March 5, 2011
Complete Results
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Led by junior John Hall's title at 197 pounds, the Boston University wrestling team earned a fourth-place finish at the 2011 CAA Championships, which wrapped up on Saturday at Rider University. Hall, sophomore Hunter Meys (174) and junior Fred Santaite (133) have earned berths to the 2011 NCAA Championships.
Hall posted a convincing 11-2 major decision over Binghamton's John Parris in the title match to become just the third Terrier to earn a CAA crown, joining Mike Roberts (2007) and Ali Abri (2002).
BU's fourth-place finish at the CAAs was its highest since also coming in fourth at the 2005 tournament.
Meys dropped a hard-fought 5-4 match to Hofstra'a Ryan Patrovich in the 174-pound title bout, but the CAA earned two NCAA qualifying spots in that class. Meys avoided a true-second match thanks to his 8-6 upset of top-seeded Rob Morrison (Rider) in the semifinals.
Santaite will make his second straight NCAA appearance after posting a 7-3 victory over Frank Cimato of Drexel in the 133 third-place match. The 133-pound tournament was one of only two classes in the CAA to receive three qualifiers for the nationals.
Freshman Bubba McGinley fell one match short of qualifying for the NCAAs, as he fell in a true-second match to Hofstra's Steve Bonanno after topping Binghamton's Derek Steeley, 10-16, in the third-place bout at 125.
Senior Brock Mantella wrapped up his collegiate career with a fourth-place finish at 184 following a tough 3-0 loss to Old Dominion's Joe Budi in a match for third.
Freshmen Kevin Innis (285) and Nick Tourville (157) and sophomores Kyle Czarnecki (165) and Nestor Taffur (149) all came up short in the consolation semifinal round of their respective bracket.
Hall, Meys and Santaite will make the trip to Philadelphia on March 17-19 to take on the nation's best at the NCAA Championships. Each of the three BU grapplers will be making his second appearance at nationals.
