Submitted by: E.Goldman/Boxing & Wrestling Editor
The numbers almost outshined the wrestlers at the 2005 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships, held March 17-19 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. In the 75th edition of this event, Oklahoma State won its third straight title, its 33rd overall, and only for the third time in NCAA wrestling history had five individual national champions. The other two times were both by Iowa, in 1986 and 1997.
Winning for Oklahoma State were Zack Esposito at 149 pounds, Johny Hendricks at 165, Chris Pendleton at 174, Jake Rosholt at 197, and Steve Mocco at heavyweight.
Oklahoma State scored a remarkable 153 team points, followed Michigan with 83, Oklahoma with 77 1/2, Cornell with 76 1/2, and Minnesota with 72 1/2.
There were numerous upsets along the way, as only five number one seeds won their final matches, which were all held Saturday evening and broadcast live on ESPN. Four of these top seeds did not even make it to the finals.
Here is a breakdown of the finals, with the wrestlers’ seeds included:
125 — #5 Joe Dubuque, Indiana dec. #3 Kyle Ott, Illinois, 2-0
Fifth-ranked Joe Dubuque of Indiana, one of the many darkhorses at this tournament, took home his first NCAA title by downing Kyle Ott of Illinois. Dubuque had also knocked off top seeded Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma in the semifinals, 3-1
133 — #1 Travis Lee, Cornell dec. #2 Shawn Bunch, Edinboro, 6-3
The Ivy League earned yet another NCAA title as Travis Lee of Cornell outwrestled Shawn Bunch of Edinboro to win 5-3. Lee was also a 2003 NCAA champion at 125.
141 — #2 Teyon Ware, Oklahoma dec. #1 Nate Gallick, Iowa State, 3-2
Juniors Nate Gallick and Teyon Ware had faced each other four times previously on the mat. Gallick had prevailed each of those four times. But in their encounter that mattered the most, it was Ware who scored an escape and then got in on Gallick’s legs for a takedown in the second period to go ahead 3-0. Ware, a 2003 NCAA champion, then held on to win, 3-2, and take home his second national title. The loss was Gallick’s first of the season.
149 — #1 Zack Esposito, Oklahoma State dec. #2 Phillip Simpson, Army, 5-2
Zack Esposito, the first of five Oklahoma State finalists, dominated and controlled Army’s Phillip Simpson, to win his first NCAA title.
157 #2 Ryan Bertin, Michigan dec. #8 Joe Johnston, Iowa, 8-5
Ryan Bertin won his second NCAA title by decisioning Joe Johnston of Iowa, 8-5. This stopped the Cinderalla-like run of the eighth-seeded Johnston, who had defeated higher seeds Alex Tirapelle of Illinois and Jake Percival of Ohio to get to the finals. But even the Iowa Hawkeye magic was not enough to stop Bertin, who scored three takedowns to only one late one by Johnston.
165 — #3 Johny Hendricks, Oklahoma State, dec. #4 Mark Perry, Iowa, 5-2
Oklahoma State made it two-for-two in the finals as Johny Hendricks topped Iowa’s Mark Perry, 5-2. The sophomore Hendricks won this match in his first trip to an NCAA finals. Perry was the only freshman this year who made it to the finals.
174 – #1 Chris Pendleton, Oklahoma State, dec. #2 Ben Askren, Missouri, 10-5
In a tournament full of surprises, there were still some outcomes which were predictable. This was a rematch of last year’s 174 lbs. finals, in which Pendleton defeated Askren, 11-4. This time the senior Pendleton won 10-5, giving him his eighth win in nine tries against the sophomore Askren, and, more importantly, his second straight NCAA title.
184 – #1 Greg Jones, West Virginia dec. #7 Tyler Baier, Cornell, 5-3
Senior Greg Jones capped off a stellar college wrestling career by joining an elite group of three-time NCAA champions. His two takedowns to none for Baier were the difference in this match. That is usually the case with Jones, who scored over 400 takedowns in his four years wrestling for West Virginia, while only giving up ten. Look for him to be an Olympic contender in 2008 and 2012, and a top candidate for this year’s Dan Hodge Trophy for the best collegiate wrestler.
197 – #2 Jake Rosholt, Oklahoma State, dec. #5 Sean Stender, Northern Iowa, 5-4
Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State, a 2003 NCAA champion, won his second title in a wild nailbiter over Sean Stender of Northern Iowa, 5-4. Stender scored a takedown with about 30 seconds left in the match to tie it up, 4-4. By doing so, he also erased Rosholt’s riding time advantage. But with just 11 seconds left, Rosholt got an escape to pull ahead, 5-4. Stender had beaten top-seeded Jon Trenge of Lehigh in the semifinals to make it to this match.
HWT – #1 Steve Mocco, Oklahoma State, dec. #2 Cole Konrad, Minnesota, 3-1 OT
Steve Mocco made it five-for-five for Oklahoma State by once again defeating rival Cole Konrad of Minnesota in overtime, 3-1. After each man scored one point for an escape in regulation, Mocco became the aggressor in overtime and executed his patented foot sweep to score a takedown and win his second NCAA heavyweight title.
Team Scores:
1 Oklahoma State, 153
2 Michigan, 83
3 Oklahoma, 77.5
4 Cornell, 76.5
5 Minnesota, 72.5
6 Illinois, 70.5
7 Iowa, 66
8 Lehigh, 60
9 Indiana, 55.5
10 Iowa State, 57.0
11 Missouri, 43.0
For complete results and brackets, view: PDF – HTML
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