Hipps Toss Weekly College Wrestling Recap: Catching Up With Nate Gallick
A Look Back at the Week of College Wrestling
By Andrew Hipps – Staff Writer
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Catching up with Nate Gallick
Nate Gallick of Iowa State, the top ranked wrestler in the country at 141, ran his record to 21-0 this season after beating second-ranked and 2003 national champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma, 6-3, on Sunday in Ames. It was Ware’s first loss since Gallick defeated him for fifth-place at the 2004 NCAA Championships. I recently caught up with Gallick and talked to him about his win over Ware, the season, and his expectations.
Congrats on your win over Teyon Ware on Sunday. Did that match go as expected?
Gallick: Yeah, I had a game plan going into the match and I pretty much stuck to it. He is a real tough competitor with good defense, which makes him hard to score on, so I had to wrestle a smart match. I scored with two takedowns, an escape, and a stalling call, but I felt pretty good.
Last season, you placed second at the Midlands, but came back to win the title this year. How important was that tournament to you?
Gallick: It was important because it was kind of stepping stone and a confidence booster. I got the chance to wrestle five matches to work on my conditioning, so it was a real good tournament. It also gave me a chance to see some of the competition that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen until nationals.
On February 19th, you’ll wrestle 2004 NCAA runner-up Matt Murray of Nebraska in a dual in Lincoln. Are you looking forward to that as tune-up before the Big 12 Tournament?
Gallick: Yeah, I’m really looking forward to that. He beat me in the quarterfinals at nationals and he’s real tough. He always wrestles real smart against me, so it’ll be a good match. But I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to see him again.
The Cyclones are currently ranked second in the country. Does this team have what it takes to win a national title this season?
Gallick: Yeah, I definitely think it’s possible. I think we can contend. If we can qualify as many wrestlers as possible at the Big 12 Championships for nationals, I think we could have a great shot to win it all. That is going to be the deciding factor “how many wrestlers we get to the national tournament. We have a solid team, so if we can have everyone or almost everyone qualify, I really think we could pull it off.
Your younger brother, Nick, signed to wrestle for Iowa State next season. Are you looking forward to having him in Ames with you?
Gallick: Oh, I’m real excited. It’s going to be great. His high school season is winding down, he has the state tournament in two weeks, but he’s excited. He’s probably going to move up here to Ames after he graduates, so I’ll be able to work out with him and get him ready for the upcoming years.
You placed fourth in 2004 Olympic Trials in freestyle. Are you planning on wrestling freestyle after the collegiate season?
Gallick: Yeah, I’ve already qualified for the Trials this year through the Sunkist Kids/International Open that I won (Gallick was also named Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament). I’m definitely going to be going to the Trials here in Ames, and I’ll also be going to the U.S. Nationals in Vegas as well.
Three Top Wrestlers Move Up in Weight
On Sunday, Minnesota freshman C.P. Schlatter made his debut at 157, after wrestling his previous matches at 149. With Schlatter’s move to 157, he joins Oklahoma State’s Daniel Frishkorn and Michigan’s Mark Moos on the list of wrestlers from top-10 programs to move up in weight after the season started. Let’s take a quick look at how these wrestlers have fared “before “and “after “moving up in weight.
Daniel Frishkorn (Oklahoma State)
Before: Frishkorn redshirted last season, but quickly made a name for himself by pinning two-time national champion Johnny Thompson in the Orange and Black intrasquad match. He compiled a 13-2 record during his redshirt season and was expected to replace Thompson at 133 this season. He started out this season with wins over two national qualifiers – Scott Jorgenson of Boise State and Josh Keefe of Tennessee-Chattanooga. On December 5th against Minnesota, Frishkorn wrestled freshman Mack Reiter, a wrestler that previously lost to Oklahoma State wrestler Nathan Morgan (who was redshirting at the time) in the finals of the Kaufman-Brand Open. Frishkorn controlled the action through the first two periods, but gave up five quick points in the third period to lose 7-5. A week later, he failed to make weight for a match against Oklahoma. And shortly after, it was announced that Frishkorn was moving up to 141 and true freshman Nathan Morgan would be pulled out of redshirt and take over at 133 for the Cowboys.
After: Immediately after moving up to 141, Frishkorn lost a wrestle-off in overtime to Ronnie Delk. He has since split time with Delk as the starter. Frishkorn has gone 7-2 since moving up, but has yet to beat a wrestler ranked in the top-twenty. His two losses came to fourth-ranked Cory Cooperman of Lehigh (9-1) and fifth-ranked Andy Simmons of Michigan State (5-2).
Mark Moos (Michigan)
Before: Moos, a sophomore, finished 22-7 last season while wrestling at 125. He had a great regular season, going 7-2 in duals and placing second in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. But Moos struggled late last season, losing his last five matches, including an 0-2 performance and early exit at the NCAA Tournament. Moos started this season with a bang and appeared to be a legitimate threat to place in the top four in the country at 125. He won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational over a tough field that included four wrestlers ranked in the top-10 in the country. Through December, Moos was 11-0 and ranked fourth in the country. But at the start of the new year, it was announced that Moos was struggling to make the cut to 125 and would be moving up to 133.
After: On January 2nd, in his first match at 133, Moos lost to 10th-ranked Jason Borrelli of Central Michigan, 10-8. He came back to win his next five matches (all against unranked opponents), but was pinned by third-ranked Mack Reiter of Minnesota at the National Duals. And on Friday night, Moos lost a 12-10 decision to 12th ranked Tom Clum of Wisconsin.
C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota)
Before: Schlatter was one of the most highly sought after recruits in the country after winning four Ohio state titles and compiling a career record of 165-1. He was expected to redshirt (which he did) and then step in at 149 to replace the void left by four-time All-American Jared Lawrence in 2003. While the Gophers took lumps last season at 149, Schlatter redshirted and went 11-0, claiming tournament titles at the Harold Nichols and Kaufman-Brand Opens. After the collegiate season, Schlatter won the gold medal in Greco-Roman at 74 kg at the Junior Pan-Am Championships in Venezuela. He then injured his knee during the freestyle event, suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which kept him out for the first two months of the season. He returned for the Southern Scuffle on December 29th and reached the finals, before being pummeled by two-time All-American Dustin Manotti of Cornell, 10-2. He bounced back to win seven of his next eight entering last weekend. But on Friday, Schlatter dropped a 10-9 decision to 20th ranked Mark McKnight of Michigan State. Schlatter took an 8-5 lead into the third period, but McKnight tied the match with a takedown a minute into the period. McKnight then scored on another takedown with just seven seconds remaining in the match to secure the victory. Schlatter appeared to tire and his comments after the match confirmed that the weight cutting was taking a toll on him. Subsequently, that would be his last match at 149.
After: On Sunday, Schlatter wrestled his first match at 157 against second-ranked Ryan Bertin of Michigan, and lost by major decision, 13-2. With only one match under his belt at 157, the jury is still out as to whether or not Schlatter can make an impact this season in his new weight class. He will be entering arguably the toughest weight class in the country – with the top four wrestlers having reached the NCAA finals at some point in their careers, two of which reside in the Big Ten.
Northwestern Shocks the Wrestling World
It had been 37 years since Northwestern last defeated Iowa in wrestling, but on Saturday night, it happened again. The 19th-ranked Wildcats brought down the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
Northwestern clawed out from a 19-3 hole to tie the match at 19-19 heading into the final weight class. There, junior John Velez brought the victory home by grinding out a 10-8 decision with a bum shoulder to put the Wildcats Cats ahead 22-19. Velez’ victory was the last of five-straight Wildcat wins, helping Northwestern topple Iowa for the first time since 1968.
“It’s so great to see these guys come through like I know they can, “Cysewski said. “I can’t say enough about their effort tonight. “
Augsburg vs. Wartburg, Round II
Augsburg and Wartburg will renew their regular season rivalry again Thursday in Minneapolis. The Auggies defeated Wartburg 18-15 to win the National Duals championship a few weeks ago, and another great match is expected Thursday.
The Wrestling Mall will be covering the match and providing live results as they happen.
Tidbits”¦
North Carolina State won six of ten bouts, including the first five, as the Wolfpack defeated UNC-Greensboro, 24-14, last Wednesday night at Fleming Gym. The loss snaps UNC- Greensboro’s season-long four match winning streak. With the win, N.C. State evens its record to 4-4, while the Spartans drop to 6-2″¦West Virginia assistant coach
Zeke Jones was recently selected to enter the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame. Jones was enshrined into the Arizona State Hall of Fame in September, following his coaching duties as a member of the USA Wrestling Freestyle team at the Athens Olympics”¦Top ranked Oklahoma State won six matches as the Cowboys defeated third-ranked Iowa State, 21-14, in front of 4,635 fans at Hilton Coliseum on Thursday night in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State suffered its first loss of the season and fell to 14-1, as the Cowboys improved to 13-0 on the season”¦Pittsburgh won its fifth dual meet in a row, downing Eastern Wrestling League rival Cleveland State, 24-17, to improve to 6-4 on the season. The Panthers are now 2-0 in EWL meets heading into Saturday’s Beauty and the Beast contest against Rider”¦ Last Thursday night, second-ranked (NAIA) MSU-Northern defeated top-ranked (NJCAA) North Idaho, 28-14, in front of a crowd of over 1,000″¦ Bloomsburg scored 149.5 points and notched two individual champions as the Huskies dethroned Edinboro to win the 62nd Annual PSAC Wrestling Championships on Saturday night… West Virginia University’s national champion wrestler Greg Jones has been voted winner of the Hardman Award as the 2004 state Amateur Athlete of the Year”¦ Augsburg won nine of 10 individual matches and earned head coach Jeff Swenson his 300th career dual-meet victory on Sunday, as the Auggies scored a 34-3 victory over Dana College in a non-conference wrestling dual meet at the Gardner-Hawks Center.
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