Birmingham, Ala. – Fueled by a pair of third-place finishes, Minnesota State claimed eighth-place at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Champion with 35.5 points. Alphonso Vruno (133 lbs) and Cody Quinn (165 lbs) each earned All-American honors en route to their respective third-place finishes.
After solidifying their All-American honors last night, Vruno and Quinn each improved their standing to third-place today by going 3-0 on day two of competition.
Vruno opened with a 6-5 win over Justin Reinsma (Southwest Minnesota State). This was the third time that Vruno defeated Reinsma this season.
Vruno went on to defeat Marty Carlson (Notre Dame) in an 11-0 major decision. In the third-place match, Vruno defeated Michael Labry (Ashland) 2-1.
Sophomore Cody Quinn opened day two with back-to-back first period pins over Justin Samora (Adams State) and Blake Ridenour (Newberry). The falls came at 1:47 and 1:53, respectively. In the third-place match, Quinn continued his dominating ways, downing Chris Watson (Central Oklahoma) in an 11-2 major decision.
With his three pins in 5:21, Quinn earned the Gorriaran Award at the championship. The award, named after Manuel “Manny” Gorriaran, is awarded to the wrestler who records the most falls in the shortest cumulative time. Dexter Carter (Ouachita Baptist), Justin Samora (Adams State) and Blake Ridenour (Newberry) all fell to the two-time All-American. Quinn is the third Maverick to win the award. Former MSU greats Matt Petsinger (1998 and 2000) and Troy Szydel (1995) also garnered the award.
Alphonso Vruno – 133 lbs
Vruno over Dylan D’urso (Mercyhurst) SV 3-1
Daniel Deshazer (Nebraska-Kearney) over Vruno 3-2
Vruno over Martin Ramirez (Adams State) 7-1
Vruno over Justin Reinsma (Southwest Minnesota State) 6-5
Vruno over Marty Carlson (Notre Dame) major 11-0
Vruno over Michael Labry (Ashland) 2-1
Cody Quinn – 165 lbs
Quinn over Dexter Carter (Ouachita Baptist) fall 1:40
Isaiah Jimenez (San Francisco State) over Quinn 4-2
Quinn over Mason True (Findlay) major 11-3
Quinn over Justin Samora (Adams State) fall 1:47
Quinn over Blake Ridenour (Newberry) fall 1:53
Quinn over Chris Watson (Central Oklahoma) major 11-2