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2007 D-II Nationals

KEARNEY, Neb. - Shippensburg freshman Steve Fittery (Denver/Cocalico) fell just short of a National Championship Saturday evening, finishing in second place at the 2007 Division II National Championships. Meanwhile, senior Mark Murphy (Dillsburg/Northern York) and redshirt sophomore Jason Groller (Easton/Easton) finished in sixth

place after completing wrestlebacks.

No. 3-ranked Fittery battled the nation's lone undefeated wrestler from any weight class remaining in the Championships, No. 1-ranked Kyle Evans of Central Oklahoma. Evans started off the Championship match with an early takedown, and after a reversal he led 4-0 after two rounds. After one reversal, an escape by Fittery and a riding time advantage, Evans finished with a 7-1 decision over Fittery.

After his four decisions at the National Championships, Fittery's final record for the season is 36-7, and the freshman wrestler earned All-American status with his performance. His second-place finish comes on the heels of Jamie Thomas and Corey Jacoby's second-place finishes last year at the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

At 184, No. 5-ranked Murphy was forced to medically forfeit his final two scheduled matches, so he finished in sixth place for the tournament. Murphy concludes his career for Shippensburg with a total of 65 wins and 33 pins in a career that brought him a third, fifth, and sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships as a Red Raider.

Meanwhile, at heavyweight, Groller lost to Brady Wilson of Minnesota State-Mankato, 9-1 in the fifth place matchup. It was Groller's first appearance at the NCAA Championships.

Steve Fittery in the NCAA Finals