GWU's Gamble Set to Compete at the 2013 NCAA National Championships
March 18, 2013 | Wrestling
Boiling Springs, N.C. - Gardner-Webb freshman wrestler Hunter Gamble will represent the Runnin' Bulldog grapplers at the 2013 NCAA National Championships on March 21-23 at the Wells Fargo Arena Des Moines, Iowa.
Gamble became Gardner-Webb's first-ever Southern Conference Champion last weekend, as the Georgia native went 3-0 at the 79th Annual Southern Conference Wrestling Championship and upset No. 1 John Lampe of Chattanooga 2-1 by way of a tiebreaker on riding time in the Championship bout at 174 pounds to earn the automatic NCAA bid.
The first-year Runnin' Bulldog wrestler drew the No. 9 seed in Nathaniel Brown of Lehigh in the first round of the 174 pounds bracket, the NCAA announced on Wednesday, March 13th. Brown, the EIWA Champion at 174 pounds, is 20-5 overall on the season.
With his Championship win at the Southern Conference Championship Tournament, Gamble became the first NCAA qualifier for Gardner-Webb since the Runnin' Bulldogs sent four grapplers in Alex Medved, Ryan Medved, Jonathan Velazquez and Travis Porter back in 2011. Prior to watching a record tying four student-athletes qualify for nationals in 2011, at least one GWU wrestler made it to the NCAA Championships in four of the previous five years.
Gamble, who was intending to redshirt his first year at GWU, joined the lineup in late December and was a staple at the 174 pound position for the rest of the season as he totaled 23 wins on the year, which included five dual match victories.
Entering the first round of the 2013 NCAA National Championships on Thursday, March 21st, Gamble has registered a four-match winning streak and has posted a victory in five of his last six contests.
Action at the 83rd NCAA Championships begins Thursday March 21 at Wells Fargo Arena and runs through Saturday March 23. Live action of the tournament will be televised and/or streamed online by the ESPN family of networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU).
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| 2013 NCAA National Championships Brackets |
