Esch finishes fifth at NWCA nationals

Lance Esch, a former Indian Lake wrestling standout, continues to achieve success on the national level as he placed fifth at the National Wrestling College Association national championships. The NWCA is the organization for club teams in college wrestling.

Esch, who wrestles at 174 pounds for the club team at the University of Rio Grande, entered the national tournament with a 10-0 record. He reached the quarterfinals before losing. Esch then came back to beat Ricky Rieck from the University of Florida 5-4 to place fifth. Rieck is a fourtime All-American.

Esch ends his season with a 15-2 record. He won the North Central Conference championships, was ranked sixth in the nation and led Rio Grande in team points this season. This also marked his third trip to the national meet. He placed sixth as a freshman and second as a sophomore.

Former Benjamin Logan standout Quincy Coleman, who wrestles for Bowling Green State University, also earned a national berth. He went 1-2 in the 157-pound weight class, placed fourth at the NCC championships and was ranked 17th in the nation. Coleman compiled a 15-6 record.

Brackets and season summaries of Esch and Coleman can be found at www.ncwa.net/nationals.

In other highlights involving former area wrestling standouts, Ben Logan product Heath Allen recently finished a varsity season for Ohio University at 125 pounds. He earned two wins for the Bobcats.

West Liberty-Salem products Josh Levy and Josh Lewis also had solid seasons. Lewis wrestles at 174 pounds for Eastern Michigan, while Levy wrestles at 141 pounds for Heidelberg College.

Lewis was on the reserve squad this season and earned a fifth-place finish at the Michigan State Open. Levy compiled a 7-8 record on the reserve squad and placed seventh at the Messiah-Petrofes Invitational.

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