Bobby Dierna, the top seed and defending national champion, pinned fourth-seeded Derek Arnold of Ursinus in 1:46 in the semifinals (d3photography.com)
LA CROSSE, WIS. — Senior Bobby Dierna (Webster/Wayne) became the first Cortland wrestler in program history to win two NCAA national titles with an 8-7 decision versus second-seeded Logan Thomsen of Wartburg Saturday night at the NCAA Div. III Championships hosted by Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Dierna is just the third four-time All-American for the Red Dragons, joining Joe Giaramita and Mike Bucci. He placed third at 149 pounds in 2013, second at the same weight in 2014 and won the title last season at 157 pounds. He concluded the season with a 21-0 record that included nine pins, six technical falls and five major decisions. His 4-0 record at the national tournament featured wins over four All-Americans, and he concluded his career with a 106-9 record. He is tied for seventh in all-time wins and finished second with 47 career falls.
Two other Red Dragons wrapped up the season with All-America honors. Senior Colin Barber (Westfield, NJ) capped off his career with a fourth-place national finish, and junior Maverick Passaro (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) earned an eighth-place showing at the tournament.
As a team, the Red Dragons finished seventh with 45 points, their fifth top-10 showing in the last six years. Wartburg won the team title with 129.5 points, followed by Augsburg (79), Wabash (62.5), Johnson & Wales (61.5), Messiah (56), Loras (46.5) and Cortland.
Dierna, the top seed and defending national champion, pinned fourth-seeded Derek Arnold of Ursinus in 1:46 in the semifinals. In the national-title bout, he built a 3-1 lead after the first period on a takedown and a violation point. After Thomsen worked an escape to open the second period, Dierna registered a takedown for a 5-2 lead. Another Thomsen escape made it 5-3, but Dierna recorded a third takedown before a Thomsen escape made the score 7-4 in favor of Dierna entering the final period. Starting on bottom in the third period, Dierna eventually escaped to build an 8-4 advantage. Thomsen earned a takedown in the closing minute, but Dierna denied any back points and secured the 8-7 victory after Thomsen was awarded a riding-time point.
Passaro, in his first year at Cortland, finished the season 15-4 after posting a 2-3 record at the championships to earn an eighth-place finish and All-America honors. He opened the day with a 6-4 loss to seventh-seeded Cam Timock of Central College. In the bout for seventh place, Passaro lost to Owen Doster of Wabash, 12-8, with Doster scoring a takedown and four back point in the third period to earn the win.
Barber began the day with an 8-1 decision over Michael LaBell of Johnson & Wales. He then avenged a day-one loss to third-seeded Richard Carlson of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a 5-1 decision to advance to the third-place bout against Sonnieboy Blanco of Washington & Jefferson. Blanco recorded two takedowns, and Barber managed two escapes but could not register a third-period takedown that would have tied the score and fell, 4-2. Barber finished the season 40-11, including 5-2 at the championships, and ended his career with an overall record of 113-40 and his first All-America honor. His 40 victories are tied for second most in a single season at Cortland and he ranks fifth in career wins.
