A Look at Some of the Best Brother Combinations in Division I; Recaps of Recent Conference and National Tournaments
By Andrew Hipps
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Brothers Making Impact in Division I
For years, talented brother combinations have helped shape the college wrestling landscape. Names like Brands, Banach, Schultz, and Steiner quickly leap to mind. Just this past weekend, two sets of brothers (Simmons and Churella), reached the finals of the Big Ten Championships, while another pair of brothers (Keefe) reached the finals of the Southern Conference Championships.
Let’s take a look at ten sets of brothers who are making the biggest impact in Division I this season.
10. Mike Hurley (Cleveland State) and Ryan Hurley (Cleveland State)
Mike, a freshman, finished 13-9 this season at 141. Ryan, who is a year older, was 19-17 at 149 and qualified for his first NCAA Tournament by placing third in the Eastern Wrestling League Championships.
9. Patrick Pitsch (Arizona State) and Daniel Pitsch (Oregon State)
Patrick, a freshman, has compiled a record of 22-13 and recentley qualified for the NCAA Tournament by placing third in the Pac-10 Championships at 165. Daniel, a junior, qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2004, but narrowly missed qualifying this year after placing fourth in the Pac-10 Championships at 184. He finished the season with a 15-16 record.
8. Kelly Flaherty (Wisconsin) and Ryan Flaherty (Wisconsin)
The Flaherty twins, both captains, have helped to solidify the upper-weights for the Badgers. Both qualified for the NCAA Tournament this year. Kelly is 18-11 and placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships at 174, while Ryan is 25-7 and placed third at the Big Ten Championships.
7. Josh Keefe (University of Tennessee-Chattanooga) and Michael Keefe (University of Tennessee-Chattanooga).
The Keefe twins, under the tutelage of head coach Terry Brands, have been an integral part of the 2005 Southern Conference Champion Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs. Josh, a 133-pounder, made a name for himself last season by beating two-time national champion Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State in a dual. He won the Southern Conference title in 2004 and was runner-up in 2005. Michael recently won the Southern Conference title at 141 and enters his second NCAA Tournament with a 35-7 record.
6. Brian Stith (Arizona State) and Chris Stith (Virginia Tech)
Brian, a sophomore 157-pounder, had the biggest win of his college career last weekend when he beat NCAA Champion Matt Gentry of Stanford in the finals of the Pac-10 Championships. He is 29-9 this season and ranked 10th in the country. Chris, a senior 165-pounder, finished this season 24-12 and 70-33 for his career at Virginia Tech.
5. Tom Clum (Wisconsin) and Danny Clum (Wyoming)
Tom is a three-time NCAA qualifier and the 2004 Big Ten Champion at 125. He is currently 24-4 this season and ranked seventh in the country at 133. Danny, a freshman 157-pounder, is 19-11 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament by placing third in the West Regional over the weekend.
4. Nick Roy (Michigan) and Andrew Roy (Rutgers)
Nick, a sophomore 174-pounder, has recorded a career-high 23 wins (23-10) in his second season in the Wolverines’ starting lineup, surpassing his previous mark of 13 from last season. He finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships. Andrew, a senior 174-pounder, became the first wrestler in Rutgers school history to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four seasons. He enters the NCAA Championships with a 22-3 record on the season.
3. Nick Simmons (Michigan State) and Andy Simmons (Michigan State)
Nick was an All-American as a freshman in 2003, but took an Olympic redshirt year in 2004 and placed sixth in the Olympic Trials. He is currently ranked second in the country at 125. Andy, who is two years younger than Nick, recently finished second at the Big Ten Championships and is ranked fifth in the country at 141.
2. Trent Paulson (Iowa State) Travis Paulson (Iowa State)
The twins, Trent and Travis, have given the Cyclone lineup a dynamic 1-2 punch since stepping in as freshmen last season. Trent is an impressive 57-9 in his career, while Travis, a returning All-American, is 44-16. Trent is currently ranked 7th in the country at 157 and Travis is 8th at 165.
1. Josh Churella (Michigan) and Ryan Churella (Michigan)
Josh recently claimed the Big Ten title at 141 and is arguably the top freshman in the entire country this season. He enters his first NCAA Tournament with a 19-1 record, ranked fourth in the country. Ryan, an All-American at 149 last year, recently won the Big Ten title at 165 and is 31-1 this season.
Conferences Tournaments Conclude
The Division I conference tournaments were in full swing over the weekend. Below is brief summary of each conference tournament.
Big 10
Behind the performances of Big Ten Champions Alex Tirapelle (157) and Pete Friedl (174), Illinois won its first Big Ten team title since 1952 with a final score of 130 points. Head coach Mark Johnson was named the 2005 Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second time (2001). Tirapelle won his second Big Ten title and Friedl his first. The Illini placed nine wrestlers in the conference’s top-6 to ensure all nine will be in St. Louis in two weeks for the NCAA Championships.
“This is a great accomplishment for our program, “Johnson said. “I have said all along that this is a step for our program. If you can win this tournament, then it means you can win a national title – they are almost one in the same. It was very special to win it here (Iowa City). I spent 10 years of my life here. If it wasn’t Champaign, I’m glad it was Iowa City. “
Big 12
Oklahoma State took home its third consecutive Big 12 title by placing eight wrestlers in the finals and winning seven individual titles. The Cowboys finished the tournament with 95.5 points, well ahead of second-place Iowa State who had 47 points. Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Oklahoma State 125-pounder Coleman Scott upset previously unbeaten and top-ranked Sam Hazewinkel in overtime, which earned him outstanding wrestler honors.
“It was very rewarding to see us come out and wrestle well,” said Oklahoma State coach John Smith. “It was good to see our guys who were on the bubble have a good tournament. We just need to take advantage of our momentum going into our workouts next week.”
ACC:
Led by individual titles from junior All-American Evan Sola, sophomore Drew Forshey, junior Garrett Atkinson and sophomore David Dashiell, North Carolina captured its 16th conference title and sixth in the last 10 seasons at the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships Saturday at Mat Jam at UNC Greensboro’s Fleming Gym. The Tar Heels scored 76 points to outdistance league newcomer Virginia Tech, which scored 66.5 points. Sola was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. North Carolina State was third with 56.5 points, while Virginia (53), Duke and Maryland (21) rounded out the team scoring.
Pac-10
Last year Arizona State finished tied for fifth in the Pac-10 Championships with 85 points – its lowest finish in the conference tournament in program history. This year the Sun Devils stepped back on top of the podium as champions for the 15th time as they secured the crown at the 2005 event that was hosted by Cal Poly inside Mott Gym in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Feb. 27-28. Nine members of the team placed among the Top 6 in the event, including two individual champions, to help them amass 106 points and bring home the title. Boise State, the 2004 champion, finished in second place with 93 points while Oregon took third with 88 points. UC Davis (82) and host Cal Poly (74) rounded out the top five.
EIWA
Two and a half points separated the top two teams in the EIWA and in the end Lehigh came out on top to claim its fourth consecutive EIWA crown, edging Cornell 133.5-131 Saturday night at Navy’s Alumni Hall. The Mountain Hawks took home three individual titles and qualified seven wrestlers for nationals as they become just the third team in the last 70 years to win four consecutive EIWA titles.
EWL
Edinboro University took the team title at the 30th annual EWL Championship with 113 points, while Lock Haven finished second with 104 points. Third place went to Pittsburgh with 98 points, followed by West Virginia with 93, Bloomsburg with 81, Clarion and Cleveland State tied with 62 points. Greg Jones of West Virginia set a school record for wins on his way to the 184 pound title and was named the EWL Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler.
CAA
Seven Hofstra wrestlers captured individual titles as they cruised to their fifth consecutive conference team championship Saturday night at the 2005 CAA Wrestling Championships at Boston University. It was Hofstra’s fourth straight CAA championship since joining the league in 2002. The Pride also captured the team title in the ECWA in 2001. Hofstra finished with a school-record 136 points in the 10-team championship field. Rider University was second with 84.5 points, Drexel was third with 69 and the Terriers of Boston University were fourth with 53 points.
MAC
Central Michigan won its fourth-straight Mid-American Conference tournament title in dominating fashion, finishing with 119.5 points, while Northern Illinois was second with 59 points. Kent State (46.5), Ohio (41.5) and Eastern Michigan (33.5) rounded out the top five. It was the seventh tournament title in the last eight years for Central Michigan. The Chippewas won individual titles in eight of the 10 weight class to tie the record for most titles in a single tournament. Central Michigan also won eight in 1998.
East Regional
Duquesne captured four individual titles on its way to winning the East Region Championship. The Dukes scored 77 team points, topping Slippery Rock (69.5) and four-time defending champion Millersville (66.5) as well as Gardner-Webb (54.5) and Delaware State (36.0). In addition, Duquesne coach John Hartupee was named Coach of the Year.
West Regional
Northern Iowa continued to keep their hold on the Western Region title, despite strong opposition from Fresno State. Northern Iowa had 93 points to the Bulldogs 88.5, and held the edge in individual championships 5-3. The Air Force Academy had the other two individual champions, and finished third with 56.5 points.
Augsburg Wins Division III National Title in Dominating Fashion
Augsburg College had an NCAA record-tying four individual champions and ten All-Americans, including 157-pound standout Marcus LeVesseur, on the way to the Auggie’s ninth national championship in school history at St. Olaf’s Tostrud Center in Northfield Friday and Saturday.
The Auggies also put together the second-highest point total for any championship team in Division III history, accumulating 162 points, outdistancing second-place Wartburg (Iowa) with 104.5 points and breaking Wartburg’s two-year hold on the national crown. The point total is the most ever for an Augsburg team at the national championship tournament.
Luther (Iowa) finished third with 100 points, while Wisconsin-La Crosse placed fourth with 72 points. Brockport State (N.Y.) placed fifth with 48.5 points.
In addition to LeVesseur, Matt Shankey (125), Mark Matzek (133) and Joe Moon (174) each repeated as national champions for Augsburg and finished the season undefeated.
Lindenwood Wins Second NAIA Title in Four Years
On Saturday night Lindenwood University claimed its second wrestling national title with 178.5 points, finishing 50 points ahead of second place Missouri Valley College. The Lions won the 2002 title with 180 points, the most points ever scored in a championship. The 48th Annual NAIA Wrestling National Championships was contested in the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.
Division II Nationals This Weekend
The NCAA Division II National Tournament is March 11-12 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Defending national champion Nebraska Omaha, Augustana, Minnesota State, Mankato and Nebraska Kearney are among the favorites for the team title. Check out The Wrestling Mall Thursday for a feature story on the Minnesota State, Mankato wrestling team.
Final Rankings To Be Released
The Wrestling Mall will release its final team and individual rankings this week. Be sure to check out the last rankings before the NCAA tournament.
Coming Next Week: NCAA Division I Nationals Preview and Predictions.
Andrew Hipps also accepts feedback on his articles at [email protected]
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