NCAA WRESTLING TOURNAMENT: Iowa State, Iowa tied for first place after Day One
March 20, 2009
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.
