ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE WRESTLING
Saturday, February 14, 1998

THREE BLUE JAYS EARN TITLES AS ETOWN FINISHES THIRD AT MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS; CAPOFERRI NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR

GRANTHAM, Pa. --- Bill Van Winkle , Dan Bechtold and Tim Jordan captured individual championships to lead Elizabethtown to a third place finish at the 1998 Middle Atlantic Conference wrestling championships on Saturday. As a team, the Jays finished with 68.5 points, good for third place behind nationally-ranked squads from Lycoming (97.5 points) and Delaware Valley (80.0). Etown finished fifth in 1997.

For guiding his squad to an 18-7 season that included a number of weeks in the national rankings and three tournament titles, Etown coach Steve Capoferri was named the 1998 MAC wrestling coach of the year.

Wrestling at 118 pounds, Van Winkle pinned Scranton's Seamus Dugan in the quarters, then posted a 9-5 decision over Jerry Boland of Lycoming to reach the finals. In the title bout, Van Winkle decisioned Eric Kelly of King's, 5-2, to win his first MAC gold medal.

At 158, Bechtold took a bye to the semifinals, where he posted a 13-5 major decision over Joe McGowan of Delaware Valley. In the title bout, the freshman pinned defending champion Anthony Helm of Messiah in 1:15 to win his first MAC gold medal.

In the heavyweight class, Jordan successfully defended his MAC title with a 2-1 overtime decision over Lycoming's Rob Cosper. After a bye in the quarterfinals, Jordan had defeated Delaware Valley's Matt Kleinle, 5-3, to earn another title shot.

Eric Dusko also reached the championship bout at 177 pounds, but was edged by Lycoming's Jamie Yonkin, 4-3.

Three other Blue Jays rolled through the consolation brackets to post third place finishes, including Mike King at 126, Bob Onorato at 142 and Ryan Buchar at 167.

Elizabethtown next hits the mat on Friday, February 20 and Saturday, February 21 in the NCAA East Regional championships at Ursinus College. Jordan and Onorato will defend the regional titles they won in 1997.

Team Standings:
1. Lycoming, 97.5; 2. Delaware Valley, 80.0; 3. Elizabethtown, 68.5; 4. Messiah, 49.5; 5. King's, 42.5; 6. Lebanon Valley, 18.0; 7. Albright, 8.5; 8. Scranton, 8.0