Burkholder qualifies for National Championships

Senior Jordan Burkholder placed second in the 125-pound weight class at the NCAA Regional Tournament to qualify for the National Championships. Seniors Toby Warrington, Tanner Walker, Antonio Zapata and junior Michael Kashuba also represented Muskingum at the tournament.

• With his second-place finish, Burkholder qualified for the National Championships starting Friday, March 8 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia.
• Senior Antonio Zapata placed sixth overall in the 285-pound weight class.
• Senior Tanner Walker competed in the 165-pound weight class and finished seventh overall.

• Burkholder went 3-1 wrestling in the 125-pound weight class. He opened with a 12-0 major decision against Joshua Stephenson of Manchester and then won by decision against Nolan Wochna of Mount Union (5-0). Burkholder went on to win by a 5-1 decision against Seth Transue of Ohio Northern in the semifinals. He fell in the first-place match against Dante Ginnetti of Baldwin Wallace by a 13-4 major decision. Burkholder now stands at 30-2 on the season.
• Senior Toby Warrington posted a 2-2 record in the 149-pound class. In his opening match, Warrington pinned Caleb Blake of Ohio Wesleyan at the 3:40 mark. Then he fell against Noah Nieman of Adrian at the 1:56 juncture. Warrington won his third match against Nevan Freestone of Trine by a 10-3 decision. He dropped his final match against JaVon Phillips of Manchester by a 16-0 technical fall at the 4:42 mark. Warrington ends his season with a 13-16 record.
• Walker ended the tournament with a 3-2 slate in the 165-pound class. He began with a 15-0 technical fall against Denver Aydelott of Otterbein at the 7:00 juncture. Walker fell to Anthony Arroyo of Baldwin Wallace by a 19-1 technical fall at the 4:36 mark. In his third match, Walker pinned Tyler Leonhard of Manchester at the 1:48 juncture and then fell against Isaac Collier of CWRU by a 7-2 decision. In the seventh-place match, Walker won by forfeit over Jimmy Traub of Thomas More. Walker concludes his season with a 20-14 record.
• Zapata went 4-3 wrestling in the heavyweight class. In his first match, Zapata pinned Nick Corvo of Mount Union at the 1:34 mark and then won by an 11-3 major decision against Christian Climer of Heidelberg. He went on to lose a 6-2 decision against Trevor Piggott of Olivet in the quarterfinals. Following the loss, Zapata pinned Austin Keeley of Ohio Northern 56 seconds into the match. In his next match, Zapata won by a 7-2 decision over Ethan Simmons of Trine and then lost by an 18-7 major decision against James Ritchie of Baldwin Wallace. In the fifth-place match, Zapata fell against Collin Lewis of Adrian at the 45-second mark, placing sixth overall. Zapata ends his season with a 13-12 slate.
• Muskingum finished 12th overall in the 19-team field with 44.5 points. Wabash won the team title with 156.5 points.

• Muskingum senior Jordan Burkholder will compete in the National Championships starting Friday, March 8 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia.