Cedar Rapids, Iowa…The long list of All-American wrestlers at The College of New Jersey grew by two on Saturday as junior Greg Osgoodby (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) and freshman Justin Bonitatis (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) each earned that distinction by placing in the top eight of their respective weight classes at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships.
Osgoodby placed seventh at 174 pounds, while Bonitatis finished eighth at 165. The two Lions increased the program’s overall number of All-Americans to 138
In the consolation bracket at 174, Osgoodby opened the second day of competition falling to Kyle Kehrli from Cornell College by the score of 6-1. He capped the tournament on a winning note as he defeated eighth-seeded Jerome Owens from Johnson & Wales University, 13-7 to claim seventh place.
Bonitatis also dropped his first match on Saturday as third-seeded Gino Russo from Baldwin Wallace pulled out a 12-10 decision over the Lion freshman. He then faced Wartburg’s Justin Hanson in the seventh-place bout and fell by the count of 12-7.
Both wrestlers finished the season with identical 36-7 records.
One long streak did come to an end for TCNJ as they failed to finish in the top 20 at the national event for the first time since the tournament began in 1974. The Lions finished with 14 team points.
The NCAA Championships were held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with Coe College, Cornell College and the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference serving as the hosts.
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