NCAA WRESTLING TOURNAMENT: Iowa State, Iowa tied for first place after Day One

Luke Plansky

ST.

LOUIS, Mo. – Iowa State heavyweight David Zabriskie routinely

wrestles in overtime matches, but on Thursday night he felt more

tension than he is used to.

In

his second-round match at the NCAA Tournament, Zabriskie was caught

on his back for two brief near falls against West Virginia’s Dustin

Rogers. The top-seeded Cyclone trailed 6-1 in the first period but

managed to overcome the deficit, scoring a stalling point and a

takedown with 10 seconds left to win a 9-8 decision.

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“Calibri”>“That might have been a little bit more exciting than an

overtime match,” said Zabriskie, who also trailed in the final

minute of his Thursday morning match, which he won in overtime. “I

checked out the score board and it said 6 to 1, and I was like

‘crap, I’ve got a lot of work to do.’”

A

night’s rest will need to replenish Zabriskie’s store of adrenaline

and energy, but several other Cyclones must find a sense of

resiliency after close losses.

Only

five ISU wrestlers – Zabriskie, Nick Gallick (141), Cyler Sanderson

(157), Jon Reader (165) and Jake Varner (197) – advanced to the

quarterfinals in the championship bracket.

Five

Cyclones – Tyler Clark (125), Nick Fanthorpe (133), Mitch Mueller

(149), Duke Burk (174) and Jerome Ward (184) – are alive in the

consolation brackets.

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“Calibri”>Defending-NCAA Champion Iowa is tied with Iowa State in

the team race with 33 points. Six Hawkeyes have yet to lose, while

three will wrestle in the Friday morning consolations.

The

quarterfinals begin Friday morning at 10 a.m.

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“Calibri”>“Every point is crucial as far as the team race,” coach

Cael Sanderson said. More important to me is that these guys have

no regrets at the end of the tournament, that they can look

themselves in the mirror and say ‘I went out there and emptied my

barrel.’”

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“Calibri”>Seventh-seeded Nick Fanthorpe (133) will have to dig deep

after a heartbreaking loss.

The

junior All-American gave up a reversal and a two-point near fall in

triple-overtime against 10th-seeded Jake Strayer of Penn

State (See below), and then drew No. 3 James Kennedy of Illinois in

his first consolation match.

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“Calibri”>Mueller trailed Ohio State’s No. 4 Lance Palmer, 1-0, in

the third period before hitting a clean shot. But Palmer was able

to grasp Mueller’s near arm and reverse the move, scoring the

clinching takedown in a 3-0 decision.

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“Calibri”>“There have been some tough losses today. We need those

guys to bounce back,” Cael said. “We need 10 guys to put some

points up on the scoreboards.”

Iowa

State won just one of seven quarterfinal matches in the 2008 NCAA

Tournament. Cael Sanderson said that the quarterfinals are “huge”

in deciding the team race.

“We

gotta take advantage and make these opportunities. This is the time

to make things happen,” Cael said. “You can’t hope for things to

fall into place… you’ve got to put things into place. These guys

know that; we’ve just go to go do it, you know?”

Iowa

State scored nine bonus points on the first day. In the 2008

National Tournament, the Cyclones scored just three.

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“Calibri”>Team Standings after the second

round

1.<span style=

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Tie – Iowa, Iowa State 33

points

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“Calibri”>3.  Ohio State 30

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“Calibri”>4. Nebraska 24

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“Calibri”>5. Edinboro 22.5

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“Calibri”>Consolation first round

184

pounds – Jerome Ward (ISU) dec. Dorian Henderson (Missouri),

6-1

Up

next: Edinboro’s No. 10 Christopher Honeycutt, who lost to Rider’s

No. 7 Doug Umbehauer, 10-1, in the second round.

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“Calibri”>Second-round matches

125

pounds –No. 8 Rollie Peterkin (Penn) dec. No. 9 Tyler Clark (ISU),

6-3

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“Calibri”>Peterkin scored takedowns 1:15 and 2:35 into the match,

and then rode out Clark in the second period. Clark scored a

takedown late in the third period.

Up

next: Kent State’s Nicholas Bedelyon (26-9), who lost to Virginia

Tech’s Jarrod Garnett, 4-3, in the first round.

133

pounds –No. 10 Jake Strayer (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe

(ISU), 7-3 (TB3)

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“Calibri”>Strayer scored a takedown with just over 45 seconds left

in the third period, and Fanthorpe tied the match near the end of

regulation, when scored an escape with 21 seconds left. Strayer and

Fanthorpe rode out each other in the first two tiebreakers. Strayer

scored a reversal and a two-point nearfall in the second half of

the third tiebreaker.

Up

next: Illinois’ No. 3 jr. James Kennedy (30-5), who beat Darius

Little of NC State, 8-3.

141

pounds – No. 6 Nick Gallick (ISU) dec. Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh),

6-4

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“Calibri”>Gallick scored two takedowns in the first 1:15 seconds,

then rode Ciasulli out in the first period

Up

next: Ohio State’s No. 3 sr. J Jaggers (25-7), who beat Tyler

Nauman of Pittsburgh, 6-4, in sudden victory.

149

pounds – No. 4 Lance Palmer (Ohio State) dec. Mitch Mueller (ISU),

3-1

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“Calibri”>Palmer led, 1-0, in the third period, and Mueller picked

neutral. The Cyclone junior landed a clean shot right to Palmer’s

leg, but the Buckeye countered, locking Mueller’s near arm and

countering for a takedown to clinch the match.

Up

next: Edinboro’s Torsten Gillespie (27-18), who

lost to No. 10 Kyle Borshoff of American, 4-2,  in the

first round.

157

pounds – No. 9 Cyler Sanderson (ISU) dec. No. 8 Adam Hall (Boise

State), 4-3

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“Calibri”>Sanderson scored a reversal and a takedown in the second

period. He was warned for stalling in the third, but fended off

Hall’s offense to preserve the win.

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“Calibri”> Up next – Nebraska’s No. 1 jr. Jordan

Burroughs (31-0), who pinned Purdue’s Colton Salazar

.

165

pounds – No. 8 Jon Reader (ISU) major dec. Dan Vallimont (Penn

State), 11-3

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“Calibri”>Vallimont scored the first takedown, but Reader won the

match with superior mat wrestling. The sophomore Cyclone scored a

reversal, two near falls, a stalling point  and a

riding time point for a bonus point win.

Up

next: Hofstra so. Ryan Patrovich Hofstra (21-8), who beat Keegan

Mueller North Carolina, 6-4.

174

pounds –No. 5 Raymond Jordan (Missouri) major dec. Duke Burk (ISU),

12-4

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“Calibri”>Jordan “overpowered” Burk, according to Cael Sanderson.

Burk reached Jordan’s legs on several occasions, but Jordan

reversed his efforts.

Up

next: Lehigh so. Alex Caruso (20-10), who lost to John Dergo of

Illinios, 3-1, in the first round.

197

pounds – No. 2 Jake Varner (ISU) major dec. Logan Brown (Purdue),

11-0

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“Calibri”>Varner scored a takedown and a three-point near fall

early en route to a dominating victory.

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“Calibri”>Up next: Cal Poly’s No. 7 Brandon Halsey, who pinned

Maryland’s No. 10 Hudson Taylor in

0:40.

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“Calibri”>Heavyweight – No. 1 David Zabriskie (ISU) dec. Dustin

Rogers (West Virginia), 9-8.

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“Calibri”>Failed attempts to scramble away from Rogers resulted in

two, two-point nearfalls. Zabriskie trailed 6-1 in the first

period, and scored his first takedown with 20 seconds left in the

second period. He scored another with 1:20 left before getting a

stalling point and a takedown with 10 seconds left.

Up

next: Illinois’ No. 9 jr. Jon Wise (23-7), who beat No. 8 Kyle

Massey of Wisconsin, 6-5.