ISU Wrestling
Bertolino, No. 3 Cyclones drop Gophers for fourth straight time.
By DAN McCOOL
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
January 10, 2005
Ames, Ia. – David Bertolino made a strong case for his getting more match time at 174 pounds for Iowa State’s wrestling team Sunday.
Iowa State, ranked No. 3 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, won the last five individual bouts and scored a 21-12 victory over No. 7 Minnesota at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones (11-0) extended their winning streak to 14 meets in beating Minnesota for the fourth straight time.
Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas elected to go with Bertolino, a second-year freshman from Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, at 174 instead of sophomore Grant Turner, who lost his match against Tennessee-Chattanooga six days ago. Bertolino delivered two takedowns in the final 1 minute 19 seconds of the match and scored a 7-2 victory over Minnesota’s Josh McLay. That gave Iowa State a lead which would not be reversed.
Bertolino said he got a burst of energy at the end of the second period, when he had a 2-0 lead.
“My second wind hit me, “Bertolino said. “I needed to commit for a shot, I was setting it up, I knew when I had to go, I committed on a shot and it was there. The crowd was awesome. I think my third wind hit me when the crowd got into it.”
Normally, the Cyclones’ 174-pound guy is senior Nick Passolano, who was rested Sunday because of an injury. Bertolino said he’s been waiting for his name to be called.
“I train for the long run, “Bertolino said. “I know I’m going to be in the lineup as the years come, as time passes, and the best man is going to be in the lineup. I keep trucking away, keep training away and everything takes care of itself.”
Minnesota coach J Robinson said the Golden Gophers were not in position to take care of things in the end, particularly in the final two matches.
“Our last five weights didn’t do anything, “Robinson said. “Two of them are out of shape, and we couldn’t get a win from a fifth-year senior.”
Shape, or the lack of it, cost the Gophers at 184, where Iowa State’s Kurt Backes beat freshman Roger Kish, 8-3, and at 197, where Trevor Smith got a takedown with 13 seconds left in a 1-minute first overtime for a 7-5 decision over Minnesota freshman Matt Koz.
“They’re not in good enough shape, “Robinson said of his wrestlers. “This ain’t high school.”
Backes had a measure of revenge to exact Sunday, which dated back to high school. Kish won their weight class at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, but he was beaten to the scoring punch by Backes on Sunday.
“I knew he was a tough wrestler, so I had to be physical with him somehow, “Backes said. “You can’t give him anything.”
Backes had a similar finish to Bertolino, scoring a takedown twice in the last 1:14.
The meet included what is believed to be the first pairing of four-time Iowa high school state champions in 20 years. Minnesota’s Mack Reiter, who won four titles at Don Bosco of Gilbertville, had an 11-6 victory over Jesse Sundell, a four-timer from Ogden. The difference in the match might have been the reversal Reiter scored with 8 seconds left in the second period for a 6-5 lead. Sundell and Reiter each had two reversals in the second period, but Reiter had one too many. He got two takedowns in the third period and had riding time for the win.
“I knew (Sundell) was going to fight the whole time, and I knew he was a scrambler going in, “Reiter said, adding that Sundell’s leads didn’t cause him to panic. “I don’t worry about the score until the third period, then I start trying to come back. That’s usually the way things work for me – I just try and score a lot in the third.”
Wrestling Gear
