KANSAS CITY, MO — Senior Cam Pine capped his standout Golden Eagle wrestling career with a pair of matches at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Thursday.
The Clarion 184-pounder lost in both of his bouts at the T-Mobile Center.
Pine’s day began with a match against sixth-seeded Bernie Truax of Penn State, a three-time All-American transfer from Cal Poly. Truax scored a pair of takedowns in the first period against Pine, as well as a three-point near fall, to take a 9-1 lead heading into the second period.
Pine earned an escape point as well as a penalty point in the second period, but Truax added two more takedowns to extend his lead. The match wrapped early in the third period as Truax notched one more takedown for the technical fall, 18-2.
In his consolation bracket match against North Carolina’s Gavin Kane, Pine came out firing with a pair of quick takedowns against his opponent. His second takedown of the first period came with just 34 seconds left, and Pine took a 6-2 lead and 30 seconds of riding time into the second period.
Kane got an escape early in the second and a takedown midway through to tie the score at 6-6, and it looked like the bout would head to overtime as neither gained much offensive traction in the third. Kane came in on a shot late, finally finishing for the takedown with just four seconds remaining for the 9-6 decision.
Pine finishes his season with a 23-7 overall record, and his three-year tenure as a Golden Eagle with a 69-23 record.
