Wrestling set to host the “Shorty” Hitchcock Memorial Classic

Saturday, January 12

Millersville, PA

9:00 AM

Millersville University

"Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Classic

Wrestling set to host the “Shorty” Hitchcock Memorial Classic

1/8/2019 2:10:00 PM | Wrestling

Tournament Central

By: Ryan Small, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Millersville, Pa. – Coming off its first tournament of the New Year, the Millersville University wrestling team returns back to campus to host the 16th annual "Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Classic Saturday. The Marauders will host the event at the Student Memorial Center on the Millersville University campus.

Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday. There will be no team score. The tournament will place the top six in each weight class and the finalists will receive awards.

The event is named for Floyd "Shorty" Hitchcock was head wrestling coach at Millersville University for 18 seasons (1984-2002) and finished his MU coaching career with a record of 180-113-4. He died of cancer in February 2002 and the "Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Classic was founded shortly thereafter in his honor. In 2002, the Wyalusing, Pa. native was presented with the Lifetime to Service Award by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Hitchcock was inducted into the Bloomsburg University Hall of Fame in 1982 in honor of his accomplishments as a collegiate wrestler. He won the NCAA Division I and II titles as a 177-pounder during his senior year, captured three PSAC titles and had a dual meet record of 84-7-2. He graduated from Bloomsburg in 1974.

Entering the tournament, redshirt senior Shane Ruhnke who is ranked third in Division II at 165 pounds, has the best record on the team with at 9-2. Ruhnke is following up a second-place performance at the David H. Lehman Open where he defeated three Division I wrestlers. Ruhnke leads the team in major decision victories with three. Ruhnke holds a 7-1 record while facing opponents in a tournament environment. From the start of the conference championships, to the championship match of the David H. Lehman Open, Ruhnke went on a seven-bout win streak.

Last year, Ruhnke placed third at the "Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Classic. The other Marauder who placed was Zachary Yackenchick, earning a fourth-place finish. The last time a Marauder won a weight class in the "Shorty" Hitchcock Memorial Classic was when Josh Evans claimed first at 165 in the 2007-08 season.

Two other Marauders are coming off tournament runs at the David H. Lehman Open: senior 197-pound Colton Dull and redshirt-senior 285-pound David Wuestner. Both advanced to their respective quarterfinals matchups. Dull is tied for second on the team in wins (8) with freshman 133-pound Ryan McGuire but Dull holds first in technical falls (6).

Junior 285-pound Caleb Warner and freshman 133-pound Anthony Wiggins made their first appearances of the season while Wiggins made his collegiate debut at the David H. Lehman Open. Warner went 2-2 on the day.

Freshman 285-pound Joshua Walls has won four matches in tournament environments. McGuire placed third at the conference championships and the W&J Invitational. McGuire has a 7-4 tournament record. He leads the team in pins with three. McGuire tied Ruhnke with seven tournament wins.

Live results of the tournament are available here.