A small contingent of Battler wrestlers traveled to Lancaster PA on Saturday to compete at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Tournament hosted by Millersville University. This event is traditionally one of the tougher open competitions in the East, attended by numerous Div.1 and 2 programs. AB's top performer was Dwayne "The Roc' Johnson who finished in third-place at 197 lbs.
Johnson opened the competition with a first period fall over Nassau Community College, transitioning from a single leg to a lift driving his opponent right to his back. The Roc earned his second pin of the year in only 25 seconds.
In the quarterfinals Dwayne defeated an opponent from Div. 1 Long Island University by a score of 10 to 4. Johnson used a variety of offensive and defensive takedown techniques as well as a punishing ride to earn victory and move on to the semi-finals.
In the semis Johnson fell to Colucci from Rutgers in sudden death overtime, 6-4. An apparent tie breaking takedown was disallowed in the 3rd period when The Roc's finger was inadvertently caught in his opponent's singlet.
The bronze medal match was against Dom Petracci, an athlete from Division 1 Drexel University of Pennsylvania. In the final match of the day Johnson powered himself to victory over a much taller opponent on the strength of 3 takedowns and an escape. A third period escape and thunderous takedown broke open a 4 to 4 tie and contributed to the margin of victory.
Coach Gardner's thoughts: "The Roc is doing a great job in his first year as the recognized #1 at 197 for the Battlers. He's competing with and beating some very good athletes, and even in the two tournament bouts he's lost in the last 2 weeks he's been right there fighting until the last second. This is a tough tournament. There are some really good athletes competing. Athletes from the Big 10, ACC, EIWA, among others were all battling it out here. This is another example of how if you train hard, live the right lifestyle, and want to be coached, you can get really good at wrestling regardless of what school you are at. Dwayne is serving as a quiet inspiration to his teammates. I think he's going to really open many people's eyes in the coming weeks and months to what those of us who know him already know, "The Roc" is a very special person."
Original source can be found here.
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