ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ursinus College wrestling team's season officially came to an end on Sunday, as Chris Tan and Ben Maack fell just short of NCAA berths on the final day of the Mideast Regional Champonship at Ithaca.
Tan fell in the 125-pound semifinals, one win away from a national qualifying spot, before settling for fifth, and Maack placed sixth at 184 in his regional debut to cap an impressive rookie campaign.
Matched up with Ithaca's Ferdinand Mase, the number two seed, in the semifinals with an NCAA berth on the line, Tan succumbed to a 6-2 decision and dropped back into the consolations. Needing two wins to grab third place and NCAA qualification, he was pinned by Cortland's Josh Antoine.
Tan edged Centenary's Tyreek Staton by a 3-2 count to finish fifth and conclude his season with a 24-5 record that included five pins and five technical falls. He was 7-0 in Centennial Conference bouts and reached the 125-pound championship at the conference meet before being forced to bow out with an injury.
Maack advanced to the consolation semifinals with a 7-2 victory over Oswego's Trevor Hoffmier, setting up a rematch with Scranton's Zach D'Apolito, who defeated Maack 3-1 in the main draw on Saturday.
Maack struck first with a takedown and took a 2-1 lead into the second period. Starting on bottom, he opened up a 4-1 advantage with a reverse. D'Apolito's third escape cut the margin to 4-3 early in the third, but Scranton's grappler still needed a takedown to overcome Maack. D'Agostino got it in the closing seconds, tacking on four near-fall points for a 9-4 victory and a spot in the third-place bout.
The Bears' freshman dropped a 7-4 decision to Merchant Marine's Kurtis Hahn to settle for sixth place.
Maack was 24-12 with a team-leading 11 pins in his first season.