MILLERSVILLE, PA – Freshman Shaun Sehar (Harrisburg, PA), thrust into the starting role at 125 pounds due to an injury to incumbent Marc Rosenfeld (Brick, NJ), was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic in Millersville, PA. Sehar, with just three tournaments under his belt, garnered one of four first-place finishes for the Scarlet Knights, leading the team to a second-place finish.

Rosenfeld was one of three starters missing from action as RU headed to Millersville to defend its status as three-time defending champions. His absence afforded Sehar the opportunity to rise to the occasion, as he rattled off four-straight wins to capture his first collegiate championship. The most impressive of his four wins came against Appalachian State’s Richard Caisse, who is ranked 18th nationally by Amateur Wrestling News. Sehar and top-seeded Caisse battled to an 8-8 tie, but Sehar advanced in the semis on a ride-out in overtime.

Rutgers also posted championships at 165, 197 and 285. Sophomore Chris Ressa (Andover, NJ) took first at 165, while Ryan McGrath (Columbia, NJ) outscored his four opponents 32-1 en route to first-place honors at 197. At 285, senior Frank Sabatino (Hazlet, NJ) also took first to round out the quartet.

Rutgers finished second as a team, just four points behind Appalachian State. The Scarlet Knights suffered a huge blow at 149, where top-seeded Greg Austin (Seaville, NJ) bowed out with a neck stinger after winning his first bout. Freshman teammate Gene Zanetti (Edison, NJ), wresting in the other half of the bracket, took second, falling to fourth-seeded Jad Duca (Ithaca), who advanced when Austin could no longer compete. Had Austin beaten Duca, he would have faced Zannetti in the finals and given RU enough points to claim its fourth-straight team title.