TheMat.com Weekly College Recap

<< Back to Articles
John Fuller (TheMat.com)
11/29/2004


Wrestling with Pride  It's only November, but Hofstra may have pulled off the biggest team upset of the entire season, knocking off second-ranked Lehigh in a dual meet on Sunday, 23-10.    Hofstra received major upsets at 157, 174, 184 and 197 to seal the win. Three All-Americans for Lehigh, Derek Zinck (157), Travis Frick (174) and Jon Trenge (197) went down in defeat. Trenge's loss was to an All-American, Chris Skretkowicz.    The loss is shocking, as many felt that Lehigh would be the only team that could compete with Oklahoma State in a dual or tournament setting. That theory may now be in question.      Great American Hero  The best wrestler at American… well, he may not even be American. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, won two Junior College national titles at Colby before transferring to American this year.    This past weekend, he posted a 4-0 record, including an 6-3 semifinal win over 2003 NCAA qualifier Nathan Galloway of Penn State and an injury default victory over 2004 NCAA runner-up Jake Percival of Ohio at the Mat Town Invitational in Lock Haven, Pa. According to reports, Abdurakhmanov was leading Percival 6-3 when Percival injured his ribs on a shot attempt.    For the season, Abdurakhmanov is now 7-0 with two tournament titles. He is looking to be the first American wrestler to compete in the NCAA Tournament since 2002.      The new King of TV  Kyle Maynard, who won an ESPY Awards this summer for "Best Athlete with a Disability" will be interviewed on this evening's episode of Larry King Live on CNN.    Maynard was born March 24, 1986 with a rare disorder called, "Congenital Amputation," leaving him with three joints; a neck and two shoulders. He has no elbows or knees. He measures just over two feet tall and weighs approximately 103 pounds.    Despite his physical abnormalities, Maynard finished the 2003-04 season as one of the top high school wrestlers in Georgia (35-16), posting a 3-2 record at the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships and narrowly missing All-American status at the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships.    He currently attends the Univ. of Georgia where he competes for the school's club wrestling team.      Oh Brother  Brothers Tom and Terry Brands met up this weekend as head coaches for the first time, but it was Terry's Tennessee-Chattanooga squad coming out on top with a 32-13 win over Virginia Tech.    Chattanooga dominated the dual, winning seven of 10 matches on the day. But with a great recruiting class in line for Virginia Tech, expect a much closer battle to come in the next few years.    For wrestling fans in the south, this looks to be the first of many on-the-mat battles between these two Olympic medalists.      Cowboy Up… in the rankings  With Trenge's loss on Sunday, and Jake Rosholt's earlier win over Skretkowicz at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, it is probably that Rosholt, who moved up in weight this year, will become the top-ranked wrestler at 197 lbs.    This would bring the total of Oklahoma State wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the nation to four, including defending champion Chris Pendleton (174), 2003 NCAA champion Steve Mocco (285) and 2004 NCAA runner-up Zack Esposito (149).      Badger digs deep for win  Wisconsin's Ryan Flaherty scored a takedown with one second remaining in the third period to come away with a 6-4 victory over Northern Iowa All-American Sean Stender at 197 lbs. on Saturday. The match was the final of the dual, and it gave the Badgers a 20-14 win at home.    The next day, Flaherty pinned Derek Hunsinger of Northern Illinois in the first period in Wisconsin's 27-12 win over the Huskies.      All-Star Classic  Even with two last-minute changes to the lineup, the 39th All-Star Classic, held last Monday, went off well according to many of the fans in attendance. The event provided possible previews to NCAA finals matches at the end of this year.    But according to many in attendance, the best wrestler at this meet was Ohio's Jake Percival, an NCAA runner-up last year who defeated 2003 NCAA champion Ryan Bertin of Michigan 11-7.    Bertin was the only one of six NCAA champions to lose in the All-Star Classic. Past NCAA champions winning their matches were Teyon Ware of Oklahoma (141), Troy Letters of Lehigh (165), Chris Pendleton of Oklahoma State (174), Greg Jones of West Virginia (184) and Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State (285).      This Week:  The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, one of the season's top tournaments, will take place on Friday and Saturday. This tournament will feature many Big Ten teams, PAC-10 teams and top teams from the other college divisions.    On Sunday, two of college wrestling's biggest rivalries will take place as Iowa will host Iowa State and Minnesota will host Oklahoma State. Last year, Iowa State defeated Iowa for the first time in nearly two decades. Minnesota, one of the top young teams in the nation, will have its hands full with Oklahoma State, the two-time defending NCAA team champions.    Also on Sunday, the Penn State Open and Northern Iowa Open will be held.