Missouri Bulls win Cadet Freestyle Championship on Home Mats

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Jennifer Vassil (USA Wrestling)
06/27/2005


The Missouri Bulls captured the championship title with a 38-33 win over the Minnesota Bay Watchers at the 2005 Cadet Freestyle National Dual Championships Monday night in Kansas City.  This marks the first time in Missouri USA Wrestling history that a team at any age group has won a team championship.     Early in the dual, the Missouri Bulls and the Minnesota Bay Watchers appeared to be evenly matched.  They were deadlocked at 8-8, 12-12, and 18-18 after the fourth, sixth, and ninth bouts.      Then, the Missouri Bulls proceeded to win the next three bouts, two of which were by technical falls.    A technical fall by Torrey Line (MN) over Kyle Campbell (MO) brought the Minnesota Bay Watchers to within one point, 29-30.  The next two wins belonged to the Missouri Bulls, putting the dual out of reach for the Minnesota Bay Watchers.  Deron Winn (MO) earned a technical fall over Jordan Spaeth (MN) at 189 lbs. and Dom Bradley (MO) pinned Patrick Mahon (MN) at 215 lbs.          Both teams went a perfect 9-0 in the tournament before the final dual.    The Missouri Bulls (#6) knocked off Team Washington (41-25), New Jersey (34-31), and the Pennsylvania Looney Russian Bears (35-31) in the Blue Pool on their way to the finals.  Likewise, the Minnesota Bay Watchers (#1) recorded wins against Michigan (35-33), Illinois (39-29), and the Oklahoma Indians (40-29) in the Red Pool, earning them a trip to the championship.      The Missouri Bulls also reached the finals of the 2005 Cadet Freestyle National Dual Championships this past Saturday.  They were handed a loss by the Pennsylvania Looney Russian Bears, 31-34.    The Oklahoma Indians (#5) took 3rd place by defeating New Jersey (#8), 36-33.  Five Oklahoma wrestlers pinned their opponents as the Indians tallied their 9th win of the tournament.      In the 5th place match, the Pennsylvania Looney Russian Bears (#10) upended Michigan (#7) by a score of 42-26.  Pennsylvania dropped only five bouts on their way to victory.      Vying for 7th place, Illinois (#11) slipped by Team Washington (#4) by a mere two points, 35-33.  With the team score at 33-31 in Washington's favor, David Lembas (IL) clinched the win for his team by pinning Brian Stults (WA) at 275 lbs.    Unseeded New York Kong defeated the Indiana Cardinals (#9) 36-32 in the consolation match.  New York finished the tournament with an 8-2 record.