Cal Poly to be Represented at NCAA National Finals by Schilling, Lane
3/13/2018 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Colton Schilling and Tom Lane are Cal Poly's representatives in the 2018 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.
Competition begins Thursday inside Quicken Loans Arena and the championship finals are slated for Saturday.
Schilling, a two-time national qualifier, captured Cal Poly's first Pac-12 championship in five years with a pair of victories Feb. 25 inside Oregon State's Gill Coliseum.
Schilling, who pinned Oregon State's Jack Hathaway in just 28 seconds at the Las Vegas Invitational in December, earned a 4-1 decision over the Beaver matman in the semifinals.
Schilling also pinned Russell Rohlfing of CSU Bakersfield in a January dual meet and followed with a 15-6 major decision in the Pac-12 finals for the 141-pound title.
Schilling (pictured at left) opens his bid for NCAA All-American honors Thursday against top-seeded Bryce Meredith (29-1) of Wyoming. The pair have met twice in dual meets, Meredith earning a 9-2 decision in January 2016 and a 5-2 decision in January 2017.
Lane posted a 1-2 mark for fourth place in a very competitive 197-pound weight class at the Pac-12 finals. While just the champion at 141 pounds advanced to the nationals, the top four finishers at 197 all qualified.
Lane earned an 11-0 major decision over Cade Belshay of Arizona State in the opening round, then fell 7-2 to Corey Griego of Oregon State in the semifinals and 9-3 to Nathan Traxler of Stanford in the consolation finals.
Lane (pictured at right) will face fourth-seeded Michael Macchiavello (17-3) of North Carolina State in Thursday's opening round. Macchiavello earned a 16-4 major decision over Lane in the championship finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions in December.
Schilling owns a 14-5 record this season with a team-leading nine falls, ninth in the nation, and a 6-0 mark in duals. His other five wins include one technical fall and a trio of major decisions.
The senior from Brownsville, Oregon, has won seven straight matches, placed eighth in the Midlands in December and is ranked No. 28 in his weight class by the NCAA Division I Coaches Panel.
Lane sports a 15-9 record with one fall and three technical falls. The sophomore from Garden City, N.Y., is ranked No. 26 by the coaches and placed second in the Reno Tournament of Champions.
Penn State seeks its seventh national championship in eight seasons. Big Ten teams have claimed 11 consecutive national titles.
Kyle Snyder (285) of Ohio State, Oklahoma State's Dean Heil (141), Penn State's Zain Retherford (149) and Illinois' Isaiah Martinez (165) all have the opportunity to become three-time national champions this weekend.
For the fourth consecutive year, every match will be streamed by ESPN. Prime-time television coverage begins with the second round on Thursday, with the semifinals Friday on ESPN and the championship finals Saturday on ESPN2.
ESPN will televises 19 hours of competition during six sessions, covering more than 640 matches, all available on the ESPN app.
