Northwestern University Athletics
Two Grapplers Set for NCAA Championships
3/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 19, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - For the first time since 2000, the Northwestern wrestling team will be represented at the NCAA Championships, being held in Albany, N.Y., March 21-23.
Sophomore Ryan Kane (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) and junior John Giacche (Flemington, N.J./Blair Academy) extended their seasons an extra weekend by placing at the Big Ten Championships in Champaign, Ill. Giacche took fifth at 141 pounds while Kane came in seventh at 165 pounds. This will be the first NCAA appearance for both wrestlers.
Kane collected 28 wins during the season, going 15-3 in dual action. In round one, he will face fifth-seeded Josh Henson of Penn. Henson wrestled to a 32-4 record, winning his first Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association title in the process.
Giacche, who also posted 28 wins this seasons, is currently ranked 18th in the nation at his weight class by Intermat Wrestling. He will meet Rob Becker of George Mason University in the first round. Becker earned his first trip to the NCAAs with a second-place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association Championships.
NU has not had an NCAA Champion since Jack Griffin won the 118-pound title in 1990. There have been a total of five national champions at NU, including heavyweight Jack Riley who won back-to-back championships in 1931 and 1932.
All-America honors have been earned by 27 Wildcats, with Scott Schatzman being the most recent. Schatzman placed fifth in the 141-pound weight class at the 2000 NCAA Championships.
Results will be posted after each round at www.intermatwrestle.com.
