Waterloo Courier’s Detailed Wrap-Up on National Duals

CEDAR FALLS — Cole Konrad was in the position he likes.

“That is kind of my ideal situation, “said the Minnesota heavyweight wrestler. “Having it come down to me. That’s the perfect match for me.”

This was hardly just another meet.

Konrad was wrestling for a dual win over Oklahoma State. He was trying to clinch the Division I championship at the NWCA National Duals.

He was going against the reigning king of the hill.

And he came out on top, literally.

He and Oklahoma State heavyweight Steve Mocco locked up, and as fast as two people totaling about 550 pounds can, they went to the mat.

Slam. Bang. There’s a new king on top of the hill.

Konrad put a bear hug on Oklahoma State’s Steve Mocco, and almost as soon as his body came to rest on top of Mocco’s, referee Mike Allen slapped the mat.

In a flash, Konrad recorded a fall that not only moved his name to the top of the heap, but brought the Gophers along, too.

“I had him in the underarm before, and he kind of backed out of is, “said the Gophers junior.

“When he stepped in this time, I figured, ‘What the hell, I might as well go for it. I’ve got nothing to lose.'”

And everything to gain.

Not only did he give credibility to a decision he won over the defending two-time NCAA champion in the all-star meet in November, he avenged a bitter overtime loss to Mocco in last year’s NCAA championships.

“That is all I think about. I still think about it a lot, “said Konrad after his fall in 5:25 sent the Gophers to the team title, 21-14, over OSU. “That kind of motivates me to keep pushing myself. If you can’t learn from that loss, what can you learn from? That was the hardest loss I have ever taken.”

Konrad’s win ended a three-year run of titles by the Cowboys in this event, which drew 13,880 to the UNI-Dome over two days.

“It just kind of happened, “he said of the move. “I’m not going to lie. I didn’t plan it. I just thought if I feel him going, I will go with it. I am alright in that position, so I was not worried about going to my own back.”

The dual win, according to Gophers coach J Robinson, serves notice that Minnesota isn’t about to concede the NCAA title to John Smith’s team for a fourth straight time in March.

“This race ain’t over yet, “said the veteran Gophers coach. “This will fuel the fire, I am sure — on both sides.”

Konrad and Mocco were locked in a 1-1 tie when the Wisconsin native threw Mocco to the mat. The fall set off a celebration of Gopher fans and more than a few Iowa fans who stuck around after watching the Hawkeyes finish sixth in the tournament.

“Geez, who would have expected that? “said Robinson. “What a way to end it. We just keep working on stuff with Mocco. He is so hard to score on. I think Cole is getting bigger and stronger and getting more confident, and I think that allows him to do different things.”

The win gave Konrad confidence and satisfaction.

“Everyone was saying, ‘Yeah, you can beat him once,’ “he said. “I just had to do it for myself to prove I can beat him. It was not just a fluke.”

Konrad’s win was the sixth in the 10 matches. Along the way, another Cowboys national champion fell when Minnesota freshman Dustin Schlatter beat Oklahoma State’s Zack Esposito 8-7 at 149.

That win offset an upset loss by Minnesota’s Mark Reiter to Nathan Morgan at 133. Morgan got a couple of early takedowns and held off Reiter’s comeback bid for a 6-4 win over the former four-time Iowa state prep champion at Don Bosco High in Gilbertville.

Iowa closed out the competition the way it opened it, with a loss. But coach Jim Zalesky said he saw a lot of positives between the opening loss to Nebraska and the fifth-place loss to Michigan.

“We learned from it, “said Zalesky after the 19-15 defeat to Michigan. “There were some close matches that we could have turned around. We won some key matches.”

One of those key wins was at 149 where Ty Eustice beat Eric Tannenbaum for the first time in his career. The Iowa senior put together a five-point move in the second period and rode that to a 7-4 win.

“That was a key match, “said Zalesky. “I thought (Joe) Johnston had a good win and (Paul) Bradley came back after losing twice yesterday.”

Johnston turned a single into a double for a takedown 30 seconds into overtime for a 6-4 win over Steve Luke.

Bradley also needed overtime. He got his winning takedown 10 seconds faster than Johnston just one day after he lost two last-second decisions.

Freshman Dan Erekson won a decision at 197 to pull Iowa within a point, 16-15, but Michigan heavyweight Greg Wagner beat Iowa’s Matt Fields, 4-0, at heavyweight to secure the fifth-place trophy.

The two teams each won five bouts, but a fall at 174 and a major at 165 supplied bonus points that made the difference.

“We needed that kind of competition, “said Zalesky of the tournament. “We fought hard. We need to put a few more things together to win.

“I think we came back (from the loss to Nebraska) and fought a with a lot better intensity. I think match-to -match we kept fighting and kept improving.”

Zalesky said there was a lot gained by his team even if it won just three of five duals.

“We gained a lot of experience from a lot of matches, “he said. “We’ve seen a lot of things to work on. We still have a long way to go, but we can keep improving from this.”

The Hawkeyes were without regular 174-pounder Mark Perry, who injured his neck Saturday. Zalesky said it will take time to get him back to full strength.

“He really can’t do a lot without getting hurt more, “said Zalesky. “We’ve got to build it back up and get it to where he can compete.”

Oklahoma State beat Nebraska, and Minnesota downed Central Michigan Sunday morning to make it to the finals.

Nebraska beat Central Michigan to finish third. Arizona State won seventh on criteria over Missouri after the two wrestled to a 21-21 draw.

Contact Kevin Evans at (319) 291-1469 or [email protected]

Division I

Semifinals

OKLAHOMA ST. 20, NEBRASKA 14

125 Ã± Coleman Scott (OSU) dec. Paul Donahue (Neb) 4-1; 133 Ã± Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. Patrick Aleksanyan (Neb) 10-4; 141 Ã± Dominick Moyer (Neb) dec. Daniel Frishkorn (OSU) 12-4; 149 Ã± Zack Esposito (OSU) dec. Ryan Davis (Neb) 19-9; 157 Ã± Kevin Ward (OSU) dec. Chris Oliver (Neb) 8-2; 165 Ã± Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. Marc Harwood (Neb) 6-2; 174 Ã± Jacob Klein (Neb) dec. Brandon Mason (OSU) 3-0; 184 Ã± Vince Jones (Neb) dec. Brent Parkey (OSU) 15-4; 197 Ã± BJ Padden (Neb) dec. Jake Rosholt (OSU) 5-3; 285 Ã± Steve Mocco (OSU) vs Jon May (Neb) 12-0.

MINNESOTA 20, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 15

125 Ã± Luke Smith (CM) dec. Travis Lang (Minn) 8-6; 133 Ã± Mack Reiter (Minn) dec. Jason Borrelli (CM) 2-1; 141 Ã± Brandon Carter (CM) dec. Manuel Rivera (Minn) 5-2; 149 Ã± Dustin Schlatter (Minn) dec. Mark Disalvo (CM) 4-1; 157 Ã± CP Schlatter (Minn) dec. Andy Keller (CM) 6-5; 165 Ã± Matt Nagel (Minn) dec. Trevor Stewart (CM) 10-2; 174 Ã± Brandon Sinnott (CM) dec. Gabe Dretsch (Minn) 6-2; 184 Ã± Roger Kish (Minn) dec. Christian Sinnott (CM) 6-2; 197 Ã± Wynn Michalak (CM) threw Justin Bronson (Minn), 1:53; 285 Ã± Cole Konrad (Minn) dec. Bubba Gritter (CM) 9-1.

Championship

OKLAHOMA STATE 21, MINNESOTA 14

125 Ã± Coleman Scott (OSU) dec. Travis Lang (Minn) 10-0; 133 Ã± Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. Mack Reiter (Minn) 6-4; 141 Ã± Manuel Rivera (Minn) dec. Daniel Frishkorn (OSU) 9-4; 149 Ã± Dustin Schlatter (Minn) dec. Zack Esposito (OSU) 8-7; 157 Ã± CP Schlatter (Minn) dec. Kevin Ward (OSU) 2-0; 165 Ã± Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. Matt Nagel (Minn) 8-2; 174 Ã± Gabe Dretsch (Minn) dec. Brandon Mason (OSU) 2-1; 184 Ã± Roger Kish (Minn) dec. Brent Parkey (OSU) 7-3; 197 Ã± Jake Rosholt (OSU) vs Justin Bronson (Minn); 285 Ã± Cole Konrad (M) threw Steve Mocco, 5:25

Third place

NEBRASKA 21, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 10

Fifth place

MICHIGAN 19, IOWA 15

125 Ã± Lucas Magnani (I) dec. Michael Watts (M) 6-4; 133 Ã± Mark Moos (M) dec. Daniel Dennis (I) 11-6; 141 Ã± Josh Churella (M) dec. Alex Tsirtis (I) 3-1; 149 Ã± Ty Eustice (I) dec. Eric Tannenbaum (M) 7-4; 157 Ã± Joe Johnston (I) dec. Steve Luke (M) 6-4 (OT); 165 Ã± Eric Luedke (I) vs Ryan Churella (M); 174 Ã± Nick Roy (M) threw Ben Stedman, 3:25; 184 Ã± Paul Bradley (I) dec. Tyrel Todd (M) 7-5 (OT); 197 Ã± Dan Erekson (I) dec. Casey White (M) 6-2; 285 Ã± Greg Wagner (M) dec. Matt Fields (I) 4-0.

Seventh place

ARIZONA ST. 21, MISSOURI 21, criteria

Division II

Semifinals

NEB.-OMAHA 28, CENT. OKLAHOMA 12

125 Ã± Cody Garcia (N-O) dec. Shane Caruthers (C-OK) 9-4; 133 Ã± Dan Hilario (N-O) dec. Jared Henning (C-OK) 7-5; 141 Ã± Christian Alt (N-O) dec. Kyle Evans (C-OK) 3-2; 149 Ã± Timothy Shea (C-OK) dec. Shane Unger (N-O) 7-4; 157 Ã± Patrick Allibone (N-O) dec. Jason Leavitt (C-OK) 8-1; 165 Ã± Ross Tapin (N-O) threw Cort Petersen (C-OK) 2:54; 174 Ã± JD Naig (N-O) threw Adam Ingram (C-OK), 4:23; 184 Ã± Jared Hess (C-OK) threw Nate Oviatt (N-O), 2:44; 197 Ã± Heath Jolley (C-OK) dec. Nick Edmonds (N-O) 4-2; 285 Ã± Les Sigman (N-O) dec. Chris Finn (C-OK) 13-1.

MINN. ST.-MANKATO 21, ASHLAND 15

125 Ã± Mike Compton (Ash) threw Nick Smith (MSM), 6:02; 133 Ã± Jeff Pfaffinger (MSM) dec. Jesse Emery (Ash) 7-2; 141 Ã± Zach Meissner (Ash) dec. Zach Stevens (MSU) 10-4; 149 Ã± Brandon Girtz (MSM) dec. Marcus Gordon (Ash) 7-4; 157 Ã± Matt Bitz (MSM) dec. Pete Carnabuci (Ash) 3-1; 165 Ã± Andy Pickar (MSM) threw Eric Lakia (Ash), 1:52; 174 Ã± Clint Carmony (Ash) dec. Tim Matheson (MSM) 9-5; 184 Ã± John Koons (MSM) dec. Matt Allen (Ash) 6-2; 197 Ã± Ryan Kirst (Ash) dec. Ben Jankine (MSM) 7-6; 285 Ã± Tim Kraemer (MSM) dec. Josh Ohl (Ash) 3-2.

Championship

NEB.-OMAHA 20, MINN. ST.-MANKATO 10

125Ã± Cody Garcia (Neb-Omaha) dec. Nick Smith 6-1; 133Ã± Dan Hilario (Neb-Omaha) dec. Jeff Pfaffinger 3-2; 141Ã± Mitch Waite (Neb-Omaha) dec. Zach Stevens 9-3; 149Ã± Shane Unger (Neb-Omaha) dec. Travis Puig 8-7; 157Ã± Patrick Allibone (Neb-Omaha) dec. Matt Bitz 1-0; 165Ã± Andy Pickar (Mn-Man) dec. Ross Tapin 9-7; 174 Ã±JD Naig (Neb-Omaha) dec. Tim Matheson 9-3; 184Ã± John Koons (Mn-Man) dec. Nate Oviatt 11-0; 197Ã± Ben Janike (Mn-Man) dec. Nick Edmonds 5-0; 285Ã± Les Sigman (Neb-Omaha) dec. Tim Kraemer 5-1

Third place

CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 27, ASHLAND 6

Fifth place

AUGUSTANA 26, UPJ 16

Seventh place

NEB.-KEARNEY 26, SHIPPENSBURG 14

Division III

Semifinals

WARTBURG 34, LUTHER 6

125 Ã± Tyler Hubbard (Wart) threw Nate Hansen (Lut), 4:18; 133 Ã± Mike Lopez (Lut) dec. Jake Helvey (Wart) 7-5 (OT); 141 Ã± Dustin Hinschberger (Wart) dec. Travis Grawin (Lut) 11-3; 149 Ã± Matt Pyle (Lut) dec. Jacob Naig (Wart) 8-4; 157 Ã± Justin Hanson (Wart) dec. Nate Van Dyke (Lut) 3-1; 165 Ã± Dustin Bliven (Wart) dec. Greg Merrick (Lut) 10-2; 174 Ã± Scott Kauffman (Wart) dec. Lon Welsh (Lut) 12-9; 184 Ã± Akeem Carter (Wart) dec. AJ Gregg (Lut) 8-2; 197 Ã± Ryan Phillips (Wart) threw Dante Moore (Lut), 3:32; 285 Ã± Blake Gillis (W) technical fall John Miller (Lut), 16-1, 3:07.

AUGSBURG 21, WIS.-LACROSSE 15

125 Ã± Pat Parrillo (UWL) threw Seth Flodeen (Aug), :40; 133 Ã± Jafari Vanier (Aug) dec. Kevin Barker (UWL) 13-10; 141 Ã± Josh Hansen (Aug) threw Mike Rohowetz (UWL), 5:58; 149 Ã± Jared Evans (Aug) dec. Adam Kuchnia (UWL) 5-3; 157 Ã± Jeremy Anderson (Aug) dec. Ross Needham (UWL) 4-0; 165 Ã± Ryan Valek (Aug) dec. Scott Dorn (UWL) 4-2; 174 Ã± Robbie Gotreau (Aug) dec. Josh Zabel (UWL) 4-2 (OT); 184 Ã± Jason Lulloff (UWL) dec. Brad Tupa (Aug) 6-3; 197 Ã± Tim Winker (UWL) dec. Wallace OÃConner (Aug) 4-3; 285 Ã± Ryan Allen (UWL) dec. Andrew Neumann (Aug) 8-2.

Championship

WARTBURG 30, AUGSBURG 6

125 Ã± Hubbard (Wart) dec. Flodeen 12-5; 133 Ã± Zach McKray (Wart) dec. Ben Moss 8-1; 141 Ã± Hinschberger (Wart) dec. Hansen 12-2; 149 Ã± Naig (Wart) dec. Evans 3-0; 157 Ã± Anderson (Aug) dec. Hanson 7-4; 165 Ã± Valek (Aug) dec. Bliven 8-6; 174 Ã± Kauffman (Wart) dec. Gotreau 17-5; 184 Ã± Carter (Wart) dec. Tupa 6-3; 197 Ã± T.J. Miller (Wart) dec. OÃConnor 13-0; Hwt. Ã± Gillis (Wart) tech. fall over Neumann 17-0, 5:00.

Third Place

LUTHER 23, WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE 16

125 Nate Hansen (Luther) dec. Oscar Martinez (UW Lax) TF-5 18-3; 133 Mike Lopez (Luther) dec. Kevin Barker (UW Lax) M 12-4; 141 Travis Grawin (Luther) dec. Mike Rohowetz (UW Lax) D 7-5; 149 Matt Pyle (Luther) won by tech fall over Jay Milz (UW Lax) TF-5 16-0; 157 Ross Needham (UW Lax) dec. Nate Van Dyke (Luther) D 4-3; 165 Greg Merrick (Luther) threw Tim Palmer (UW Lax) F 2:25; 174 Josh Zabel (UW Lax) dec. Lon Welsh (Luther) D 11-8; 184 Jason Lulloff (UW Lax) dec. AJ Gregg (Luther) D 9-3; 197 Josh Passe (UW Lax) dec. Danta Moore (Luther) M 10-2; 285 Ryan Allen (UW Lax) won by tech fall over John Miller (Luther) TF-5 21-6; 6;44

Fifth place

BUENA VISTA 26, AUGUSTANA 13

Seventh place

CORNELL 22, SIMPSON 16

Junior college

Consolation semifinals

ELLSWORTH CC 23, ITASCA CC 22

125 Ã± Shamar Haynes (E) won by forfeit; 133 Ã± Dustin Pieken (E) won by forfeit; 141 Ã± Cody Johnvin (It) won by forfeit; 149 Ã± Erik George (E) dec. Chris Evans (It) 6-3; 157 Ã± Micah Keller (E) dec. Justin Jones (It) 12-7; 165 Ã± Harry Joesph (E) dec. Aaron Young (It) 7-2; 174 Ã± Jordan Christensen (It) dec. Jacy Watts (E) 9-0; 184 Ã± Frank Koch (It) threw Kyle Olson (E), 1:11; 197 Ã± Derrick Mehman (E) dec. Chris Thoreson (It) 5-4; 285 Ã± Chris Miller (It) threw AJ Lucy (E), 6:29.

Fifth place

HARPER COLLEGE 41, ELLSWORTH 3

125 Ã± Andy MacArthur (HC) dec. Hayes 7-4; 133 Ã± Scott Kruk (HC) threw Pieken, 4:11; 141 Ã± Brian Lange (HC) won by forfeit; 149 Ã± Craig Tokarski (HC) dec. George 9-4; 157 Ã± Dallas Hesseltine (HC) dec. Levi Nicoll 13-0; 165 Ã± Adam OÃNeill (HC) won by inj. def. Joseph; 174 Ã± Jesse Linczmaier (HC) dec. Brian Kramer 14-2; 184 Ã± David Gleissner (HC) dec. Olson 5-1; 197 Ã± Mehman (E) dec. Sean Evans 6-3; 285 Ã± David Benner (HC) won by forfeit.

NAIA

Championship

DANA COLLEGE 22, CUMBERLANDS 13

Third place

LINDENWOOD 39, MISSOURI VALLEY 2

Fifth place

SOUTH. OREGON 29, EMBRY RIDDLE 6

Seventh place

DICKINSON STATE 37, WILLIAM PENN 13

Simply outstanding

Winners of the NWCA National Duals Outstanding Wrestler awards:

Division I – Cole Konrad (HWT/Minnesota)