Dean Lusk Phillip Marra Trey Turnblacer
Phillip Marra, Dean Lusk, and
Trey Turnblacer win berths in NCWA tournament
March 12-14, Allen, Texas
UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington sophomore wrestlers Dean Lusk (Ringgold High School) and Phillip Marra (Burrell H.S.) won the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Mid-East Conference March 1 to move on to the national tournament. In addition to Lusk and Marra, freshman Trey Turnblacer (Mars) finished fifth to lock up berths to the NCWA national championships, March 12-14 at the Allen Events Center in Allen, Texas.
The three student-athletes matched the most New Kensington has sent to the NCWA nationals since wrestling returned to the campus as an intercollegiate sport in 2010. Marra and Lusk went to the nationals a year ago, along with Colin Austin.
Lusk, a two-time mid-east regional champion, is ranked 10th nationally at 285 pounds. The 285-pound class will feature 85 wrestlers from across the country. Lusk won the Mid-East Conference title in 2014 and went on to a fifth-place finish at the NCWA tournament, earning All-America honors. The cornerstone of the campus' fifth-year wrestling program, Lusk owned a 14-1 record during the regular season. The Monongahela, Pa., native took second in the Penn State University Athletic Conference championships in February.
Marra is undefeated on the year at 19-0. The Lower Burrell resident is ranked ninth nationally in the 174-pound weight class. In addition to winning the Mid-east crown, Marra captured the PSUAC title. Last year, he finished ninth at the nationals in the 149-pound class. He will be vying with 185 other wrestlers in the 149-pound group. A graduate of the storied Burrell wrestling program, Marra went 98-42 in high school and earned fourth place at the state championships in 2013.
Turnblacer, who was raised in Butler, is ranked 54th at 235 pounds. The 6'2" political science major went 7-8 on the year. His weight class comprises 133 participants.
Nearly 100 wrestlers and 14 teams competed in the mid-east regional qualifier in Baltimore. The top six individuals in each weight class received invitations to the nationals. The New Kensington Lions are under the direction of first-year head coach Francis Healy.
Since the reincarnation of the wrestling program, 10 campus grapplers have made the trip to the NCWA nationals. Lou Gardone was the first, earning a fourth seed in the 197-pound division.
NCWA is the governing body for collegiate club wrestling teams in the United States and Canada. It is divided into seven regional conferences: Mid-East; Northeast; Mid-Atlantic; Southeast; North Central; Southwest; and West coast. The New Kensington Lions compete in the 18-member Mid-East region that includes programs from the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers University, University of Delaware and Lehigh University.
The campus ties to the NCWA are strong. Former Penn State New Kensington student Jim Giunta, a wrestler for the original campus program in the early '70s, is the founder and executive director of the organization.
Giunta, a 1971 graduate of Burrell High School, was a biology major at the campus. He switched to education after transferring to Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master’s degree in exercise physiology and cardiac rehabilitation. After graduation, he began teaching high school in Richardson, a North Dallas suburb, and served as the head wrestling coach there for seven years.
A resident of Dallas, he launched the Texas Interscholastic Wrestling Association in 1987 to promote wrestling in high schools. He formed the NCWA in 1997. Giunta was honored in 2004 with a lifetime achievement award by the Texas Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
For schedule and results of the NCWA tournament, visit http://ncwa.net/
Dean Lusk picked up one of his 13 wins Jan. 13 at a home match against Penn State Fayette.
Penn State New Kensington
Post-Season Wrestling
(2011-present)
NCWA National Championships Participants
Participant, National Ranking (weight class), Result
2015: Dean Lusk, 5th (285), TBD; Phillip Marra, 9th (174), TBD;
Colin Austin, 54th (235), TBD
2014: Dean Lusk, 5th (285), 5th; Phillip Marra, 9th (149), 9th;
Colin Austin, 21st (165), 20th
2013: John Dopplehauer, 18th (285), 24th;
James Melnyk, 63rd, (149), 24th
2011- Lou Gardone (197), 4th, forfeit; Mark Irwin (149), forfeit
Conference Champions
Name (weight class) Conference Champions
2015: Dean Lusk (285), PSUAC; Phillip Marra (174), Mid-East, PSUAC
2014: Dean Lusk (285), Mid-East Conference
2012-Matt Kepple (184), Penn State University Athletic Conference
2011- Lou Gardone (197), Mid-East Conference