Myers becomes 14th wrestler in school history to earn All-American honors

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Olivet College sophomore James Myers (Wintersville, Ohio/Indian Creek) finished in sixth-place at the 2011 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, which was held inside the LaCrosse Center in LaCrosse, Wis. With his finish, he is the 14th wrestler in school history to earn All-American honors.

In his first match this morning, Myers defeated No. 4 seed Vincent Renaut from Merchant Marines (N.Y.), 6-2, to advance to the fifth-place match. Renaut, the defending national champion at 165 pounds, was led 3-1 entering the third period. Myers chose bottom to start the period and was able to get out for the escape point and make the score 3-2. He then got a takedown to take the lead, 4-3, and two-point near fall for the final margin.

Myers then dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 2 seed Matt Baarson from St. John's (Minn.), 3-0, to advance to the fifth-place match. He lost that match, 4-1, to Justin Bonitatis from The College of New Jersey. All the scoring was in the second period. Myers started on the bottom and escaped for one point. Bonitatis then earned a takedown and two-point near fall.

Unseeded at 165 pounds, Myers lost his first round match, 9-1, to No. 6 seed Nick LeClere from Coe (Iowa). Dropping down to the consolation bracket, he pinned Ethan Raymond from Bridgewater State (Mass.) in 1:50 and then beat No. 8 seed Cory Ferguson from Wis.-LaCrosse, 5-2.

Junior Trevor Tyler (Roscommon) bowed out of the tournament with two close losses. Unseeded at 174 pounds, he fell to No. 8 seed Bradley Banks from Wartburg (Iowa), 4-2, in the first round and then lost a 3-2 decision to Ryan Dormann from Stevens Institute (N.J.).

As a team, Olivet collected 10 points to finish in 31st-place out of 60 schools.