2011 East Regional Wrestling Championship Recaps

Liberty wrapped up its fifth-consecutive NCAA East Regional Championship Sunday afternoon in the Vines Center, earning four weight-class titles while head coach Jesse Castro was also honored with his fourth Coach of the Year award.

The Flames sent seven grapplers to championship bouts, with four coming out on top. Since the 2006-07 season, Liberty has now claimed the regional title each year, while advancing 24 wrestlers on to the NCAA National Championships.

Liberty’s 88 team points in the event are the fewest since its first year competing in the event, when the squad finished with 86 points. Gardner-Webb wrapped up the second-place spot with 74.5 points, while also claiming four weight-class titles on the day. The 13.5-point margin of victory over the Bulldogs is the smallest in Liberty’s five wins since the 2007 season as well, when Gardner-Webb finished second, 17.5 points behind.

Brackets: 2011 NCAA Division I East Regional Wrestling Championships Results

The Gardner-Webb wrestling team had four individuals crowned East Regional Champions on Sunday afternoon, as Ryan Medved, Alex Medved, Jonathan Velazquez and Travis Porter all posted first-place finishes in their respective weight classes to earn a trip to the 2011 NCAA National Championships hosted by Rider University in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. on March 17-19th.

Hollywood movie producers might start calling Mike Greck for the rights to his story. In four years as a Millersville wrestler, Greck has seen more than his share of adversity. Like a classic sports film, Greck battled injuries, illnesses and trying times only to come out on top in the end. On Sunday in Lynchburg, Va., Greck won the NCAA East Regional 141-pound weight class and punched his ticket to the NCAA Division I Championships in Philadelphia.

Greck, now 13-6 on the season, rallied for a 7-6 win over Liberty’s Seth Hicks in the semifinals, and then edged Sacred Heart’s Justin Belanger 3-1 in the championship round. The win in the finals landed him the first nationals berth of his career.