2009 NCAA Champ Jarrod King Granted 6th Year of Eligibility

Edinboro University Sports Information

EDINBORO, Pa. — Edinboro University received word today from the NCAA that wrestler Jarrod King has been granted a sixth year of eligibility. King now seeks to become Edinboro’s first two-time Division I national champion after capturing the 165 lb. crown this past March. Combined with the recent news that Phil Moricone would also receive a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, head coach Tim Flynn’s lineup has taken on a decidedly different and more imposing look.

King transferred to Edinboro two years ago after spending three injury-filled seasons at Oklahoma. He redshirted in 2004-05 thanks to a shoulder injury, then posted a 16-9 record for the Sooners at 165 lbs. in 2005-06. The following year he was again felled by s shoulder injury, going 6-2 while missing almost the entire season. The NCAA deemed that King had missed two full seasons due to separate injuries and therefore granted the sixth year of eligibility.

Jarrod King

In his first season as Fighting Scot King went 32-9, qualifying for Nationals at 165 lbs. for the first time. He went 2-2 at Nationals. King won both EWL and PSAC championships.

King capped an incredible year this past March by winning the national championship at 165 lbs. after arriving in St. Louis as the 12th seed. The senior proceeded to win all five of his matches, upsetting three higher seeds along the way. The first was a 12-5 decision over fourth-seeded Moza Fay of Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he won a grueling 6-6 two tiebreaker match against Iowa State’s Jonathan Reader, the eighth seed. He prevailed thanks to an 11-second advantage in riding time.

That left King in the finals against second-seeded Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. He parlayed a body lock in the third period for the bout’s lone takedown, snapping a 1-1 tie to win 3-2. King became Edinboro’s fourth Division I national champion, joining Sean O’Day, Josh Koscheck and teammate Gregor Gillespie.

King ended a rollercoaster year with a 32-5 record. He ran off 12 straight wins to start the season, winning the Oklahoma Gold Classic and the PSAC Championships. Following a 4-1 loss to sixth-ranked Colt Sponseller of Ohio State, King won eight more matches in a row. That included a win in the title match of the Reno Tournament. The eight-match win streak came to an end thanks to a 3-2 loss to top-ranked Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the championship match of the Southern Scuffle. Less than two weeks later King had to be pulled from the lineup in the Virginia Duals due to a knee injury. It turned out he had a staph infection in his knee. Following a stay in the hospital and over a month out of the lineup, King returned with a week of practice under his belt to compete in Edinboro’s final four dual meets.

King struggled somewhat upon his return, losing two of three matches, including a 5-3 decision to Donnie Jones of West Virginia in the final dual of the season. He looked like a different wrestler two weeks later, pinning Jones in 23 seconds in the EWL title match for his second straight EWL crown. King is a standout both in the classroom and on the wrestling mat. He has a 3.79 GPA as an Individualized Studies major. In wrestling, King was named both the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Wrestler of the Year. In the classroom, he was recently named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men’s At-Large University Division All-America Team. The Fighting Scot wrestler was one of 15 student-athletes named to the first team. He was also an NECA All-Academic selection and was named to the PSAC Winter Top Ten. Moricone entered the 2008-09 campaign seeking a third straight trip to the NCAA Division I National Championships. He opened with three impressive wins in the Fighting Scot Duals, but then went down with a herniated disk in practice. He would later require surgery, ending his senior year. Moricone will return with a 59-26 career record. Like King, his back injury was the second major injury he suffered during his time at Edinboro. He had previously suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2005-06 as a redshirt freshman. That came after he opened the season with a 6-2 record.

He returned the next year to claim the starting job at 174 lbs., finishing with a 26-11 record and qualifying for Nationals for the first time. He went 2-2 at Nationals. Moricone won the PSAC championship in 2006-07. Moricone returned to Nationals in 2007-08 after placing third at the EWL Championships. He would lose both of his matches to end the year with a 24-13 record.