e City, at 142 pounds, and Chris Marshall, a sophomore
from Aspers, at 134 pounds.Two Clarion University wrestlers achieved All-American status at the 1997 NCAA Division I National Championships in March. Sheldon Thomas, a senior from Newark, DE, led the team with a third place finish at 118-pounds, while teammate Bryan Stout, a senior from Barnegat, NJ, earned a fourth place finish at heavyweight.
Held at the University of Northern Iowa's UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Clarion finished 14th in the tournament with a total of 31.50 points. The University of Iowa won the team title with an NCAA record of 170 points.
"I thought we wrestled very well as a team," said fifth year head coach Jack Davis. "Our wrestlers gave it everything they had and that's all you can ask going in," he continued. "Sheldon and Bryan were All-Americans, and Tommy (Tomeo) was just one win away from also being an All-American. We were 13-7 in matches wrestled, finished with two All-Americans and placed 14th in the team scoring. I'd say that's a very good tournament."
Clarion's wrestlers at the NCAA's included All-Americans Thomas, Stout, Tom Tomeo, a
junior from Grove City, at 142 pounds, and Chris Marshall, a sophomore
from Aspers, at 134 pounds.
Thomas finished the season with an overall record of 35-2, having won at the Las
Vegas Open, the Wilkes Open, the PSAC tournament, and the EWL tournament. A 4-time NCAA
Division I Qualifier, he was a three-time All-American. He is a three-time Pennsylvania
State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and EWL Champion and finished his career with a record of
124-17. He is tied with Don Rohn for fifth on the all-time win list. He was also 1996 
Co-EWL "Wrestler of the Year".
Stout became the first wrestler in Clarion history to earn four-time NCAA Division I All-America status, while becoming only the fourth wrestler in EWL history to post four-time All-American honors. Stout moved up to wrestle heavyweight this year after three years at 190 pounds.
Stout was 4-2 in the 1997 NCAA's and finished his season with a 29-5 overall record. He finished his career with a record of 110-23, 13th on the Clarion all-time win list.
Tomeo was 3-2 at the 1997 NCAA's and barely missed All-America status. Tom ended the season with a 17-10 overall record and now has a career record of 67-28.
Marshall, unseeded at 134 pounds, posted a 1-2 NCAA record. He finished his sophomore season with an overall record of 26-8 and a career record of 58-18.
Clarion's overall record for the 1996-97 season was 5-10-1, their EWL record was 1-4-1, and their PSAC record was 0-3-0.