Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals report - 9:00 a.m. session
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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
01/20/2001
The tournament is held on four mats, with dual meets on each mat. There was no weight class draw for this tournament, so each match started at 125 pounds. It is a four-ring circus of constant quality wrestling action, almost too difficult to follow all at once. The first session highlight was the record-setting win by Cael Sanderson of Iowa State, who won his 101st straight match, breaking Dan Gable's record of 100 straight in the early 1970's. 9:00 a.m. session #1 Oklahoma State 24, Lehigh 12 At 125 pounds, Matt Brown of OSU opened with a tight 10-8 win over Mario Stewart of Lehigh. At 133, Johnny Thompson of OSU kept the momentum going with a pin. At 141 pounds, Matt Goldstein of Lehigh and Jerrod Sanders of OSU went into overtime at 4-4, and Goldstein scored a winning point on the tiebreaker after a strong sitout to a standup escape, 5-4. David Esposito of Lehigh and Reggie Wright of OSU, among the nation's best at 149 pounds, went down to the wire. Wright scored a takedown with 34 seconds left and added riding time for a 4-1 win. Lehigh and Oklahoma State split the next six bouts, with the Cowboys wins from Shane Roller (157), Ty Lewis (174) and Daniel Cormier (184). Lehigh wins came from Chris Vitale (165), Jon Trenge (197) and Sean Laughlin (Hwt). Cormier had an amazing double-overhook throw to pin Rob Rohn at 4:37. The win by Trenge was at the expense of No. 2 ranked Mark Munoz, in a 11-9 overtime match. #8 Arizona State 35, Montana State Northern 8 Montana State Northern, the NAIA national champion, opened with a victory at 125 pounds by Abel Valedez. David Douglas of ASU evened the score with a solid 12-5 win to knot the match at 3-3. At 141 pounds, Eric Larkin scored a 10-2 win over Jason Fratzke, giving the Sun Devils the lead at 7-3, one which they never relinquished. Arizona State reeled off five more victories in a row, with wins from Dana Holland (149), Rocky Smart (157), Steve Blackford (165), Curtis Owens (174) and R.J. Purcell (184). Blackford had a pin, Holland a technical fall, and Smart and Owens major decisions. Turk Lords, the reigning NAIA champion, showed his dominance with a technical fall at 197 pounds for Montana State. Kellan Fluckinger closed the match for ASU win a pin at heavyweight. #5 Oklahoma 36, Nebraska-Omaha 6 Oklahoma dominated the match, winning the first six matches. The Sooners received pins from Witt Durdan at 133 pounds and Jared Frayer at 149 pounds and a technical fall from two-time NCAA runner-up Michael Lightner at 141 pounds. Other early winners were Matt Ridings (125), Brian Burrows (157) and Robbie Waller (165). UNO won two straight matches, as Zac Stalder (174) and Scott Antoniak (184) scored close wins. OU closed the match with a pin by Waymon May at 197 and decision by Shane Zajac (HWT). Oklahoma just had too much firepower for the Div. II team from Omaha. #4 Iowa State 29, Montclair State 18 Div. III power Montclair opened with a win at 125 pounds from Seamus McGuinness, but Iowa State came back at 133 pounds with a victory. Florian Ghinea, the Div. III national champion defeated Zach Roberson in a tight match that went into overtime. Tied 5-5 at the buzzer, Ghinea scored a takedown in overtime for the 7-5 win. Rami Ratel of Montclair continued the uprising, with a quick 17-2 technical fall victory over Benji Weingardner, a replacement for the injured Billy Maldonado at 149. The Red Hawks held a surprising 12-5 lead at that time. Cole Sanderson started the Cyclone comeback with an 8-4 win at 157 pounds, closing the deficit to 12-8. Joe Heskett of ISU kept it coming at 165, with an 18-3 technical fall. Perry Parks scored a fall at 174 pounds. All eyes in the arena went on the mat at 184 pounds, where Cael Sanderson stopped Alex Aliakseyenka by a 21-6 technical fall at 6:45. Iowa State received a forfeit at 197 pounds, and Montclai won the last bout at heavyweight. It was a good showing by the Div. III team, who showed skill and a scrappy attitude in every bout.