Metcalf's Comeback Win Steals the Spotlight at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Greco-Roman Championships

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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
07/24/2002


Fargo, N.D. - A highly-touted matchup never happened, three wrestlers repeated as Junior National champions and Todd Meneely (Nebraska) was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2002 ASICS/Vaughan Junior Greco-Roman Championships, but it was Chase Metcalf (Michigan) who stole the show on Tuesday evening.    Metcalf rallied from a 6-0 deficit for a 9-7 victory in the 130-lb. final against Quincy Osborn (Minnesota).    Osborn opened his big lead in the first period, scoring on two gut wrenches and using a lift for his 6-0 advantage. Metcalf came out with a flurry in the second period, though, cutting the lead to 6-4 almost immediately after a takedown and three exposure points.    After Osborn received a point after Metcalf was warned for fleeing the mat, Metcalf was placed down. Osborn began to get too high and as he attempted to roll Metcalf, he fell underneath and Metcalf scored three points for the reversal and exposure points to tie the match with only 12 seconds remaining. Metcalf won the match with a two-point gut wrench with 5 seconds remaining for the win.    "This is an unbelievable feeling," said Metcalf, whose younger brother Brent won a Cadet Greco-Roman national title last night. "I made some mistakes early, but the great thing about Greco-Roman wrestling is that you are never out of a match. I knew I could still come back and win."    Meneely was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning by a 12-0 technical superiority over Casey Lawson (Utah) at 135 lbs. Meneely did not surrender a single point in nine matches.    "I was very pleased with my performance," said Meneely, who will attend the Univ. of Iowa next fall. "This was a big tournament for me, but going unscored upon was just icing on the cake. I hope I can continue this in freestyle."    At 152 lbs., the most anticipated match of the night never happened as twin brothers Travis and Trent Paulson (Iowa) decided to end their tournaments as co-champions. The decision to not wrestle had actually been made before the tournament in case the brothers happened to each make the finals. Trent's appearance on the mat made him one of only three competitors to repeat as champions.    "It wasn't a hard decision," Trent said. "We are not out here to compete against each other. We both want to win, but not so badly that it is at the other one's expense."    Also repeating as Junior National Greco-Roman champions were Sam Hazewinkel (Florida) and Matt Herrington (New York).    Hazewinkel survived a physical match at 119 lbs. against Luke Smith (Wisconsin) for his win. Hazewinkel had to rely on three takedowns and was almost stagnant in his par terre offense in the win. He was able to score once on a lightning-quick gut wrench.    "Luke is a tough competitor. I knew I was in for a battle before this match. He is very physical and was in this match the whole time. I am just happy to win this tournament again, but my goal is to be a double-champion," Hazewinkel said.    Herrington, the high school national record-holder for career wins with 243, was dominating in his title defense at 171 lbs. Herrington raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first period and never looked back in an 8-2 victory. One of the two points Herrington surrendered was for false start cautions against him.    The evening began at 98 lbs., where Vincent Cina (Maryland) dominated Mark Degliobizzi (Delaware) with an 11-0 technical superiority win in the first period.    At 112 lbs., Ben Kjar (Utah) defeated Brandon Tucker (Oklahoma) 8-6 in a see-saw battle. Kjar took the early lead, using a front headlock for a gator roll for a quick 3-0 lead. Tucker earned a reversal, though, and then scored on two gut wrenches to take a 4-3 lead into the second period.    In the second, Kjar scored two exposure points on a gut wrench to retake the lead, but did not bridge in his gut wrench, thus awarding two points to Tucker to keep the score close at 7-6. Kjar closed out the win with a takedown late in the match.    At 140 lbs., Cheney Haight (Utah) scored three points early in his match with Andy Simmons (Michigan), and that was all he would need in a 4-1 victory. Haight scored a quick takedown and was able to gain exposure points as well for his early lead. Haight was able to neutralize Simmons' offense to where it was nearly non-existent, limiting him to trying for a front headlock nearly the entire match.    It was the first-ever Greco-Roman loss for Simmons, though he had not wrestled the style in over five years before late June.    Danny Cadwallader (California) used a three-point throw in overtime to defeat Keith Gavin (Pennsylvania), 5-0 at 145 lbs. Cadwallader was able to score a takedown in each of the first two periods, but was unable to score from par terre before the overtime.    At 160 lbs., Joe Henning (Wisconsin) was awarded a victory after Charles Brown (Illinois) was forced to injury default out of their match in the second period. Henning led 5-0 at the time of the injury.    At 275 lbs., Konrad rallied from a 2-0 deficit and did not surrender another point in a 4-2 finals win. All of Konrad's points came from gut wrenches - one in each period.    In other championship bouts, Tanner Gardner (Kansas) won by technical fall over Joe Trieu (Washington) by a 12-1 score, Angel Cejudo (Arizona) won by a 14-0 technical superiority over James Holt (California), J.D. Bergman (Ohio) pinned Phil Davis (Pennsylvania) midway through the first period and Nick Terbay (Ohio) won by a 13-2 technical fall over Bridger Sacher (Oregon).    Andy Simmons won the Gorrarian Award for Most Falls in the Least Time. Simmons pinned six opponents in 9 minutes, 52 seconds.    The Junior age-group will be in action again on Thursday evening, as they begin freestyle competition. The first preliminary round begins at 4 pm (Central Time). For complete coverage of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships, stay logged on to TheMat.com.