Recap of this weekend's Division I college wrestling

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Craig Sesker (USA Wrestling)
12/10/2001


Cael Sanderson won his NCAA-record 133rd consecutive match without a loss, but he was one of only three Cyclones to win as Iowa State lost to Iowa for the 28th straight time, 21-16, before 10,040 fans Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.    "I am human like anybody else - you start losing to somebody consistently and you want to find a way to win," said Iowa State Coach Bobby Douglas, whose teams are 0-17 against Iowa. "It's very frustrating and difficult, but we are not going to make excuses. They were the better team. Until we improve some things, this streak is not going to stop."    Fifth-ranked Iowa improved to 4-0 while the No. 6 Cyclones, who last defeated the Hawkeyes in 1987, lost for the first time in eight duals this season.    In the other big in-state dual meet on Sunday, No. 2 Oklahoma State edged No. 3 Oklahoma 18-15 in Stillwater, Okla.    Even though Iowa State won only three matches, it was right in the dual, as ISU scored 12 points with two pins and another four points by virtue of a major decision.    "We knew it was going to be a tough battle," Iowa Coach Jim Zalesky said. "They scored the bonus points and that kept them in the meet, but you've got to win the close matches."    The Hawkeyes led 18-16 entering the meet's final bout. Iowa senior Mike Zadick, ranked No. 1 at 149, made sure the streak would continue as he relied on an aggressive attack to record four double-leg takedowns in a 10-4 win over fifth-ranked Billy Maldonado.    "I didn't even know the (team) score going into my match, to tell you the truth," Zadick said. "I just knew I had to go out there and perform and compete."    Zadick, third in the nation last year at 149, said he could have wrestled better. He led just 4-3 entering the final period. Zadick has won five straight decisions over Maldonado after dropping their first meeting.    "I definitely have a lot more in me than that," Zadick said. "I don't think I got my first takedown until there were 20 seconds left in the first period. That's too much time where nothing happened. I need to come out in the first 30 seconds and get a score on the board. Then people start to fade a lot quicker against you."    Another Hawkeye senior, Marc Juergens, recorded a pivotal win at 133. With Iowa leading 15-12 with three matches remaining, the No. 12-ranked Juergens rallied for a 4-1 win over sixth-ranked Zach Roberson. Juergens (12-1) trailed 1-0 entering the third period before scoring an escape and takedown.    "That was a big match for us," Zalesky said. "Marc doesn't have a lot of experience, but he has been looking real good for us."    Sanderson, a senior who has won three NCAA championships, needed just 101 seconds to lock Ryan Fulsaas in a cradle and register a pin at 197. Sanderson is 14-0 this season.    Jose Vargas, who handles the Cyclones' sports information duties for wrestling, said Sanderson was too upset to talk with the news media following the meet.    The Cyclones' other top-ranked senior, Joe Heskett, won by fall at 165. He pinned backup Cory Connell, who was filling in for the injured Ben Shirk.    "I thought it would be extremely important to have the crowd involved," Heskett said. "The crowd was great. Cael and I tried to fire up the crowd and fire up our team so we could carry the momentum over into the other matches."    ISU teammate Aaron Holker pounded Luke Moffitt 14-0 at 141. Moffitt was one stalling call away from being disqualified, which would have given the Cyclones two additional team points.    Iowa also picked up wins from Matt Anderson (157), Tyler Nixt (174), Jessman Smith (184), Steve Mocco (heavyweight) and Luke Eustice (125). Mocco, the highly touted true freshman who is ranked seventh, struggled to a 9-5 win over unranked Mark Knauer.    In the Oklahoma State win, the Cowboys received upset wins from Johnny Thompson (133), Jerrod Sanders (149) and Pat Popolizio (184).    Thompson, ranked second, downed No. 1 Witt Durden of Oklahoma 6-3.    Sanders, ranked 17th, knocked off No. 4 Jared Frayer of Oklahoma 7-4 in the first match of the dual. Popolizio, ranked No. 3, downed No. 1 Josh Lambrecht of Oklahoma 3-2.    In other matches, OSU's No. 3 Shane Roller beat No. 7 Doug Cieleski 3-0 at 157, No. 2 Tyrone Lewis of OSU downed No. 4 Robbie Waller 5-3 at 165, No. 16 Michael Barger of OU beat No. 5 Ty Wilcox 10-8 in overtime at 174, unranked Willie Gruenwald of OSU beat No. 19 Tom Grossman 3-1 at 197, No. 2 Leonce Crump of OU beat No. 10 James Huml in double-overtime at heavyweight, No. 5 Matt Ridings of OU beat No. 2 Skylar Holman 5-2 at 125, and Nate Parker of OU pinned Ronnie Delk at 141.    Top-ranked Minnesota rolled to a pair of dual-meet wins, beating Virginia Tech 42-9 on Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va., before pounding James Madison 42-9 on Saturday night in Harrisonburg, Va.    The Gophers, who improved to 5-0, became the first collegiate wrestling team to visit the White House on Monday. The Minnesota team was honored by President Bush for winning the 2001 national title.    Fourth-ranked Michigan continued to roll, beating No. 20 Michigan State 27-6 on Friday in East Lansing, Mich. The Wolverines then returned home to down No. 22 Central Michigan 22-8 on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.