Boise State is sending one of its strongest contingents yet to the NCAA
National Wrestling Championships beginning Thursday at the Scottrade Center in
St. Louis, Missouri. Coach Greg Randall's team is represented by nine
wrestlers at the Championships which ties the high set by last year's squad.
Boise State is one of 11 teams in the country with eight or more.
Iowa State is the only team with 10 wrestlers, one in each weight class.
Legendary power Oklahoma State, Illinois, defending champion Iowa, Ohio State
and Cornell are sending nine. Boise State, Edinboro, Hofstra, Oklahoma and
Missouri are bringing eight. Lehigh, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia
and Virginia Tech are represented by seven wrestlers while Bucknell, Indiana,
Kent State, Northern Iowa, Old Dominion, Penn and Penn State will send six each.
Michigan State, Minnesota, Navy and Purdue will bring five wrestlers to the
Championships this week.
Andrew Hochstrasser (133 pounds), Jason Chamberlain (149), Tyler Sherfey
(165), Nate Lee (174), Kirk Smith (184) and Brent Chriswell (197) all won Pac-10
Conference championships in their weight classes and received automatic berths
into the National Championship for Boise State. Adam Hall also received an
automatic spot by finishing second at 157 pounds. Last Wednesday, the
Broncos received word that Brian Owen at 125 pounds and Cory Fish at 141 pounds
were invited to the National Championships as at-large wrestlers. See an
extensive look at the competition each Bronco wrestler will face in the
Championships at the conclusion of this article.
Owen and Fish could help the Bronco cause considerably. If they are
able to win a match or two, especially if they can score bonus points, Boise
State very well could beat their all-time finish of 10th, which they achieved in
both 1999 and 2001.
Chriswell is the top-seeded Bronco wrestler at #3. Chriswell faces
Patrick Bond of Illinois in his first match at 197 pounds. Smith is #4 in
the 184-pound class. He'll try to get off to a good start against Jerome
Ward of Iowa State. Hochstrasser is the #5 seed going into the tournament
at 133 pounds. After a bye in the pigtails round, Hochstrasser faces
junior Kyle Hutter of Old Dominion. Sophomore Adam Hall of Boise State
takes on Matt Dragon of Penn in the pigtail round. Freshman Owen (12-7)
draws #3 seed Angel Escobedo of Indiana after a bye in the pigtails.
Sherfey goes to the mat against Paul Young of Indiana. Lee has drawn the
winner of the match between Anthony Trongone of Virginia Tech and Nate Rock of
Buffalo in his 174-pound division. Fish (18-9) takes on #12 Drew Lashaway
of Kent State. Chamberlain (26-7) too is unseeded and will meet Mitch
Mueller of Iowa State in his first match in the 149-lb. classification.
Wrestlers have an extra incentive to win their first three matches.
ESPN will televise the semifinals Friday night as well as the finals Saturday
night.
Andrew Hochstrasser's Road to the Top Five:
Hochstrasser is 30-2 with six pins, five technical falls and seven major
decisions. He has been ranked in the top five nearly all year and has an
extensive record against the field in this week's Championships, compiling a
sizzling 14-2 mark against the best in the nation.
Hochstrasser defeated #6 seed Jayson Ness (33-7) of Minnesota 5-4, #7
Nicholas Fanthorpe (20-4) of Iowa State 9-6, #10 Jake Strayer (16-8) of Penn
State 5-1, #12 seed Steve Bell (24-4) of Maryland 7-4, Matthew Fisk (26-7) of
Lehigh 5-1, Dan Mitcheff (23-8) of Kent State 7-3, Rick Deubel (27-11) of
Edinboro 7-1, Kelly Kubec (21-7) of Oregon State 11-1 and 6-1 in the Pac-10
Championships, scored a major over Cory VomBaur (27-12) of Wyoming 9-0, a
technical fall over Thomas Kimbrell (25-12) of Cal State-Bakersfield, Tyler
Dillashaw (27-7) of Cal State-Fullerton 9-3, Brandon Low (14-8) of UC-Davis 11-1
and Filip Novachkov (22-7) of Cal Poly in the Pac-10 Semifinal.
"Hoch" lost to #3 seed James Kennedy (28-4) of Illinois 6-4 in
December of last year and put up a great fight before losing to #2 Reece
Humphrey (26-3) of Ohio State 6-4.
Kyle Hutter (Old Dominion)--First Match opponent. Hutter is
22-10 with five pins, one tech fall and four major decisions and has a 2-10
record this season against others in the National Championships at 133 pounds.
He split with David Marble (27-10) of Bucknell, downing him 6-3 in
November before losing 4-2 in January. Hutter also split with Conor Beebe
(22-12) of Central Michigan, beating him 6-4 in January only to lose 4-1 in
February. Hutter lost to #1 seed Franklin Gomez (22-2) of Michigan State,
lost twice to #9 seed Lou Ruggirello (28-3) of Hofstra (both by pin), lost to
#12 seed Bell 4-3, Tristen DeShazer (21-11) of Northern Illinois by pin,
Mitcheff 2-1, Darius Little (18-15) of North Carolina State 3-2 and Todd
Schavrien (14-11) of Missouri 8-4.
If Hochstrasser is fortunate to defeat Hutter, he would face either Kubec of
Oregon State, whom he has defeated twice this year, or #12 Steve Bell of
Maryland, another victim of Hoch 7-4 in November.
#12 Steve Bell (Maryland)--Possible Second Round opponent. Bell
is 24-4 with six pins and eight major decisions, and is 9-4 vs. the Championship
field this week.
Bell has a 4-3 win over #4 seed Daniel Dennis (27-4) of Iowa, a major
decision to his credit over Deubel (13-3) and has beaten Fisk of Lehigh 7-2,
Schavrien 6-1, the 4-3 win over Hutter, Michael Rappo (24-8) of North Carolina
twice, 6-5 in January and 11-7 to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship
and Little of NC State twice, 3-2 and 2-1 in the ACC semifinals. Bell has
lost to #3 Kennedy 6-1, #5 Hochstrasser 7-4, #7 Fanthorpe 8-4 and #8 Joe Baker
(14-0) of Navy 7-4.
If Hochstrasser can win his first two matches, Dennis of Iowa is the
highest-seeded opponent in the way of a berth in the semifinals and a nationally
televised match on ESPN. Dennis is an outstanding wrestler but if #11 Mike
Grey of Cornell and #12 Bell can beat him, Hochstrasser certainly can.
#4 Daniel Dennis (Iowa)--Possible Quarterfinal opponent. Dennis
has a sparkling 27-4 with four pins, two tech falls and seven majors.
Dennis is 12-4 against the Championship field.
Dennis beat #3 Kennedy 5-3 and 5-0 before losing to him 4-3 in the Big Ten
Conference quarterfinal. Dennis defeated #1 Franklin Gomez (22-2) of
Michigan State 3-2, #6 Ness 6-4 and 9-7, #7 Fanthorpe 4-3, #10 Jake Strayer
(16-8) of Penn State 6-3 in February and 11-7 in the Big Ten Championships, has
a 15-4 major decision over VomBaur, a 14-4 major over Marble of Bucknell, and
beat Beebe 7-4 and Christopher Notte (27-7) of Oklahoma State 3-2.
The 4-3 loss to #12 Bell, a 4-3 loss to #11 Mike Grey (22-8) of Cornell and a
4-3 loss to #2 Reece Humphrey (26-3) of Ohio State in the Big 10 Championships
are the only other blemishes on Dennis's record.
The top-ranked wrestler in Hochstrasser's bracket is #1 Franklin Gomez, the
victim of Dennis in February.
#1 Franklin Gomez (Michigan State)--Possible Semifinal opponent.
Gomez is 22-2 with just one pin, three technical falls and six majors.
Surprisingly, he is just 6-2 against the Championship field.
Gomez defeated #2 Humphrey 7-4 in the Big 10 semis, owns a 9-7 win over #3
Kennedy and downed #10 Strayer of Penn State in the Big 10 final. He
has beaten Jimmy Conroy (21-11) of Pittsburgh 13-4, Little of NC State 11-4 and
Beebe 11-4.
Gomez's only two losses were to Ness of Minnesota in January by a score of
6-5 and to Dennis 3-2 just two weeks later. Since then, Gomez has won nine
in a row.
Here's a look at the top two seeds in the lower half of the 133-pound
bracket:
#2 Reece Humphrey (Ohio State)--Possible Final opponent.
Humphrey is 26-3 with an incredible nine pins, one tech fall and three major
decisions. With that record of achievement, it's a bit surprising that he
is #2, even with the loss to Gomez. Humphrey is 9-3 vs. the field this
week.
Humphrey beat #6 Ness two of three, edging him 5-4 before being shocked 5-0
in February, and then rocked him 11-4 in the Big 10 Championships.
Humphrey defeated #4 Dennis 5-2, had the 6-4 win over #5 Hochstrasser,
beat #9 Ruggirello 7-4, thumped #10 Strayer 8-3, humiliated Deubel 14-6,
edged Mitcheff of Kent State 5-4 and took down Grey of Cornell 10-3,
Besides the loss to Ness mentioned above, Humphrey lost to #3 Kennedy of
Illinois 4-3 and to #1 Gomez 7-4.
#3 James Kennedy (Illinois)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation Final
opponent. Kennedy has a brilliant record of 28-4 this season with five pins,
two tech falls and 11 major decisions. Kennedy is 10-4 against the field.
Kennedy lost to #4 Dennis twice 5-3 and 5-0 before getting the better of him
in the Big 10 Championships 4-3. Kennedy was the 4-3 winner over #2
Humphrey, scored a 6-4 decision over #5 Hochstrasser, throttled #6 Ness
8-2, beat #12 Bell 6-1, scored a major over Little of NC State 11-3, another
major (12-3) over DeShazer of Northern Illinois, yet another 13-5 major over
Conroy of Pittsburgh, whipped VomBaur of Wyoming 19-7 and defeated Marble of
Bucknell 6-2.
Besides to two losses to Dennis, Kennedy lost to #1 Gomez 9-7 and to #10
Strayer of Penn State 3-2.
Brent Chriswell's Road to the Top Five:
Chriswell has compiled a 13-1 record this season with four pins and one major
decision. He is 3-1 vs. his competition in the 197-pound division this
week Brent is 4-1 vs. the Championship field.
Chriswell owns an impressive 13-5 win over #5 seed Dallas Herbst (23-3) of
Wisconsin and 5-3 and 4-2 wins over #7 Brandon Halsey of Cal State-Bakersfield.
He also defeated Luke Feist (22-13) of Stanford. Chriswell's only loss
this season came at the hands of #2 Jake Varner (26-2) of Iowa State by a pin.
Patrick Bond (Illinois)--First Match opponent. Bond is 16-13
this season. He has one pin this season and one major decision. He
is 3-8 vs. the Championship field at 197 pounds.
Bond defeated John McClure (14-15) of Eastern Michigan 11-6 and split with
Chad Beatty (18-4) of Iowa, losing 2-1 before winning by forfeit in the Big 10
Championships. Bond then proceeded to beat Logan Brown (29-13) of Purdue
3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Big 10.
Bond lost by fall to #4 Tyrel Todd (21-1) of Michigan, was beaten twice by #5
Herbst in tight matches, 5-4 in February followed by a 3-1 setback in the Big 10
semifinal match, and also lost to #12 Brent Jones (29-6) of Virginia 9-3, Joe
Fagiano (17-8) of Hofstra 8-3 Jesse Strawn (33-11) of Old Dominion 5-2 and Chad
Beatty (18-4) of Iowa 2-1.
If Chriswell can get by Bond, he will face the winner of the match between
Stanford's Feist and John Hall (25-10) from Boston University. Of course,
Chriswell is very familiar with Mr. Feist.
Luke Feist (Stanford)--Possible Second Round opponent. Feist is
22-13 this season.
John Hall (Boston U.)--Possible Second Round opponent. Hall
brings a record of 25-10 into St. Louis.
#6 Maxwell Askren (Missouri)--Possible Quarterfinal opponent.
Askren has put together a 26-5 record this season.
#2 Jake Varner (Iowa State)--Possible Semifinal opponent. Varner
has a sensational mark of 26-2 this season.
#1 Craig Brester (Nebraska)--Possible Final opponent. The
redshirt junior is 29-3 this season.
Other top seeds that Chriswell may need to knock off in the top half of the
bracket:
#4 Tyrel Todd (Michigan)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation opponent.
Todd is 21-1 in his senior season.
#5 Dallas Herbst (Wisconsin)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation
opponent. Herbst is 23-3 this year.
Kirk Smith's Road to the Top Five:
Smith is 36-1 this season with four pins, two tech falls and 15 major
decisions.
Smith beat #5 Dustin Kilgore (31-3) of Kent State 8-5, rocked #9 Joe LeBlanc
(40-6) of Wyoming with 17-6 and 16-6 majors and beat #10 Christopher Honeycutt
(30-6) of Edinboro 7-2, #11 Louis Caputo (30-5) of Harvard 3-1, Justin Kerber
(30-10) of Cornell 8-6, Anthony Biondo (18-13) of Michigan 4-1, Jerome Ward
(23-11) of Iowa State 3-1 and Riley Orozco (27-11) of Cal State-Bakersfield 8-1
and 2-1 in the opening round of the Pac-10 Championships.
His only loss was to #3 Mike Pucillo (19-1) of Ohio State 3-2.
Jerome Ward (Iowa State)--First Match opponent. Ward is 23-11 as
a redshirt freshman with three pins, one tech fall and one major. Ward has
just a 5-10 record against the competition in the Championships.
Ward defeated Vincenzo DiDona (25-12) of Central Michigan 3-1, Eric Cameron
(21-18) of Indiana 2-0, Patrick Flynn (25-6) of Oklahoma 5-2 and 2-1 and Dorian
Henderson (20-13) of Missouri 5-2.
He lost to #1 Jake Herbert (29-0) of Northwestern by tech fall, #2 Philip
Keddy (29-3) of Iowa 3-2, #4 Smith earlier this season 3-1, #11 Caputo
3-2, #12 Vince Jones (31-6) of Nebraska twice by fall and also by a 3-0
decision, Jordan Blanton (26-8) of Illinois 3-2, Justin Kerber (30-10) of
Cornell 10-5 and Alex Dolly (11-4) of Northern Iowa 3-2
Dorian Henderson (Missouri)--Possible Second Round opponent.
Henderson is 20-13. He will meet the winner of the Kerber/DiDona match.
Justin Kerber (Cornell)--Possible Second Round opponent. Kerber
is 30-10 this season with two pins, five technical falls and nine majors.
He is 10-8 against the field. Kerber will wrestle Vincenzo DiDona of
Central Michigan in the pigtail round.
Kerber split with #11 Caputo, losing 8-5 before a 5-3 win in the Ivy League
semifinal match. He scored 13-4, 10-1 and 11-3 major decisions over
Matthew Gevelinger (24-12) of Brown and also won a 5-2 decision over him,
recorded a fall over Mikal McKee (31-12) of UNC-Greensboro and a technical fall
over Christopher Daggett (25-13) of Liberty and beat Honeycutt by default,
Biondo 7-3, Ward 10-5.
Kerber lost to #2 Keddy 6-2, #3 Pucillo 8-7, #4 Smith 8-6, #6 Joshua
Patterson (41-4) of Binghampton by decision, #8 David Craig (25-4) of Lehigh in
the Ivy League final, Henderson 3-2 and Thomas Spellman (24-9) of Virginia
Tech.
Vincenzo DiDona (Central Michigan)--Possible Second Round opponent.
DiDona is 25-12 this season with two pins, no tech falls and three majors.
He is 6-9 vs. the field.
He beat #12 Jones of Nebraska 8-6, Thompson 6-3, Daggett of Liberty 10-2,
Spellman 7-3 and Moran 3-0 and 5-2 in the MAC Championships.
DiDona lost to #2 Keddy by just a 2-1 margin but then got beat 8-2 in
December. DiDona also fell to #5 Kilgore 9-2, 6-1 and then 12-1 in the MAC
semifinal, #8 Craig of Lehigh 6-2, Biondo 7-3, Ward 3-1 and Henderson 4-2.
#5 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State)--Possible Quarterfinal opponent. Kilgore
has amassed a 31-3 record in his first collegiate season with eight pins, five
technical falls and seven majors. He has a 9-3 record against the St.
Louis field.
Kilgore beat #6 Patterson 10-4, #8 Craig 8-4, DiDona 9-2 and 12-1 in the MAC
final, Christopher Daggett (25-13) of Liberty 11-2, Kenneth Caldwell (31-13) of
Navy 6-2, Thompson 6-3, Caponi of Virginia 23-9, Mickey Moran (23-11) of Buffalo
11-1
He lost to #1 Herbert 6-3, #3 Pucillo 6-1 and #4 Smith 13-5 .
#1 Jake Herbert (Northwestern)--Possible Semifinal opponent.
Herbert is a perfect 29-0 this season. There's always a first time though!
Herbert has an incredible 14 pins, four tech falls and six major decisions en
route to his #1 ranking. He is 14-0 vs. the competition this week.
Herbert beat #2 Phillip Keddy by a 15-1 major decision before a much closer
3-2 win in February but then bounced him 8-1 in the Big 10 Championships.
Herbert also beat #5 Kilgore 6-3, #7 Doug Umbehauer (19-4) of Rider by fall, #12
Jones by fall, David Thompson (22-14) of Bucknell by fall, Cameron three times
by fall including in the Big 10 final, Ward by technical fall, Henderson by
fall, Biondo by a major of 16-6 and Jordan 6-1 in the Big 10 semi.
Other top wrestlers in the bottom part of Smith's bracket:
#3 Mike Pucillo (Ohio State)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation
Semifinal opponent. Pucillo is a sparkling 19-1 this season with
five pins, one technical fall and seven major decisions. He is 10-1 vs.
the field.
Pucillo beat #4 Smith 3-2, #5 Kilgore 6-1, #10 Honeycutt 8-1, Henderson 11-3,
Dolly 12-3, Kerber 8-7, Cameron by fall in January and a 12-1 major in the Big
10 Championships, Biondo 10-2, Jordan Blanton 10-2,
His only loss was to #2 Keddy in the Big 10 semifinal 5-2.
#6 Joshua Patterson (Binghampton)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation
opponent. Patterson has been active this season at 41-4. Might
he tire out? Patterson has an incredible 20 pins, four tech falls and five
major decisions to his credit. He is 10-2 vs. the Championship field.
Patterson beat #7 Umbehauer 6-2 and 8-1, #8 Craig by fall, #9 LeBlanc of
Wyoming 10-7, Gevelinger of Brown by fall, Daggett of Liberty by fall, John
Barone (36-6) of Duke by fall, Honeycutt 11-0, Biondo 3-0 and Spellman 6-2.
He lost to #2 Keddy 4-1 and #5 Kilgore 10-5.
#2 Philip Keddy (Iowa)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation Semifinal
opponent. Keddy is 29-3 this year for Iowa with four pins, one tech
fall and seven majors. He is a superb 14-3 vs. the field.
Keddy defeated #3 Pucillo 5-2, #6 Patterson 4-1, #9 LeBlanc 17-5 ,#11
Caputo 6-3, #12 Jones 8-5, DiDona 2-1 and 8-2, Ward 3-2, Blanton 8-3 and 11-4,
Kerber 6-2, Thompson of Bucknell 14-0, Cameron 11-5 and Biondo 7-3.
Keddy lost to #1 Herbert 15-1, 3-2 and 8-1.
Adam Hall's Road to the Top Five:
Hall is 31-4 this season with five pins, two tech falls and an impressive 10
major decisions. He is 7-4 against the St. Louis field.
Hall beat #11 Chase Pami (22-7) of Cal Poly 5-1 and 6-4 but then lost to him
4-3 in the Pac-10 Championships. He downed #7 Matt Moley (31-5) of
Bloomsburg 8-4, #9 Cyler Sanderson (18-7) of Iowa State 3-2, #10 Scott Winston
(38-7) of Rutgers 7-5, Justin Gaethie (22-6) of Northern Colorado 6-0 and Hadley
Harrison (20-13) of Clarion 5-2.
He also lost to #3 Jordan Leen (23-2) of Cornell 8-5, #4 Gregor Gillespie
(37-1) of Edinboro 1-0, #5 J.P. O'Connor (30-3) of Harvard 4-3.
Matt Dragon (Penn)--Pigtail Round opponent. Dragon is 25-7 in
his junior year for Penn.
If Hall gets past Dragon, he'll go against Anthony Jones.
Anthony Jones (Michigan State)--Possible First Round opponent.
Jones is 23-13 this year for the Spartans.
#9 Cyler Sanderson (Iowa State)--Possible Second Round opponent.
Sanderson is 18-7 in his junior season.
#1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska)--Possible Quarterfinal opponent.
A buzz saw awaits Hall in Burroughs.
If Hall can run that gauntlet, he reaches the semifinals and a date on ESPN.
#4 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro)--Possible Semifinal opponent or Consolation
opponent. Gillespie has been unstoppable with a 37-1 record as a
senior.
#3 Jordan Leen (Cornell)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation opponent.
Leen too has been sensational with a 23-2 record.
#2 Michael Poeta (Illinois)--Possible Final opponent or Consolation
opponent.
Cory Fish's Road to the Top Five:
Fish is 18-9 this season with three pins, one technical fall and four major decisions.
Fish trounced Frank Molinaro (19-16) of Penn State 9-2,
He lost to his first round opponent, #12 Drew Lashaway (29-5) in November of
last year by a count of 3-1. Fish also lost to #2 Zach Tanelli (25-4) of
Wisconsin 5-3, #3 J. Jaggers (23-7) of Ohio State 3-1, #6 Nick Gallick (28-4) of
Iowa State 5-3 and to Elijah Nacita (33-11) of Cal State-Bakersfield 8-0 in
January and 5-1 in the Pac-10 Championships.
#12 Drew Lashaway (Kent State)--First Round opponent. Lashaway
is 29-5 this season with two pins, one tech fall and six major decisions.
He is 12-4 vs. this week's Championship field.
Lashaway defeated #3-ranked J. Jaggers by a fall, Richard Rappo (18-7) of
Penn 5-1, Fish 3-1, Nacita 8-4, Vincent Ramirez (31-8) of North Carolina
3-1, Justin Accordino (23-11) of Hofstra 3-1 and 7-3, Seth Ciasulli (24-8) of
Lehigh 7-4, Tyler Nauman (28-7) of Pittsburgh 6-4, Anthony D'Alie (14-9) of
Central Michigan 5-2 in November and 9-2 in the Mid-American Conference
Championship and William Simpson (18-6) of Army, 9-4.
Lashaway lost to #8 Ryan Williams (35-3) of Old Dominion 3-1, Keith Sulzer
(19-12) of Northwestern 6-4, Joe Caramanica (11-8) of North Carolina State 4-1
and Nick Nelson (23-10) of Virginia 7-2.
If Fish can get past his first match, he'll likely challenge #5 Marcus Hoehn
of Missouri.
#5 Marcus Hoehn (Missouri)--Possible Second Round opponent.
Hoehn has enjoyed a great senior season with a 29-8 record. Hoehn has yet
to record a pin or a tech fall, but does have four majors. He has just a
10-8 record against the competition this week.
Hoehn won two of three with #6 Gallick, losing 4-2 but beating him 4-3 and
2-1 in the Big 12 Conference Championships. Hoehn split with Accordino,
losing 5-1 before coming back to win 2-1. He beat #8 Williams 7-4, Alex
Krom (21-4) of Maryland 6-5, Nacita 12-3, Nauman 10-6, Molinaro of Penn State
7-4, Sulzer 2-0 and Jamal Parks (27-8) of Oklahoma State 3-1.
Hoehn has lost to #3 J. Jaggers 8-6, #4 Alex Tsirtsis (25-5) of Iowa 4-2, #6
Nick Gallick (28-4) of Iowa State 4-2, #11 Cody Cleveland (17-6) of Chattanooga
14-5, Ryan Prater (11-15) of Illinois 5-1 and D'Alie 4-2.
#4 Alex Tsirtis (Iowa)--Possible Championship or Consolation opponent.
Tsirtsis is 25-5 in his senior year with four pins, two tech falls and three
major decisions. He is 12-3 against the Championship field.
Tsirtis defeated #5 Hoehn 4-2, #6 Gallick 4-2, #7 Chris Drouin (26-6) of
Arizona State 3-2 and 2-1, #10 Thorn three times by identical 2-1 scores, scored
a 14-2 major over Washington, an 11-3 major over Prater, beat D'Alie 8-1,
Molinaro 6-2 and Sulzer twice by 5-1 scores.
He lost to #1 Kellen Russell (26-2) of Michigan 8-6, #2 Tanelli of Wisconsin
5-0 and #3 J. Jaggers (23-7) of Ohio State 4-3.
#1 Kellen Russell (Michigan)--Possible Championship or Consolation
opponent. Russell is 26-2 this season with one pin ,two tech falls and
four majors. He is 15-2 against his competition this week.
Russell downed #2 Tanelli 6-4, #3 Jaggers 4-2, #4 Tsirtis 8-6, #10
Thorn 4-0 and 6-4, Nacita 4-1, beat Prater by technical fall and again 5-4 in
the Big 10 Semifinal, Diaz 3-1, Washington 4-2, Molinaro three times, twice
by 3-1 finals and a 10-2 decision in the Big 10 title match and topped
Sulzer 4-2 and Prater 11-5.
He suffered a loss to Rappo of Penn by fall and to Nauman of Pittsburgh
11-3.
#3 J. Jaggers (Ohio State)--Possible Championship or Consolation
opponent. Jaggers is 23-7 this season with five pins, one technical
fall and four majors. He is 11-7 vs. the field.
Jaggers split four matches with #10 Michael Thorn (29-15) of Minnesota,
losing 5-3 and 6-4 but got revenge with a 7-2 win in January and a 12-3 major in
the Big 10 Championships. Jaggers got by #4 Tsirtsis 4-3, #5 Hoehn 8-6,
Fish 3-1, Trenton Washington (14-7) of Northern Iowa 4-3, Accordino 5-3,
Molinaro by fall, Prater by fall and Sulzer twice, 4-2 and by fall.
Jaggers lost to #1 Russell 4-2, #2 Zach Tanelli (25-4) of Wisconsin 3-1 in
the Big 10 Championships, #9 Corey Jantzen (13-2) of Harvard 4-3, #12 Lashaway
by fall and Ramirez by forfeit.
Other possible opponents for Fish:
#6 Nick Gallick (Iowa State)--Gallick is 28-5 with one pin, one tech
fall and 5 majors. He is 7-3 vs. the field at 141 pounds this week.
Gallick lost two of three with #5 Hoehn, winning 4-2 before losing 4-3 and
2-1. Gallick beat #7 Chris Drouin (26-6) of Arizona State 4-0, #10 Thorn
7-5, Cleveland 7-6, D'Alie by forfeit, Fish 5-3 and Washington 9-2.
Gallick also lost to #4 Tsirtis 4-2.
#7 Chris Drouin (Arizona State)--Drouin is 26-6 with three falls, two
tech falls and eight majors. He is 4-6 vs. the field.
He split with Diaz, beating him 4-0 before losing 5-4. Drouin also beat
#8 Williams 8-4 and beat #10 Thorn 6-2 and 11-7.
Drouin lost twice to #4 Tsirtis 3-2 and 2-1,#6 Gallick 4-0, #9 Jantzen
by fall and to Nacita 9-8.
#2 Zach Tanelli (Wisconsin)--Tanelli is 25-4 this year with four pins,
four tech falls and four major decisions. He is 13-4 vs. the field this
week.
Tanelli defeated #3 Jaggers 3-1 in the Big 10 Championships, #4 Tsirtis 10-3
and 5-0, #6 Gallick 7-4, #9 Jantzen 3-1, #10 Thorn 3-2 and 7-5, Nick Nelson of
Virginia 4-1, Ramirez 9-5, Fish 5-3, Sulzer 3-0, Molinaro by technical fall and
Prater of Illinois 12-2.
He lost to #1 Russell of Michigan 6-4, Nauman of Pittsburgh 11-7, Christopher
Diaz (35-10) of Virginia Tech 8-3 and Washington by fall.
Tyler Sherfey's Road to the Top Five:
Sherfey is 25-8 in his senior season with two pins, one tech fall and eight
major decisions.
Sherfey faces Paul Young (29-13) of Indiana in the First Round.
Paul Young (Indiana)--First Round opponent. Sherfey needs to be
cautious of Young's ability to pin his opponent. Young has eight pins to
his credit this season, with two tech falls and six majors.
#4 Moza Fay (25-4) of Northern Iowa--Possible Second Round opponent.
Fay too has strong pin ability with nine. He also has four technical falls
and three major decisions.
#5 Nick Marable (Missouri)--Possible Quarterfinal opponent.
Marable is 23-6 this season with two pins, no tech falls and 1 major.
#1 Mack Lewnes (Cornell)--Possible Semifinal or Consolation opponent.
Lewnes is a perfect 35-0 with an astounding 13 pins and seven major decisions.
#3 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa)--Possible Consolation opponent.
Morningstar is 27-5 with no pins, no tech falls and just four major
decisions. That tells us that he is a very conservative wrestler but
generally does get the job done. He's not prone to take risky chances.
#6 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State)--Possible Consolation opponent. He is
30-6 this year with three pins, five tech falls and five majors.
#2 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin)--Possible Final or Consolation opponent.
Howe is 26-4 in his freshman year with no pins and two majors.
#7 Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska)--Possible Final or Consolation opponent.
Dwyer is 25-5 including a win over #2 Howe and a 5-4 win over Sherfey.
Dwyer has three tech falls and eight major decisions
Nate Lee's Road to the Top Five:
Lee is 18-3 this year, with one pin, one tech fall and six major
decisions. He is 2-1 vs. the Championship field.
Anthony Trongone (Virginia Tech)--First Round opponent. Trongone is
26-14 in his freshman season with five pins and five major decisions.
#3 Brandon Browne (Nebraska)--Possible Second Round opponent. Browne
is 26-3 this year with three pins and eight majors.
#6 Steve Anceravage (Cornell)--Possible Quarterfinal or Consolation
opponent. Anceravage is 27-4 with an impressive nine pins, one tech fall
and five majors.
#2 Michael Cannon (American)--Possible Semifinal or Consolation opponent.
Cannon is 30-0 this year with six pins, three tech falls and nine major
decisions.
#1 Steve Luke (Michigan)--Luke is another perfect wrestler with a 27-0
record. He has four pins, two technical falls and seven majors to his
credit this year.
#5 Raymond Jordan (Missouri)--Possible Consolation opponent. Jordan
is 30-4 in his senior year for the Tigers with eight pins, two tech falls and
seven majors.
Brian Owen's Road to the Top Five:
Owen is 12-7 in his freshman season with one pin and two major decisions.
#3 Angel Escobedo (Indiana)--First Round opponent. Escobedo is 22-3
this season with eight pins, one tech fall and three majors.
#4 Brandon Precin (Northwestern)--Possible Consolation opponent.
Precin is 27-3 with seven pins, two tech falls and seven majors.
#5 Charlie Falck (Iowa)--Possible Consolation opponent. Falck is 22-4
this season with six pins and six majors.
#6 James Nicholson (Old Dominion)--Possible Consolation opponent. He
has a sparkling 35-2 record with five pins, five tech falls and six major
decisions.
Jason Chamberlain's Road to the Top Five:
Chamberlain is 26-7 in his freshman season with an impressive five pins,
three tech falls and four majors.
Chamberlain takes on Mitch Mueller of Iowa State in the First Round, with a
3-2 win over Mueller to his credit.
Mitch Mueller (Iowa State)--First Round opponent. Mueller is 20-7
with one tech fall and four major decisions.
#4 Lance Palmer (Ohio State)--Possible Second Round opponent. Palmer
downed Chamberlain 6-1 this season and has a 27-3 record with seven pins and
four majors.
#5 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin)--Possible Quarterfinal or Consolation
opponent. Ruschell is 26-7 with seven pins and six major decisions.
#1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa)--Metcalf is a perfect 33-0 this season with a
sensational 18 pins, seven tech falls and five majors.
#3 Darrion Caldwell (North Carolina State)--Possible Consolation
opponent. Caldwell is 33-1 with an outstanding 16 pins, three tech
falls and four majors.
#6 Jake Patacsil (Purdue)--Possible Consolation opponent. Patacsil is
33-8 this season with five pins, 12 tech falls and five majors.
#2 Bubba Jenkins (Penn State)--Jenkins is 24-1 for the Nittany Lions
with three pins, three tech falls and eight major decisions.