Jan. 19, 2002

Charlottesville, VA-The Old Dominion wrestling squad finished fourth at the 2002 Virginia Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships in Charlottesville, VA this evening. Virginia Tech won the tournament, which featured ODU, James Madison, George Mason, Virginia, VMI and the Apprentice School.

Overall, the Monarchs had four placewinners, including two-runners up at 165 and 285 and one champion at 174.

John Starkes (Chesapeake, VA) finished third at 125, defeating VMI's Juan Sanchez 1-1 in a tie-breaker.

Ben Summerlin (Lynchburg, VA) and Derrell Lorthridge (Wilmington, DE) took second place in their weight classes. Summerlin was forced to forfeit the championship match at 165 and Lorthridge lost a 1-1 tie-breaker match to Virginia's Josh Etu in the 285 finals.

Senior Jeff Rusak (Reading, PA) claimed his second straight title and third in four years, defeating yet another nationally-ranked wrestler for the crown at 174. Rusak rolled through the bracket, racking up three straight pins before defeating VMI's Matt Erwin (#17 InterMat) 8-3 in the championship match.

Rusak has a perfect 19-0 record with 10 pins to his credit so far this season. He is also undefeated in six matches against nationally-ranked foes in 2001-2002.

Old Dominion will be back in action on Saturday, February 2, when they take on Virginia and Kent State.

Team Scores:
1. Virginia Tech 100
2. Virginia 84.5
3. VMI 73
4. ODU 61.5
5. James Madison 58
6. George Mason 47
7. Apprentice 14.5


VIRGINIA INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
ODU Individual Placewinners:
125-John Starkes (3rd place)
165-Ben Summerlin (2nd place)
174-Jeff Rusak (1st place)
285-Derrell Lorthridge (2nd place)