CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA. - Senior Joe Giaramita (Elwood/John H. Glenn) and junior Bobby Dierna (Webster Wayne) advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Div. III Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and have earned All-America honors with the two wins. Giaramita has become just the second Cortland four-time All-America wrestler, joining Mike Bucci, who achieved the feat from 1996-99. Two other wrestlers, senior Lou Puca (Huntington) and junior Andrew Roden (Kings Park) each bowed out after day-one competition. 

Dierna, the top seed at 157 pounds, opened with a 13-5 major decision against New York University's Raymond Jazikoff. Dierna recorded six takedowns during the bout and earned a riding-time point for the final margin. He then pinned unseeded Ty Herzog of Roger Williams in the quarterfinals in 1:38 to secure his third All-America honors in advancing to the semifinals. Dierna raised his record to 22-2 on the season and will face unseeded Tristan Zurfluh of Luther in the semifinals.

Giaramita needed to go to overtime in both of his bouts to advance to the semifinals. In his first-round matchup against Malcolm Watkins of Loras, the two traded escapes during regulation and headed to overtime tied at 1-1. After a scoreless sudden-victory period, Giaramita recorded a reversal in the first half of the tiebreaker for a 3-1 lead. Watkins escaped early while down in the second half of the tiebreaker, but Giaramita made it 5-2 with a takedown before a late escape by Watkins resulted in a 5-3 decision.

The same scenario played out in Giaramita's quarterfinal matchup with sixth-seeded Jamie James of Alma. The two traded escapes in the second and third periods, which sent the bout to overtime tied at 1-1. Giaramita, however, ended the match in the first sudden-victory period with a takedown for a 3-1 decision, raising his record to 34-5 on the season. He faces second-seeded Gerard Roam of Wartburg in the semifinals.

Second-seeded Puca recorded an 8-1 decision in his first action at 174 pounds against Luther's Javier Reyes. Puca led 2-0 after a first-period takedown and pushed his lead to 5-0 after two periods with an escape and a takedown. Reyes recorded an escape in the third period, but Puca registered a takedown and a riding-time point for the 8-1 final.

In the quarterfinals, Puca dropped a 6-3 decision to seventh-seed Ben Swarr of Messiah. Puca took a 2-0 lead with a second-period reversal, but Swarr answered with a reversal and two nearfall points for a 4-2 advantage after two periods. Swarr recorded an escape in the third period, and each wrestler was assessed a penalty point for the final score.

In his consolation match, Puca was even with Sonnieboy Blanco of Washington & Jefferson, 6-6, in the third period, but Blanco recorded a takedown to go ahead 8-6 and held on for an 8-7 victory as Puca was awarded a riding-time point. Puca finished his career as a two-time All-American. He ranks third in all-time wins with 118 and is tied for fourth in career falls with 43

Roden dropped a pair of tough decisions against seeded wrestlers at 125 pounds. In his opening bout against fourth-seeded Arnulfo Olea of Wartburg, Roden led 3-2 early in the third period after a reversal. Olea regained the lead with a reversal of his own. Roden quickly escaped to tie the bout at 4-4, Olea recorded a takedown and nearfall points late to earn a 10-4 decision.

In the consolation bracket, Roden faced fifth-seeded Ryan Weinmann of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Roden took a 2-0 lead on a first-period takedown before Weinmann countered with a reversal to tie the match at 2-2. Roden led, 3-2, after an escape, but Weinmann went ahead 4-3 on a reversal in the second period and clinched the decision with a takedown and nearfall points late in the bout for a 10-3 decision. Roden finished the season with a 15-15 record. 

Tournament Web Page (By host Cornell College; includes links to brackets, live scoring, video, results and other info) but
Official NCAA Div. III Wrestling Page
Digital Championship Program

Live Video (Day 2)
Brackets