Iowa wins first-ever National Junior Duals title
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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
07/03/2005
Enid, Okla. - It didn't quite come down to the final match, but it was close. By the time the 215-pound had ended, Iowa had clinched its first National Junior Duals title, winning 35-29 over New Jersey Team Josh in freestyle competition at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center. Neither team seemed to be able to gain much of a stronghold in the dual. New Jersey took a 13-9 lead, its biggest of the dual, following a 7-5 overtime win by Ross Gitomer over Iowa's Montell Marion at 125 lbs. In the previous match, New Jersey received a 12-2 win by Jimmy Conroy over James Nicholson. Iowa then went to work, receiving technical fall victories by Joey Slaton at 130 lbs. and Mitch Mueller at 135 lbs. New Jersey was penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct following the 130-pound bout. Perhaps the most dramatic win for Iowa came at 140 lbs., when T.J. Moen threw New Jersey's Darrion Caldwell near the edge of the mat as time expired to earn three points, sending the match to overtime. Moen then scored two points in overtime for an 11-9 win. Matt Ballweg (145 lbs.) and Ryan Morningstar (152) then followed Moen's win with technical falls, giving Iowa a 28-16 lead. The two teams then traded wins until the 215-pound bout. With Iowa already holding the first tiebreaker for most wins, New Jersey needed either two pins or two technical falls without surrendering a point to win the dual. At 215 lbs., David Zabriskie of New Jersey shut out Zach Covington, but was only able to score four points, cutting Iowa's lead only to 32-28. At heavyweight, Iowa's Mike Zimmerly battled back from a 5-0 deficit to win 11-6 over Jim Powers. The win for Iowa signaled the first time a team from the Hawkeye state placed higher than third at the National Junior Duals in either freestyle or Greco-Roman. Illinois defeated Kansas 38-24 for third place. Illinois opened a 28-13 lead and never looked back, receiving a pin from Jim Kennedy (125) and technical fall victories from Tyler Clark (105), Matt McNaughton (112) and Nick Fanthorpe (119). Duke Burk's 15-3 win at 171 lbs. sealed the team victory for Illinois. Oklahoma Team #1 downed Pennsylvania Team #1 37-24 in the fifth-place dual. Pennsylvania opened a 15-6 lead after five bouts due to technical falls by Jordan Oliver (105), Matt Kyler (112) and Brad Pataky (119), but Oklahoma dominated the rest of the way, winning eight of the final 10 bouts. Lance Thompson (130), Shane Vernon (152) and Jarrod Rosholt (275) won by technical fall for Oklahoma. In the seventh-place dual, Missouri squeaked out a 33-30 win over the Minnesota Storm. Missouri won the final five matches of the dual meet to come out on top, including a pin by Taylor Moore (189) and technical falls by Michael Moore (171) and Louis Caputo (215). In the single-elimination consolation bracket, Ohio defeated Michigan 33-25. Ohio jumped out to a 17-2 lead early in the dual and coasted to victory the rest of the way.