The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Jason McCroskey (184) pulled off one of the big upsets of the opening day of the NCAA D-I Wrestling Championship with a 5-2 win against 2009 NCAA runner-up Mike Miller (Central Michigan) Thursday afternoon.
McCroskey then lost a round of 16 match to No.7 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming), 5-1, and will wrestle Ohio's Nick Purdue in a second round consolation match on Friday.
McCroskey dropped an 8-6 decision to Purdue at the Hokie Open on Nov. 8.
“The reality is Jason now has to win three more matches to be an All-American,” stated UTC coach Heath Eslinger. “I think he is capable of doing it, we just need to put together 21 strong minutes of wrestling.''
UTC teammate Dean Pavlou (149) lost his opening round match to Torsten Gillespie (Edenboro), 10-0, and then ended his first appearance in the NCAAs as he was pinned by Glen Shorber (Navy) in a consolation match.
McCroskey was the Southern Conference runner-up and defeated Andrew Saunders (UNC- Greensboro) in the tournament semis. Saunders also won his first round match, followed by a loss.
If the two SoCon foes win their consolation matches tonight, they would meet in the third round, with the winner needing one more victory to earn All-American honors.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net