From the Michigan student paper
Moos, Churella hurt Penn State
By Mark Giannotto Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, MI (U-WIRE) — Redshirt sophomore Mark Moos has been hampered with a sore neck due to the grind of the wrestling season.
Redshirt freshman Josh Churella has been slowed by a high ankle sprain suffered during early season workouts.
But neither has allowed their injuries to slow them down on the mat.
Moos and Churella picked up impressive wins on Friday at Crisler Arena as No. 4 Michigan defeated No. 15 Penn State 31-9 in its first Big Ten dual meet of the season.
Michigan (1-0 Big Ten, 6-1 overall) gave up a forfeit in the 125-pound weight class to start the match. Moos has moved up a weight class to the 133-pound division for the remainder of the season because he was unable to make weight at 125. Sophomore Jim Shutich – who competed at 133 pounds at the Buffalo Open – is expected to fill in at 125 pounds, but must take four weeks to drop in weight class, according to NCAA rules.
Moos did not allow the early Michigan deficit to faze him. He came out aggressive against Penn State’s Bryan Heller and picked up a takedown in the opening minute. With one minute remaining in the first period, Moos fell hard on his neck and appeared to aggravate his nagging injury. Luckily for Moos and the Wolverines, the fall was not as serious as it first appeared to be, and he continued to wrestle.
With two second-period reversals, Moos took a commanding 8-3 lead going into the third period. From there, Heller started to come back and picked up four points as the third period progressed. With 15 seconds remaining, it appeared that Heller had a one-point escape that would have tied up the match. But the referee ruled that Moos had not yet lost control of Heller, and Moos picked up a narrow 8-7 minor decision win.
“I just kept on concentrating on not giving up those last points, “Moos said. “I just kept thinking about winning the match.”
Churella has also been able to ignore his injury troubles once he steppped on the mat. Since his return from injury in late December, Churella has showed no lingering effects in compiling a perfect 6-0 record.
Against Penn State (0-1, 4-3), Churella faced his toughest match to date. Churella, who is ranked No. 8 by Amateur Wrestling News, wrestled No. 13 Dewitt Driscoll. Churella was very sluggish at the start of the match, and, going into the third period, the score was tied 2-2.
“In the first couple periods, I wasn’t moving my feet, and I just wasn’t attacking, “Churella said.
At the start of the third period, Churella came alive and turned Driscoll to his back for a three-point near fall. Churella continued to put the pressure on Driscoll and compiled over a minute of riding time in the period. With the near fall Churella took a 5-2 lead that he would not relinquish.
“I knew I had to dig deep in that third period, “Churella said. “I just kept working hard on top, and I finally got that (near fall), and it just opened up the match.”
With the momentum created by Moos’s and Churella’s close wins, the Wolverines went on to win six of the next seven weight classes. Co-captain Ryan Churella and 2004 All-American Greg Wagner both pinned their respective opponents.
“I thought up and down the lineup we wrestled (consistently) and we wrestled tough, “Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. “I think (the wrestlers) are feeding off the leaders on this team, and I like seeing that.”
The upset of the night happened in the 197-pound weight class as unranked Michigan wrestler Willie Breyer picked up a decisive 5-2 victory over No. 12 Phillip Davis of Penn State. Breyer scored two takedowns during the match and was able to control Davis while in the top position. It was the second week in a row that Breyer beat a ranked opponent.
“Willie is wrestling well, and he’s staying in great position throughout his matches, “McFarland said. “That win was huge for him and the team.”
The win over the Nittany Lions gave the Wolverines their sixth consecutive dual meet victory after starting the season with a loss to Lehigh. With this weekend’s decisive victory over a quality opponent, it appears Michigan has used the momentum from its nonconference portion of its schedule to propel it to Big Ten success.
“I can definitely see improvement in everyone’s wrestling, “senior co-captain Ryan Bertin said. “We have real good team chemistry right now.”
The Wolverines hope to keep their momentum going when they travel to Cleveland next weekend to compete in the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals.
(C) 2004 Michigan Daily via U-WIRE
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