Injury-depleted Iowa State loses to Penn in the first round of the NWCA National Duals
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John Fuller (TheMat.com)
01/17/2004
Cleveland, Ohio - Iowa State entered the 2004 NWCA National Duals in Cleveland, Ohio as one of the teams to beat for the title. The Cyclones were seeded No. 3 entering the annual event. After the first round, Pennsylvania has to be feeling good about its chances. The Quakers downed a depleted Cyclone squad 26-15 to move onto the quarterfinals against Penn State. Iowa State was without starters Grant Nakamura (125 lbs.), Nate Gallick (141), Travis Paulson (157) and Scott Coleman (285) in the loss. All-American Matt Feast (285) of Pennsylvania pinned Richard Schopf in the final match of the dual to seal the victory for the Quakers. All other seeded teams won their respective dual meets. Penn State raced out to a quick 12-0 lead over Northern Iowa with pins at 125 and 133 lbs. The Nittany Lions won the final three matches of the dual meet to come away with a 31-9 victory. Missouri dominated Michigan State 29-3, winning nine out of 10 matches. The Spartans' Andy Simmons (141) used mat domination over Missouri's J.P. Reese in a 7-5 win. Tiger wrestlers only allowed 25 points to be scored against them in nine individual wins. In the quarterfinals, Missouri will face Hofstra, which pulled out a 18-17 win over upset-minded Central Michigan. The Chippewas won the first four matches of the dual meet to take a 13-0 lead over Hofstra. The key match was at 165 lbs., where Central Michigan's David Bolyard and Hofstra's Ralph Everett met in a Midlands finals rematch which Bolyard won. In the match, Bolyard was questionably warned for stalling a second time with only 10 seconds remaining in the third period, giving Everett a 2-1 lead. Everett won the match 4-1 to give Hofstra the momentum in the dual meet. The match of the day took place in Oklahoma State's 22-12 victory over Cornell. 2003 NCAA champions Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State and Travis Lee of Cornell, a champion at 125 lbs. last year, competed at 133. Lee took control of the match by finishing a single-leg takedown in the second period for a 3-1 lead. Late in the third period, Lee scored another takedown as Thompson was attempting to score the winning takedown, giving Lee a 5-2 win. "I definitely felt really sluggish at Midlands," Lee said after the match. "It felt good to come out here and wrestle with a lot more energy." The Cowboys will face Oklahoma in the quarterfinals. The Sooners dominated Ohio State 30-12 in the first round after recording two pins. One of the most anticipated matches of the event never formulated in this dual between heavyweights Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State and Leonce Crump of Oklahoma. Oklahoma coaches confirmed that Crump has been battling a virus for the past week, and to risk him wrestling may be detrimental to his health. Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma 23-12 earlier this season. No. 4 seed Michigan will meet No. 5 seed Minnesota in the semifinals after both schools dominated their first round opponents. For complete coverage of the 2004 NWCA National Duals, visit TheMat.com. NWCA National Duals at Cleveland, Ohio Jan. 17-18, 2004 First Round Results Oklahoma State 22, Cornell 12 Oklahoma 30, Ohio State 12 Minnesota 35, Cleveland State 3 Michigan 29, West Virginia 16 Pennsylvania 26, Iowa State 15 Penn State 31, Northern Iowa 9 Hofstra 18, Central Michigan 17 Missouri 29, Michigan State 3