March 20, 2001

For the 36th consecutive year Cleveland State had representation at the Division I National Championships. This year it was the two leaders of the squad, co-captains Nick Boucher and Rocco Mansueto. The pair qualified by finishing third and second in the conference tournament, respectively.

Unfortunately, the selections for both wrestlers proved difficult in the first round. Mansueto drew Michigan's A.J. Grant, a tenth seed. Grant outlasted Mansueto, 4-2. The wrestlebacks were not any easier for Mansueto, as he locked up with Michigan State's Chris Williams, a seventh seed. Williams won, 15-5. "Rocco had a tough year and just couldn't get it going at the tournament," said Head Coach Jack Effner. "However, he gained experience out there and he's got two years of eligibility left."

Boucher, a junior, also drew a tough first round opponent in third-seeded Todd Beckerman of Nebraska. Beckerman won, 14-5. But Boucher battled back in the wrestlebacks. He beat Clarion's Rad Martinez, 4-1. Boucher also beat Martinez twice in the conference championships. In the next round he pulled off an upset with a pin against eighth-seeded Evan Robinson of Purdue. Boucher fell in the next round to Oklahoma's Will Durdan, 13-5. "Nick wrestled above his level, which is very typical of him, he's a competitor out there no matter who he wrestles," noted Effner. "He represented Cleveland State well out there and proved to others that we have a solid program."

Further, Boucher and Mansueto's only losses in the tournament came to wrestlers who finished as All-Americans. Grant and Williams finished fourth and seventh, respectively, at 125 pounds. Beckerman and Durdan were fourth and third, respectively, at 133 pounds. "It's and awesome experience for both wrestlers to be among the best," commented Effner. Next year the Vikings will come back with five NCAA qualifiers in Boucher and Mansueto and this year's redshirts Russ Davie (HWT), Gerald Harris (174) and Phil Mansueto (133).