby went up against one of the toughest heavyweights in the country in the first round. Walker, ranked seventh in Division II, is a returning All-American and controlled the match in his 10-3 win.
 
Appleby will face Coker's Austin Akins in the consolation bracket. Akins won by fall when the two met earlier this season.
 
 
Kutztown Results
 
157 - Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, Pa./Council Rock South (Lock Haven))
Champ: Martoccio (KU) dec. Ian Steen (Western State), 6-2
Champ: Martoccio (KU) injury default over Greg Hegarty (Maryville)
Champ: Martoccio (KU) vs. #3 Brady Bersano (California Baptist)
 
197 – Brandan Clark (Audubon, Pa./Methacton)
Champ: Clark (KU) dec. #2 Joseph Brandt (Ashland), 3-2 (TB-1)
Champ: #4 Romero Cotton (Nebraska-Kearney) pinned Clark (KU), 0:25
Cons: Marcus Haughian (Colorado Mesa) medical forfeit over Clark (KU)
 
285 – Ryan Appleby (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere)
Champ: #7 Donnell Walker (Maryville) dec. Appleby (KU), 10-3
Champ: Austin Akins (Coker) dec. Appleby (KU), 3-1 (SV-1)