By DAN McCOOL
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Ames, Ia. ” Iowa State wrestler Aron Scott is a fan of ultimate fighting shows in general, and Chuck Liddell, one of the sport’s stars, in particular.
Liddell, who is known for his fast starts in matches, would have smiled if he watched Scott dominate Virginia Tech’s Joe Thompson en route to a 22-4 technical fall at 149 pounds in the eighth-ranked Cyclones’ 32-11 victory at Hilton Coliseum Thursday night.
Scott scored three takedowns and a three-point near fall in the first period, building a 9-2 advantage, before really opening his offense in the second period. Scott had three more takedowns and a two- and three-point near fall to finish the match in 5 minutes.
“You take the guy down, you work his head, “Scott said. “What you try to do is just break him mentally.”
Scott, who shares the 149-pound duties with Jason Knipp, said he broke Thompson at the end of the first period.
“I had him 6-2 and after that I was taking him down whenever I wanted to and turning him, “Scott said.
Scott was one of two Cyclones to have at least a 15-point advantage over an opponent. Travis Paulson at 165 beat Mark Czarny , 22-6. Also, Joe Curran at 197 got a pin and second-ranked Nate Gallick at 141 turned what was thought to be the marquee match into a matinee of takedowns in a 19-6 major decision over eighth-ranked David Hoffman.
“Our guy didn’t perform like we wanted him to perform, “Virginia Tech coach Tom Brands said.
Gallick found his offense as soon as referee Mike Allen issued a stall warning against Gallick 30 seconds into the second period. Gallick scored six of his eight takedowns and had a total of 4 minutes 47 seconds of riding time when the final period ended. Gallick said the call didn’t bother him – quite a few of the estimated 700 fans took exception to the call – but having Hoffman so close did. At the time, Gallick held a 4-1 lead.
“”I wanted to make sure I kept the match out of reach the whole time, “Gallick said.
Iowa State won seven of 10 matches. The effort of Virginia Tech’s wrestlers in seven of the nine matches was passable, according to Brands’ post-meet critique.
“In two of the matches, I’m not OK with the fight, “said Brands, the former state champion at Sheldon, three-time NCAA champion at Iowa and 1996 Olympic gold medalist.
“When I’m not OK with the fight, that means we’re taking a back seat, and that cannot happen. If you’re going to bring a program to prominence, you have to compete with the tradition of Iowa State, the tradition in this building, what they have going.”
The Cyclones were hitting holds and finishing moves.
“Everyone’s kinda getting serious, “Gallick said. “It’s not a long season anymore.”
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