McCray To Compete In Consolation Bracket, Porter Eliminated From NCAA Championships
March 20, 2008 | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS, MO. - Gardner-Webb student-athletes Dustin Porter and Eddie McCray each dropped their matches Thursday evening in the first night session of the NCAA Championships.
Porter lost a hard fought 2-1 decision to Lock Haven's Ben Hepburn, eliminating him from the competition for the second consecutive season. McCray, who won his opening round match, will compete in the consolation bracket tomorrow morning after dropping a 20-5 decision to No. 4 Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska.
Porter opened his match with a penalty point in the second period to go up 1-0. However, Hepburn was able to garner more than a minute's worth of riding time, which ended up being the difference maker.
Porter, who led 1-0 heading into the final period, allowed Hepburn to escape immediately from the down position to begin the third frame. With the score tied at 1-1 and the time running out, Porter was unable to score any more points, allowing Hepburn to pick up the victory due to the riding time.
McCray was unable to continue his winning way in the second match of the day, dropping a to Burroughs. Burroughs was able to record three takedowns and a near fall in the first period while McCray could get just two escapes. Burroughs continued piling on the points after McCray picked up another point through an escape in the second round. Burroughs tacked on five quick points before McCray added his fourth escape of the night.
Two takedowns and a near fall later, Burroughs was declared the winner due to a technical fall.
McCray will take on either No. 10 Scott Ervin of Appalachian State or Michael Roberts of Boston University in the consolation bracket tomorrow morning.
