March17

ST. LOUIS - East Stroudsburg University's Jeremy Sluyter won a thrilling 10-9 match over a familiar opponent, Bruce Kelly of Lehigh, but then was pinned by Michael Kawamura of Arizona State in 35 seconds which eliminated him from the NCAA Wrestling Championships.Friday at the Kiel Center.

Competing in the 125-pound consolations, Sluyter scored a escape with 29 seconds left and then shot in for a takedown with ten seconds to go to upend Kelly, who had beaten him. 6-4, in the finals of the EIWA Championships two weeks ago.

The ESU senior took a 4-0 lead with an early takedown and a two-point near fall and still held a 6-3 edge on a takedown in the third period. Kelly reversed to close within one point and after allowing an escape, scored a takedown and a two-point near fall to surge in front, 9-7, before Sluyter rallied for the victory.

It was the fourth meeting of the season between the two wrestlers. Sluyter had won the two regular-season matches, 4-1, in the finals of the Sheridan Invitational in December, and 9-6, in a dual match.

Still needing two wins to finish in the top eight and gain All-America honors, Sluyter took on Kawamura, the ninth seed and the PAC-10 runner-up with a 21-4 record. He had beaten the Arizona State senior on an injury default in the NCAA tournament two years ago.

This match didn't last long as with two wrestlers locked up, Kawamura used what looked like a freestyle roll and took it all the way through to put Sluyter on his back for the pin.

It was the first time Sluyter had been pinned since he was decked by Teague Moore of Oklahoma State in last year's NCAA tourney.

The Towanda youngster finished 2-2 in the tournament which included a 7-2 win over Alexis Rivera of Northern Illinois and a 7-2 loss to top-seeded Jody Strittmatter of Iowa Thursday. He finished with a season record of 28-8 and a career mark of 108-32, second most wins in the school's history.

In four NCAA appearances, Sluyter won eight matches and lost eight.

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