Busy College Weekend Involves Surprises, Upsets and New Faces

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John Fuller (TheMat.com)
11/26/2002


The college wrestling season began to heat up last weekend with some intense tournament action and a pair of major dual meets.    In dual competition, Nebraska upset Arizona State 20-19 in Lincoln, Neb. on Friday night. The Huskers lost the first two and last two matches of the dual meet, but they took control in between. Joey Malia of Nebraska upset Mike Simpson of Arizona State at 133 pounds to give Nebraska a 20-10 lead with two matches remaining. Dana Holland was unable to score major points at 141 for the Sun Devils as the Huskers won the dual.    On Saturday, Michigan squared off with long time rival Lehigh at historic Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. It was the last dual meet ever at "The Snake Pit", but the Wolverines spoiled the celebration for the Mountainhawks after a 26-12 dual win. All-American Kyle Smith of Michigan upset top-ranked Jon Trenge of Lehigh at 197 pounds to cap off a strong night for Michigan. The Wolverines received major decisions from 125-pound A.J. Grant and 157-pound Ryan Bertin, but it was a pin by Jeremiah Tobias at 149 pounds that took the air out from underneath the Mountainhawks.    Also on Saturday, Lock Haven pulled out a major upset over Iowa State in Lock Haven, Pa. The two teams actually tied, but Lock Haven won the dual on he seventh criteria, which is the number of nearfall points earned in the dual. Defending NCAA champion Aaron Holker moved up to 149 for this dual meet and was solid in a 9-4 win over Lock Haven's James LaValle, but the reality of life after Cael and Heskett may have finally sunk in for the Cyclones, who won five matches, none by major decisions.    On Sunday, defending NCAA champion Minnesota got back on track with a 21-16 dual win over Northern Illinois on the road. The Gophers received pins from NCAA finalist Ryan Lewis at 133 and NCAA champion Jared Lawrence at 149. Defending NCAA champion Luke Becker of Minnesota defeated All-American Scott Owen at 157 pounds in a 9-4 win. Minnesota was without the services of 2002 All-Americans Damion Hahn and Garrett Lowney in this dual meet. Lowney had surgery on his shoulder last week and is expected to miss the rest of the first half of the season.    At the Kaufman/Brand Open in Omaha, Neb., referred to as the largest one day wrestling tournament in the U.S., Oklahoma State dominated the field. The Cowboys came home with six individual champions and had three other finalists as well. The team was led by the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler Zack Esposito at 141 pounds, a true freshman. After the tournament, head coach John Smith stated that it was very likely that Esposito would not redshirt his freshman season. Also impressive was Iowa, who had three champions of their own, including NCAA runner-up Steve Mocco at 285 pounds. The Hawkeyes did suffer a blow when 133-pound All-American Cliff Moore lost two matches and did not place. Moore gave up a total of 29 points in the two losses, a situation that coaches would like to see corrected soon.    A strong individual field was present at the Cornell Body Bar Invitational in Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday. Cornell won the tournament and saw Travis Lee (125), Dustin Manotti (149), Tyler Baier (174) and Clint Wattenberg (184) claim individual crowns. Also impressive was second-place Edinboro, who had champions in Shawn Bunch (133), Cory Ace (141) and Matt R. King (165). The match of the day may have been the 197-pound final, where Chris Jones of Drexel defeated Matt Greenberg of Cornell 6-4. Both wrestlers are solid All-American candidates and could run into each other a few more times this year.    Penn dominated the field at the annual Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa. on Saturday. The Quakers had 14 placewinners in the tournament including champions Jody Giuricich at 149, Paul Velekei at 197 and Matt Feast at 285. Aaron Holker of Iowa State dropped back down to 141 pounds and won the tournament with ease.    At the Missouri Open in Columbia, Mo. on Sunday, Illinois and Central Michigan led the field. The Fighting Illini watched Kyle Ott (125), Mark Jayne (133), Matt Lackey (165) and Brian Glynn (174) earn individual titles at the tournament. Both Ott and Glynn defeated teammates in what could have been wrestle-offs as well. The Chippewas had champions in Jason Mester (141), Ty Morgan (149) and David Bolyard (157). All three were NCAA qualifiers last season.    TheMat.com will provide complete coverage of the college wrestling season, including updated results, previews, features and recruiting information.