WVU’s Jones in final after 50th win in row
By R.B. Fallstrom, The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Oklahoma State had a clean sweep of five semifinal matches last night, wrapping up its third consecutive NCAA wrestling championship with one day of competition remaining.
“This is huge for us, “coach John Smith said. “We knew this was going to be a challenging year and this is a tribute to hard work of everyone on the team and our entire staff.”
The Cowboys have won three consecutive titles for the first time since 1954-56, a season-long goal, and have 33 national titles overall. Now they’ll try to win five individual titles for the first time in school history.
“Now that we’ve wrapped up the title, we need a new goal, “Smith said.
Another lopsided victory by top-seeded and defending champion Chris Pendleton at 174 pounds led the way. Pendleton, who’ll face second-seeded Ben Askren of Missouri in a title rematch tonight, won his two matches yesterday by a combined score of 32-2.
Unbeaten and top-ranked heavyweight Steve Mocco also advanced with an easy victory, along with top-seeded 149-pounder Zack Esposito, and No. 3 seeds Jake Rosholt (197) and Johny Hendricks (165). The Cowboys have 127 1/2 points and a 56-point lead in the team standings against runner-up Cornell, which will have its first top 10 finish since 1958.
Michigan (67) was third, followed by Minnesota (66), Iowa (64) and Oklahoma (61) in the race for second.
Cornell, led by top-seeded 133-pounder Travis Lee, sent two wrestlers to the finals and is the only other school with more than one representative.
Lehigh’s Troy Letters, a Shaler High School graduate, was a victim of one of many semifinal upsets. He was seeded No. 1 at 165 pounds but dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 4-seed Mark Perry of Iowa. It was Letters’ first loss in 26 matches.
In the quarterfinals, Letters defeated Iowa State’s Travis Paulson, 4-0.
At 125 pounds, the lightest classification, fifth-seeded Joe Dubuque of Indiana beat No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma, 3-1.
“Just because he was a No. 1 seed wasn’t a big deal, “Dubuque said. “It was just like any other match.”
Fifth-seeded Sean Stender of Northern Iowa defeated Lehigh’s Jon Trenge, who was seeded No. 1 at 197 pounds, 5-2.
“I tried to be patient and I was able to build a lead, “Stender said. “Once I got a lead, I just did what I like to do: play defense.”
Somehow, Oklahoma State emerged unscathed. The closest call came at 197 when Rosholt beat No. 11 seed B.J. Padden of Nebraska 10-9 on riding time.
Esposito, who’s 34-1, beat Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan 7-2 at 149 pounds. Hendricks knocked off second-seeded Ryan Churella of Michigan 6-2 at 165 and Mocco, dominant at heavyweight throughout the tournament, beat Pat DeGain of Indiana 4-0.
Joe Johnston of Iowa, No. 8 at 157 pounds, was the worst seed to make it to the finals with a 9-8 victory over No. 5 Jake Percival of Ohio. Tyler Baier of Cornell, seeded seventh at 184, beat third-seeded Travis Pascoe of Nebraska at 184.
Three other unbeaten wrestlers advanced to the finals: Greensburg Salem High School graduate Greg Jones of West Virginia (24-0 and 50-match winning streak) at 184 pounds, Nate Gallick of Iowa State (29-0) at 141 and Mocco (36-0 with a 70-match win streak).
Jones, a senior, had an easy time in the quarterfinals, defeating Missouri’s Matt Pell, 13-4.
Army made a rare appearance in the finals when Phillip Simpson, seeded second at 149, beat Dustin Manotti of Cornell 8-0. Army has never had an individual champion, and the last time a service academy won a title was in 1973.
“People think you can’t do well athletically at one of the academies, “Simpson said. “This is a tribute to everyone at West Point.”
Cornell’s Lee, who won the championship at 125 pounds in 2003, pinned Tom Clum of Wisconsin and is 37-1.
Wrestling Gear
