Wabash senior Keith Garrard finished in fifth place at 197 pounds at the 2007 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championship Meet at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. The fifth place finish earns Garrard All-America honors.
Garrard won his Friday match to advance to the champion semifinal bracket against top-seeded Tyler Miller from Wartburg. The two wrestlers met Saturday afternoon with Miller coming away with a 10-2 victory. That sent the Wabash senior to the consolation bracket where he took an early lead in the first period against Jason Reilly from Kings College. But Reilly came back in the second period from the top position, catching Garrard in a cradle before working the move to a pin at the 3:09 mark of the match.
Garrard won the fifth-place finals match with a medical forfeit by Muhlenberg's Matthew Loesch.
"It's been a great season for Keith," Wabash head coach Brian Anderson said after the final match. "Keith has worked very hard to get to this point, and really wrestled well this weekend against some great competition.
"His Friday night pin against the fourth seed showed the type of ability he has developed over his career. I'm proud of what he's accomplished. Keith deserves to be an All-American."
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