Cael Sanderson following his victory in the quarterfinals against Richard Perry. (Photo via Mike Pucillo)

Seven champions were crowned on Saturday at the USA Wrestling Northeast Senior Freestyle Regionals in Brockport, N.Y.

While the event serves as one of the regional qualifiers for the annual World Team Trials, much of the buzz around the event centered around the entry of current Penn State head wrestling coach and 2004 Olympic Champion Cael Sanderson.

Sanderson didn’t give up a point in three victories at 96kg/211 pounds beating Richard Perry of the Husky Wrestling Club 8-0, 6-0 and GVWC’s Travis Taylor 7-0, 6-0 before beating Jack Jensen of Gator 6-0, 6-0 in the final.

Jensen was a 2008 All-American for Oklahoma State and recently served as an assitant coach at North Carolina. 

Sanderson said the tournament was “just for fun.” But for other Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members, it was about making a statement in qualifying for the World Team Trials. 

Mark McKnight of the NLWC, beat Sean Boylan 3-1, 3-0 to win the championship at 55kg/121 pounds. 

Coming off an injury that sidelined him for the majority of the collegiate season, Logan Stieber of the Ohio Regional Training Center and the New York Athletic Club beat Nick Fanthorpe of the NLWC in two period. Steiber, a true freshman at Ohio State, beat Fanthorpe 3-1, 2-0 to win at 60kg/132 pounds.

In the wake of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents vote to move Nebraska-Omaha to Division I, Maverick’s three-time Division II champion Todd Meneely won the 66kg/145 pound bracket with a 4-0, 6-0 victory over David Marble of the Bison Wrestling Club.

One of the tournament’s top performances was turned in by Husky Wrestling Club’s Matt Moley. The former Bloomsburg All-American beat the Army’s Johnny Koepp 3-0, 4-0 in the finals at 74kg/163 pounds. 

Earlier in the tournament, Moley beat the New York Athletic Club’s J.P. O’Connor en route to the finals. 

Max Askren of the New York Athletic Club beat Brandon Sinnott of the Gator Wrestling Club 4-1, 6-0. Sinnott defeated Hudson Taylor of the NYAC in the semifinals. Sinnott was on the coaching staff at Maryland while Taylor, a three-time All-American, competed there. 

One of Sanderson’s protégés, Jake Varner, captured the championship at 120kg/264.5 pounds, beating Ithaca’s Matthew Mahon 6-0, 9-0. 

All champions qualified for the 2011 U.S. World Team Trials in Oklahoma City in June. Sanderson and Varner hold qualification standards already, having represented the U.S. on previous world teams. 

Bloomsburg University’s Husky Wrestling Club also performed well, placing five wrestlers in the top four, including one champion – Moley. 

Northeast Senior Freestyle Regional Championship Finals
The College at Brockport, Brockport, N.Y.
55kg: Mark McKnight (Nittany Lion WC) DEC Sean Boylan (Husky WC) 3-1, 3-0
60kg: Logan Stieber (NYAC) DEC Nick Fanthorpe (Nittany Lion WC) 3-1, 2-0
66kg: Todd Meneely (Maverick WC) DEC David Marble (Bison WC) 4-0, 6-0
74kg: Matt Moley (Husky WC) DEC Johnny Koepp (Army WCAP) 3-0, 4-0.
84kg: Max Askren (NYAC) DEC Brandon Sinnott (Gator WC) 4-1, 6-0.
96kg: Cael Sanderson (Nittany Lion WC) TF Jack Jensen (Gator WC) 6-0, 6-0
120kg: Jake Varner (Nittany Lion WC) TF Matthew Mahon (Ithaca) 6-0, 9-0.

Third Place
55kg: Anthony Marino (Husky WC) won by forfeit.
60kg: Jeremiah Biddle (Husky WC) DEC Nick Wilcox (Husky WC) 3-1, 6-3.
66kg: Bryan Smith (Husky WC) FALL Joel Webster (KT Kidz) 1-3, 1:34.
74kg: J.P. O’Connor (NYAC) DEC Bryce Busler (Husky WC) 1-0, 7-0.
84kg: Terry Madden (NYAC) DEC Hudson Taylor (NYAC) 6-0, 4-2.
96kg: Keeno Griffin (Griffin Wrestling) DEC Christian Boley (Maryland WC) 3-0, 1-0.
120kg: Patrick Krenz (Brockport) FOR John Wilkinson (Razor)