Cowboys crown five champions, Jones named Most Outstanding Wrestler at NCAA Tournament
John Fuller/TheMat.com
St. Louis, Mo. – Oklahoma State had five NCAA finalists as of Saturday morning at the 2005 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Savvis Center. On Saturday night, the most historic college wrestling program had five more NCAA champions as the Cowboys scored a school record 153 team points in winning its third straight national title and 33rd overall.
Michigan placed second with 83 team points followed by Oklahoma (77.5), Cornell (72.5) and Minnesota (72.5) in the top five team standings.
Winning individual titles for Oklahoma State were Zack Esposito (149 lbs.), Johny Hendricks (165), Chris Pendleton (174), Jake Rosholt (197) and Steve Mocco (285).
Esposito defeated Phillip Simpson, who was the first NCAA finalist for Army since 2001, by a 5-2 score.
Esposito dominated the match, and appeared to wear Simpson down late in the second period. In the third period, Esposito chose to start from the bottom position, a risky move against Simpson. However, the choice paid off as Esposito scored a reversal which ultimately sealed the win for him.
Hendricks was also strong, controlling freshman Mark Perry of Iowa from the top position throughout a 5-2 decision.
Hendricks racked up exactly three minutes of riding time in the first two periods, riding out Perry for the entire second period. In the third period, Perry made a late push, scoring a reversal on Hendricks to cut the lead to 4-2, but he was unable to score from the top position, the position Perry is most comfortable in.
Pendleton, the defending champion, defeated Missouri’s Ben Askren for the fourth time this season 10-5 in his championship finals match.
In a match that included numerous exciting scrambles as predicted, Pendleton was once again able to come out on top of most of them. He scored takedowns in all three periods in the victory.
Rosholt came from behind to earn a 5-4 victory over Sean Stender of Northern Iowa for his second NCAA title.
Stender delivered the first blow in the bout, scoring a takedown on Rosholt for a 2-0 lead. Later in the period, Rosholt earned an escape and scored a takedown of his own to take a 3-2 lead. In the third period, Stender chose neutral and scored a takedown to tie the bout at 4-4 with only 30 seconds remaining, but 19 seconds later, Rosholt earned an escape that would become the deciding point.
Mocco defeated Kole Conrad of Minnesota for the third time this season in the heavyweight finals.
The Cowboy, who transferred from Iowa at the start of this school year, traded escapes with Konrad in the first two periods. The match went to overtime after Konrad was unable to finish two shots after getting in on Mocco’s legs.
In the overtime, Mocco scored a takedown with a foot sweep, taking a 3-1 win and his second NCAA title.
West Virginia’s Greg Jones was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after completing his second consecutive undefeated season and winning his third national title.
Jones downed Cornell’s Tyler Baier 5-3 in a match Jones controlled, but did just enough to win as well.
In the match, Jones scored takedowns in the first and second periods to open a 5-1 lead. Baier added two escapes for the final margin of victory.
Like Pendleton and Mocco, Travis Lee of Cornell (133), Teyon Ware of Oklahoma (141) and Ryan Bertin of Michigan (157) all won their second NCAA titles.
Lee defeated Shawn Bunch of Edinboro 6-3 scoring takedowns in the first two periods. The match showcased two of the finest athletes in college wrestling today, and featured great offensive action by both wrestlers as well as exciting scramble situations.
Ware scored an escape and a takedown in the second period of his finals match with Iowa State’s Nate Gallick before coming away with a 3-2 win.
Gallick was able to earn a point in the third period for two stalling calls against Ware, but he could not get in on Ware’s legs at any point in the match.
Bertin dominated Iowa’s Joe Johnston in an 8-5 victory. Bertin took a 7-3 lead in the match with only 49 seconds remaining with his third takedown of the bout.
Lee, Ware, Bertin and Mocco all won their first NCAA titles in 2003.
Indiana’s Joe Dubuque, the fifth seed at 125 lbs., was the lowest seeded wrestler to win an individual title after he upset Kyle Ott of Illinois 2-0 in the finals.
After a scoreless first period, Dubuque earned an escape in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Ott then chose bottom in the third period hoping to tie the match with an escape of his own, but it was not meant to be, as Dubuque rode Ott out for the win.
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