PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Larry Early finished the 2019 wrestling season as an All-American after taking eighth at the NCAA Championships at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Early is now ODU Wrestling's 33rd All-American in school history.
"We are proud of our guys perfomances this weekend. Larry Early had a great weekend and finished his junior year strong with an All-American performance. He has been consistently improving over the course of his career. He achieved his goal of becoming an All-American and now he will chase down a national title next year," said head coach Steve Martin. "Michael McGee had a great tournament as well by reaching the All-American round. He will be chasing down some NCAA titles the next two years. Sa'Derian Perry has also been a strong performer for us this year."
In his lone match of the day, Early dropped a close 3-2 decision to Christian Pagdiloa of Arizona State in the seventh place bout. The Illinois native wrapped up his season with a 25-8 mark and a 3-3 record at the NCAA Championships.
Head coach Steve Martin picked up his 10th All-American during his tenure. As a team, Martin's bunch finished in 32nd after Session Five on Saturday afternoon.
The All-American parade will begin at 6:35 p.m. before the NCAA Finals commence.
"Next year we will return two All-Americans and a round of 12 performer. All three of the guys are already looking forward to the NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis in 2010. We return a very strong team next year, which will be fun!"
All Monarch NCAA Championship Results
Michael McGee - DNP
125: #12 Michael McGee tech. fall over #21 Jay Schwarm (UNI), 18-3
125: #5 Jack Mueller (UVA) MD over #12 Michael McGee, 10-3
125: #12 Michael McGee dec. over #22 Cole Verner (Wyo.), 6-5
125: #12 Michael McGee dec. over #19 Alex Mackall (ISU), 8-2
125: #7 Pat Glory (Princeton) dec. over #12 Michael McGee, 7-1
Sa'Derian Perry - DNP
141: #19 Sa’Derian Perry dec. over #14 Jamel Morris (NCST), 5-1
141: #3 Nick Lee (PSU) fall over #19 Sa’Derian Perry, 3:42
141: #20 Matt Findlay (UVU) dec. over #19 Sa’Derian Perry, 6-3
Larry Early - Eighth Place
157: #7 Larry Early MD over #26 Quincy Monday (Princeton), 10-0
157: #7 Larry Early dec. over #10 Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 3-2
157: #2 Tyler Berger (Neb.) dec. over #7 Larry Early, 5-2
157: #7 Larry Early dec. over #21 Justin Thomas (OU), 6-5
157: #3 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec. over #7 Larry Early, 5-0
157: #9 Christian Pagdilao (ASU) dec. over Larry Early, 3-2