Hofstra senior Charles Griffin and junior Alton Lucas earned All-American honors Friday at the 2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade  Center. The two All-American honors in 2008 marks the third consecutive year that the Pride has recorded multiple honorees.

The Pride are in 15th place, with 33.5 points, after day two of the three-day NCAA Championships. The Iowa Hawkeyes, who have clinched their first National Championship since 2000, lead the pack heading into the final day with 102 points. Ohio State is second with 71 points and Iowa State is third with 68 points. Penn State (63.0) and Central Michigan (61.5) round out the top five in the standings.

Griffin, the second-seed at 141 pounds, earned his second straight All-American award in Friday's morning session when he advanced to the semifinals. In the night session, Griffin squared off against Ohio State's sixth seed J. Jaggers, a wrestler he defeated earlier this season and in last year's NCAA Championships. Jaggers jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the match only to see Griffin close to within 11-9 in the waning seconds of the match. Griffin's final shot took Jaggers down but not before time expired ending the Pride senior's quest for a national title. Griffin (35-5) will face Iowa State's ninth-seeded Nick Gallick in Saturday morning's consolation semifinals. If he wins he will wrestle the winner of the match between Nathan Morgan from Oklahoma and Matt Kyler for third place later in the morning.

Junior Alton Lucas earned his first All-American honor Friday night with a 9-5 victory over Nathan Lee from Boise State. Lucas then dropped a 3-1 decision to Central Michigan's Brandon Sinnott on a takedown with four seconds remaining in sudden victory. Lucas (29-6) will wrestle for seventh place Saturday morning against Navy's seventh-seed Matt Stolpinski.

Three other Pride wrestlers fell one win short of All-American honors and had their respective seasons ended. Sophomore Lou Ruggirello dropped a 5-1 decision to Iowa State's fifth-seed Nick Fanthorpe to get knocked out of the Championship. Ruggirello ends his season with a 38-7 record. Sophomore Jonny Bonilla-Bowman was eliminated when he dropped a heart-breaking 7-6 decision to Iowa State's seventh-seed Cyler Sanderson at 157 pounds. Bonilla-Bowman ends his first season at Hofstra with a 19-13 record. Senior Joe Rovelli, the 12th-seed at 197 pounds, also fell one win short of All-American honors when he dropped a 7-0 decision to Nebraska's eighth-seeded Craig Brester in the consolation round. Rovelli, a four-time NCAA qualifier and a three-time CAA Champion, ends his final season with a 29-7 record and a career record of 112-36.

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