North Carolina State University Athletics
Wrestling's Bobby Ward Earns NCAA At-Large Bid
3/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
RALEIGH, N.C. — Upset in the ACC Championships despite being the top seed, NC State sophomore 149-pounder Bobby Ward will wrestle at the NCAA Championships, March 18-20 at Omaha, Neb., after receiving an at-bid on Tuesday.
Ward, 25-8 after his third-place finish at the ACC Tournament, will face Michael Kessler of Rider in the opening round. Kessler finished the 2010 regular season with a 22-10 record. The winner will advance to the second round and take on the winner of a first-round match between Cesar Grajales of Penn and No. 3 seed Kyle Terry of Oklahoma.
Ward had a 10-match winning streak snapped vs. Brennan Brumley of Old Dominion on Feb. 9, but went into the conference tournament as the top seed and only ranked wrestler in the 149-pound bracket. After receiving a bye through the opening round, Ward fell 7-2 to Virginia’s Shawn Harris. Ward advanced through the consolation bracket, taking decisions over North Carolina’s John Burns and Maryland’s Jon Kohler to take third place and put himself in position to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
