Geesman Named All-American at NCAA Division III Championships
By just qualifying for the Division III national wrestling tournament, MIT heavyweight standout Glenn J. Geesman ’09 had already accomplished the remarkable. But what the junior sensation achieved Friday night at the U.S. Cellular Center was beyond extraordinary. In the late evening hours, MIT’s most prolific muscleman was hailed as an NCAA All-American after pinning his opponent from York College in 2:27. Just before that match, Geesman soundly defeated his counterpart from the State University of New York at Oswego, 10-1.
“Personally, I am extremely proud of Glenn on his outstanding performance,” said MIT head wrestling coach Tom Layte. “I am so impressed with how Glenn came back from his first round loss and won five straight matches in dominating fashion. He was the talk of the tournament. All the coaches and fans were very impressed with Glenn’s performance.”
Geesman became MIT’s first All-American in 24 years, as the Engineers closed the tournament ranked 15th as a team in the country, their best ever finish in NCAA history. Kenneth R. Shull ’84 secured Tech’s last All-American accolade in 1984.
After losing his first match by a 6-2 score, Geesman won his next five matches, the clincher being a takedown of York’s Luke Panizzi at the 2:27 mark.
Geesman earned a berth to the nationwide tourney after posting a 6-1 record, including five pins, to win the New England College Conference Wrestling Association heavyweight championship on Feb. 23-24.
Geesman finished the season with a 32-5 ledger, including 21 pins to lead the competitive Pilgrim League. The star also ranked second overall in the league in his weight class, while standing in the top three in the country in pins in all divisions. For his outstanding efforts, Geesman earned Pilgrim League All-Star Honorable Mention honors. He was also named to the Pilgrim League 2008 Scholar-Athlete All-Star Team along with teammate Joseph B. Silverman ’10.
“The great news is Glenn will be back next season to accomplish his goal of becoming a national champion,” Layte said.