Lazor and Zabriskie Claim Northeast Regional Titles – Qualify for Trials

Today in Pennsylvania, four wrestlers who competed their college careers in the state of Iowa wrestled at the Phil Portuese Northeast Regional Championships , with eligible winners earning an automatic qualifying spot to the field of eight at the World Team Trials later this summer in Madison, Wisconsin. Three Panther Wrestling Club members: Joey Lazor, Brett Robbins, and Andrew Sorenson competed along with David Zabriskie, a former Cyclone NCAA champion.

Joey Lazor was the highlight for the Panther Wrestling Club, as he went 3-0 on the way to his 61 kg tournament title, and not once did the former UNI All-American go the distance in his match. Lazor opened with a 10-0 technical fall over Daniel Amancio and then added a first period fall over Josh Patrick to reach the finals. There he put together a 7-1 first period lead over 2013 Virginia Tech All-American Jarrod Garnett, and then put him away in the final period 11-1.

Zabriskie, who now trains out east at the Lehigh Valley Athletic Club, also picked up a tournament title at 97 kg. Zabriskie started with a pair of technical falls, defeating James Benjamin and Abram Ayala 10-0 and 12-1 respectively. Joe Nord gave him his toughest match, but he prevailed 8-0, and added his third technical fall on the weekend with a 12-2 drubbing over Ryan Solomon.

Eight wrestlers qualify for the World Team Trials, which is this June in Madison. Five of those wrestlers come from the top finishers at the U.S. Open championships next weekend in Las Vegas. The Northeast Regional winners (so Lazor and Zabriskie) qualify, as does the champion of the Northern Plains Regional later this spring. A final wrestler is selected by Wild card, which means even though Robbins and Sorenson did not win a title this weekend, they still have a few more opportunities to qualify for the Trials.

Former UNI wrestler Brett Robbins got a rough draw at 65 kg as his first round match was against former Minnesota NCAA champion Jayson Ness, who beat Robbins 8-5 (which ended up being the Minnesota wrestler’s closest match on the day). He then rattled off five straight wins and only Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers) was able to hold Robbins from winning by fall or technical fall. That put him in the third place bout where he won 10-2 over Alex Radsky to win the consolation bracket.

Sorenson took a different route to the third place match, as he opened with three straight technical falls to reach the semifinals at 86 kg. His opponent was #5 ranked Richard Perry and after a late score in the first, Sorenson led 2-1 midway through the match. Perry then stormed back to win 7-2 and drop the former Cyclone to the backside of the bracket. Sorenson posted back-to-back consolation victories to also take third. He won 13-3 in the consolation semifinals and then 12-5 over Alexander DeCiantis to finish.

Senior 61 KG – Joey Lazor’s place is 1st and has scored 31.00 team points.
Quarterfinal – Joey Lazor (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by tech fall over Daniel Amancio (NYAC) (TF 10-0)
Semifinal – Joey Lazor (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by fall over Josh Patrick (Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club) (Fall 2:26)
1st Place Match – Joey Lazor (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by tech fall over Jarrod Garnett (Lehigh valley athletic club) (TF 11-1)

Senior 65 KG – Brett Robbins’s place is 3rd and has scored 36.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 – Jayson Ness (Minnesota Storm) won by decision over Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) (Dec 8-5)
Cons. Round 2 – Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) won by tech fall over Peter Detore (Curby 3-Style Wrestling Club) (TF 10-0)
Cons. Round 3 – Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) won by fall over Patrick Quinlan (Lancaster Alliance Wrestling C) (Fall 2:18)
Cons. Round 4 – Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) won by tech fall over Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh Wrestling Club) (TF 10-0)
Cons. Round 5 – Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) won by decision over Anthony Giraldo (Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club) (Dec 14-6)
Cons. Semi – Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) won by fall over Domenic Forys (Pittsburgh Wrestling Club) (Fall 1:02)
3rd Place Match – Brett Robbins (Panther Wrestling Club RTC.) won by decision over Alex Radsky (Special Ops WC) (Dec 10-2)

Senior 86 KG – Andrew Sorenson’s place is 3rd and has scored 33.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Andrew Sorenson (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by tech fall over Phil Woods (Edge) (TF 11-0)
Champ. Round 2 – Andrew Sorenson (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by tech fall over Dillon Artigliere (Finger Lakes-RTC) (TF 13-2)
Quarterfinal – Andrew Sorenson (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by tech fall over Samson Imonode (West Point Wrestling Club) (TF 10-0)
Semifinal – Richard Perry (NYAC/Penn WC) won by decision over Andrew Sorenson (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Semi – Andrew Sorenson (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by tech fall over Dillon Artigliere (Finger Lakes-RTC) (TF 13-3)
3rd Place Match – Andrew Sorenson (Panther Wrestling Club RTC) won by decision over Alexander DeCiantis (Drexel) (Dec 12-5)

Senior 97 KG – David Zabriskie’s place is 1st and has scored 35.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – David Zabriskie (Lehigh valley athletic club) won by tech fall over James Benjamin (Buffalo wrestling club) (TF 10-0)
Quarterfinal – David Zabriskie (Lehigh valley athletic club) won by tech fall over Abram Ayala (Princeton Amateur Wrestling So) (TF 12-1)
Semifinal – David Zabriskie (Lehigh valley athletic club) won by decision over Joe Nord (Minnesota Storm) (Dec 8-0)
1st Place Match – David Zabriskie (Lehigh valley athletic club) won by tech fall over Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh Wrestling Club) (TF 12-2)