By Joe Lyons
Of the Post-Dispatch
Considered the power class of the NCAA Division I wrestling championships, 157 took some major twists and turns Friday at Savvis Center.
“In this weight class, at this point of the season, I really felt anything was possible in this tournament, “said Iowa’s Joe Johnston, the No. 8 seed. “For me, it was just a matter of wrestling my match, with my pace and my holds.
“I don’t want to say that I didn’t try my hardest in the regular season, but I think I’ve got it all together. I changed my mentality a little bit. I’m taking my shots a little better and being a little stingier instead of leaving myself open for other guys. “
Johnston, a junior with a 26-7 record, followed up a 6-5 win over top-seeded Alex Tirapelle of Illinois 6-5 in the quarterfinals with a 9-8 win over 2004 runner-up Jake Percival of Ohio to earn a spot in the finals against Michigan’s Ryan Bertin.
Bertin, the No. 2 seed, posted a 10-7 semifinal win over Iowa State’s Trent Paulson on Friday. Bertin (30-1) won the 157 title in 2003 and finished third a year ago.
In the quarterfinals, Paulson knocked off Stanford’s Matt Gentry, the 2004 champion at 157.
“I really don’t pay much attention (to seedings and results) in tournaments; I get tunnel vision, “Bertin said. “I stay away from the arena and come in when it’s my time to wrestle. I don’t want to waste a lot of unnecessary energy. “
Bertin has a pretty good idea what to expect in the finals.
“We’ll both come out firing, “he said.
With the final seconds of his semifinal match at 165 ticking away, Iowa redshirt freshman Mark Perry was stomach down on the mat when he began pumping his fist toward the Hawkeye contingent.
Perry (26-5) knocked off previously unbeaten Troy Letters of Lehigh 3-0, earning a spot in the finals against Oklahoma State’s Johny Hendricks.
Letters won the title at 165 last year.
“I watched a lot of film and stuck with my game plan, “said Perry, a No. 4 seed. “I knew I couldn’t let him shoot, so I made sure that I took all the shots. Instead of worrying about him, I concentrated on what I needed to do. “
Hendricks, the No. 3 seed, won 6-2 over No. 2 Ryan Churella of Michigan in the other semifinal.
“That’s the most aggressive I’ve been all year, “Hendricks said. “I’ve pushed it hard, extra hard, for the last two months and I’m not about to let up now. “
Oklahoma State continued its march to a third consecutive team title. Entering today’s action, the Cowboys have 127 1/2 points. Cornell (71 1/2) is second, followed by Big 10 powers Michigan (67), Minnesota (66) and Iowa (64).
Moving on to the championship round for the Cowboys were Zack Esposito (34-1) at 149, Hendricks (33-1) at 165, Chris Pendleton (35-1) at 174, Jake Rosholt (30-3) at 197 and Steve Mocco (35-0) at heavyweight.
Entering Saturday’s action, Illinois (60 1/2) is seventh and Missouri (39) is 11th.
The two top seeds at 125, No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma and No. 2 Nick Simmons of Michigan State, were knocked off in the semifinals. Fifth-seeded Joe Dubuque (28-3) of Indiana won 3-2 over Hazewinkel while third-seeded Kyle Ott (21-3) of Illinois avenged a loss in the Big 10 Tournament, winning 3-1 in overtime over Simmons.
Ott was the runner-up at 125 last year.
At 133, top-seeds Travis Lee (36-1) of Cornell and Shawn Bunch (40-1) of Edinboro advanced. Lee, a four-time All-America, won the title at 125 in 2003.
A pair of Big 12 competitors will square off in the title match at 141 as top seeds Nate Gallick (29-0) of Iowa State posted a 2-0 win and Oklahoma’s Teyon Ware (33-3) won by technical fall. Ware won the title at 141 in 2003.
Oklahoma State’s Zack Esposito (34-1) returned to the title match at 149, winning 7-2. This year’s top seed was a runner-up a year ago. His opponent will be second-seeded Phillip Simpson (29-1) of Army. Simpson, a three-time All-American making his first title-match appearance, posted an 8-0 semifinal win.
In a title rematch at 174, defending champion Pendleton of OSU will face Missouri’s Ben Askren (34-2). At 184, West Virginia’s Greg Jones (24-0) will go for his third national championship, taking on seventh-seeded Tyler Baier (40-3) of Cornell.
Fifth-seeded Sean Stender of Northern Iowa (33-6) stunned top-seeded Jon Trenge of Lehigh 5-3 at 197. Stender will take on Oklahoma State’s Rosholt, a 2003 champion, for the title.
The heavyweight title match will feature top-seed Mocco of OSU against No. 2 Cole Konrad (40-2) of Minnesota. Mocco captured the heavyweight title in 2003 while wrestling for Iowa.
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