Interestingly, of the eighty wrestlers still in the title hunt in the quarterfinals Friday morning, six were unseeded. Of the top eight seeds in each weight class, only fifteen have failed to make it this far. The one weight class where all eight seeds were still in contention: heavyweight.
As for team title chase, as of the start of the Friday action, Iowa State and Central Michigan still had nine wrestlers in the tournament; Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma State each had eight.
Let's look at quarterfinal action on Friday …
125: Seven seconds of riding time made the difference for top-seeded Angel Escobedo of Indiana, who got the 3-2 win over eighth-seeded Brandon Precin of Northwestern. Jayson Ness, the second seed for Minnesota, had been leading tenth-seeded James Nicholson of Old Dominion 9-1… when the Golden Gopher got the fall at 4:04. The defending champ, third-seeded Paul Donohoe of Nebraska, got a 4-2 win over Illinois' Gabe Flores, the sixth seed. Fifth-seeded Charlie Falck of Iowa edged the fourth-seeded Tanner Gardner of Stanford 5-4 to become the fourth semifinalist. In this weight class, three semifinalists were from the Big Ten, and one representing the Big Eight.
133: Top-seeded Franklin Gomez of Michigan State advanced to the semifinals with a 5-3 win over Minnesota's Mack Reiter, seeded eighth. Third seeded Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State got the 9-4 win over eleventh-seed Joe Baker of Navy. Iowa's Joe Slaton and Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State took their cross-state rivalry into overtime, with a 2-1 TB win for the fourth�seeded Hawkeye. The Jimmy Kennedy vs. Mike Grey match also went beyond regulation, with the Illinois' second seed getting the win with a takedown in overtime over the Cornell seventh-seed to move on to the semis. The Illini engineering major becomes the twentieth individual to earn All-American honors for long-time coach Mark Johnson.
141: Top-seeded Chad Mendes of Cal Poly continued his perfect record with a 5-0 shutout of Nick Gallick, the ninth seed from Iowa State. Hofstra's second-seeded Charles Griffin got a 5-2 win over unseeded Matthew Kyler of Army. However, the third seed, Kellen Russell of Michigan, fell to Ohio State's sixth-seeded J Jaggers, 5-3. Oklahoma State's Nathan Morgan won in dominating fashion; the fourth-seeded Cowboy got a takedown in each period to rack up a 8-1 win over Minnesota's fifth-seeded Manny Rivera.
149: Iowa's top-seeded Brent Metcalf came back from a 1-0 deficit to bring the score to 3-2 over Ohio State's ninth-seeded Lance Palmer. Darrion Caldwell continued to make headlines; the seventh-seeded North Carolina State wrestler got a 4-1 upset over second-seeded Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota. In another upset, Penn State's sixth-seeded Bubba Jenkins got the win over third-seeded JP O'Connor of Harvard, 5-3. Nebraska's fourth-seeded Jordan Burroughs edged Michigan's fifth-seeded Josh Churella, 3-2.
157: A defending champ falls: sixth-seeded Jordan Leen of Cornell had a 4-1 lead over 2007 titlewinner Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro in the first period, and pretty much held on to get the 8-6 upset win. The second-seeded Mike Poeta of Illinois got a 7-3 win over tenth-seeded Mike Chandler of Missouri… while the third-ranked Dan Vallimont of Penn State defeated Tyler Sherfey, the eleventh seed from Boise State, 7-5. Stanford's Josh Zapancic may be the Cinderella story of the tournament; the twelfth seed advanced to the semifinals by edging unseeded Jonny Bonilla-Bowman of Hofstra 9-8. The deciding factor: Zapancic's 1:27 riding time.
165: A defending champ gets the fall: Iowa fans erupted when defending champ Mark Perry pinned American's tenth-seeded Mike Cannon with a cradle in 47 seconds. Eric Tannenbaum got a 7-4 win over Moza Fay, the eighth seed from Northern Iowa, earning All-American honors for the fourth time. Nick Marable of Missouri beat Iowa State's Jon Reader, 5-3. Cornell's Mack Lewnes tied things up at the end of regulation; the Big Red fourth seed got a 6-5 TB victory over Nebraska's fifth-seeded Stephen Dwyer
174: A defending champ gets a scare: top-seeded titlist Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh was dealing with a 3-3 tie into the third period against Oregon's unseeded Nathan Lee but got a 7-4 win. Second-seeded Steve Luke of Michigan got a 6-2 victory against seventh-seeded Matt Stolpinski of Navy. Nebraska's third-ranked Brandon Browne edged eleventh-ranked Steve Anceravage of Cornell, 3-2. Fourth-seeded Jay Borschel of Iowa continued the trend of the top four seeds advance to the finals with a convincing 8-2 win over Central Michigan's fifth-seeded Brandon Sinnott.
184: Familiar foes -- top-seeded Jake Varner of Iowa State and Minnesota's Roger Kish. The Cyclone got a 2-0 victory, and remained undefeated. Iowa's Phil Keddy, the seventh seed, had been leading Ohio State's second-seeded Mike Pucillo but the Buckeye scored a takedown with six seconds left to win 4-3. Fourth-seeded Christian Sinnott of Central Michigan got the 3-2 win over unseeded Doug Umbeheuer of Rider. Rounding out the bracket: Missouri's sixth-seeded Raymond Jordan got a 3-1 win over unseeded Vince Jones of Nebraska.
197: A defending champ cruises to the semifinals: American's top seed Josh Glenn got a convincing 10-5 win over Nebraska's eighth-ranked Craig Brester. Second-seeded Phil Davis of Penn State got a 7-3 win over Maryland's Hudson Taylor. Wynn Michalak � fourth seeded Central Michigan Chippewa -- was behind in the third but got nearfall points over Missouri's Max Askren to ultimately win 5-4. Sixth-seeded Dallas Herbst of Wisconsin locked up the 5-4 win over Iowa State's unseeded David Bertolino, thanks to riding time.
Hwt: Top-seeded Dustin Fox of Northwestern got a 2-0 win over Central Michigan's Bubba Gritter, the eight seed. Ohio State's second-seeded JD Bergman got the 11-1 decision over Iowa State's#7 David Zabriskie. Navy's third seeded Ed Prendergast got a 9-3 win over Wisconsin's sixth-seeded Kyle Massey. Iowa's Matt Fields � seeded fourth -- fell to Oklahoma State's fifth-seeded Jared Rosholt 2-0.
Session 4: Friday evening
When the smoke had cleared after Session 3 quarterfinals, no unseeded wrestlers had made it into the semifinals. (By comparison, in the two previous years, there were two unseeded competitors each year.) This year, only one freshman reached the semis: Mack Lewnes of Cornell.
125: Top-seeded Angel Escobedo of Indiana vs. Charlie Falck, the fifth seed from Iowa. The Hoosier's only loss of the season was to the Hawkeye. No scoring in the first two periods. In the third, Falck escaped in the first thirty seconds. With about a minute left, Escobedo got a body lock and inside trip for a two-point takedown and two-point near fall. Escobedo won 4-1, avenging that one loss.
In the other semifinals match, it was the defending champ Paul Donahoe of Nebraska (seeded third) vs. second-seeded Jayson Ness of Minnesota. No scoring in the first; in the second, the Gopher escaped… followed by the Cornhusker's takedown… with Ness escaping, knotting the score at 2-2. In the third, the champ escaped. However, in the last nine seconds, Ness got a takedown to take the match 4-3. Friday's finals: The top two seeds.
133: In a battle of Big Ten sophomores, Franklin Gomez, the top-seeded wrestler from Michigan State, vs. Joe Slaton, the fourth-seed from Iowa. In the first two periods, Gomez scored the only point, an escape. Slaton starts third with escape to tie the score. Barely into overtime, Slaton got the takedown to win 3-1 SV 1.
Oklahoma State's third-seeded Coleman Scott vs. Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois, the second seed. No scoring in the first two periods. Scott scored an escape at start of third, Kennedy followed. Scott was hit twice for stalling, making the score 2-1 Kennedy. However, the Cowboy veteran got a double-leg takedown with 20 seconds left in the third. With riding time of over two minutes, Coleman got the 4-2 victory. The finals will feature the third and fourth seeds.
141: Undefeated top seed Chad Mendes Cal Poly vs Nathan Morgan Oklahoma State. No scoring in the first period. Not mjch action. The Mustang tamed the Cowboy 1-0, taking his perfect record into the finals… and becoming the first Cal Poly first seed to make it into the finals since 1980.
In contrast, the other semis match was a high-scoring affair, with second seed Charlie Griffin of Hofstra faced off against J Jaggers, the sixth seed from Ohio State. The Buckeye built a 9-5 lead at end of the second. Griffin ges reversal in third, Jaggers escaoes. Hofstra gets takedown. Final score 11-9 Jaggers.
149: Brent Metcalf, the top seed from Iowa, vs. fourth-seed Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska. The Husker scored a long double-leg takedown about one minute in; the Hawkeye countered with a double of his own to knot the score. Metcalf got a high crotch and converted it to make the score 3-2. In the second, the Iowan escaped, then, later in the period, got another takedown. Burroughs escaped but Metcalf got a reversal for an 8-3 score. The oly scoring in the third: Burroughs escaped to make the final 8-4.
The other semis match-up featured Penn State's Bubba Jenkins, the six seed vs Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State, seeded seventh. In the first, both scored takedowns… with Caldwell getting a ride out to make the score 3-2. IN the second, Caldwell got the escape… but the Nittany Lion got a nifty double-leg takedown after a backflip from the NCSU wrestler, making it 5-4 Caldwell. In the third, Jenkins got a takedown and let Caldwell loose… who then got a takedown. Jenkins escaped to make it 8-7 Caldwell. (Are you exhausted yet?) In the last thirty seconds, the Penn Stater got a takedown to win 12-8.
157: In a battle of #2 and #3, it was Illinois' Mike Poeta vs. Dan Vallimont of Penn State. Poeta scored a takedown in the first… with the Nittany Lion getting an escape. In the second, Poeta got out quickly, then Vallimont followed with a takedown. The Illini got an escape and a takedown to make it 6-4. The Penn Stater escaped… but Poeta held on to get the win 6-5.
In a battle of the overachievers, eighth seeded Jordan Leen of Cornell took on twelfth seed Josh Zapancic of Stanford. The EIWA champ scored a very quick takedown to start the action, followed by an escape for Zapancic. A bit later, the same scoring pattern: a TD for Leen, an escape for Stanford. In the third, Leen escapes, then gets another takedown. With riding time, Leen gets the 9-2 victory. The finals will feature Big Ten vs. EIWA champs, the second seed vs. the eighth.
165: Top-seeded Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan vs fourth seed Mack Lewnes of Cornell � the only true freshman still in the title hunt. In the first period, the Wolverine got a single-leg takedown. No scoring in the second. In the third, the Big Ten champ scored an escape. With riding time, the final score: 4-0 Tannenbaum.
In the other semis match, second-seeded Mark Perry � the 2007 NCAA champ -- vs. third seed Nick Marable of Missouri. Knotted at 2-2 at the end of the second (the Tiger scoring a takedown in the first, and the Hawkeye escaping in the first… and then again in the second). In the third, the Hawkeye scored a takedown in the final half-minute of the match for the 4-2 victory. It'll be a Big Ten finals rematch… and a chance for Perry to become a back-to-back titlewinner.
174: Top seed and defending champ Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh vs fourth-seeded Jay Borschel of Iowa. No score in the first. In the second, the Panther got the one-point escape. In the final stanza, Borschel scored an escape… but Gavin got a single-leg takedown to make the final score 3-2 Gavin. The champ remains undefeated, and will go for a second straight title on Saturday.
In the other semifinal match-up, it was second-seeded Steve Luke of Michigan facing off against third-ranked Brandon Browne of Nebraska. Not much scoring in regulation, with the Husker scoring an escape in the second… and the Wolverine getting an escape at the start of the third to tie up the score. In sudden victory period, Luke got the takedown to win 3-1 SV.
184: Top-seeded Jake Varner, the sophomore from Iowa State, going up against Christian Sinnott, the fourth-seeded wrestler from Central Michigan. In the opening period, the Cyclone got a knee-pick takedown… then, in the second, got an escape to make the score 3-0. In the third, Sinnott got a high-crotch takedown with just three seconds left. With riding time, Varner got the 4-2 win… and remains perfect through the season.
In the other end of the bracket, it was second-seeded Mike Pucillo of Ohio State vs. sixth-ranked Raymond Jordan of Missouri. Score tied up 1-1 at end of regulation (each man getting an escape). The Buckeye got an escape almost immediately, then rode out the Tiger to get the 2-1 TB 1 win. The finals will feature a battle between the 2008 Big Eight vs. Big Ten champs.
197: Defending champ and top seed Josh Glenn of American University vs. Central Michigan's Wynn Michalak, seeded fourth. Tied up at 5-5 until the Chippewa got a takedown in the last seconds to knock out the champ 7-5.
On the other mat, it was Penn State's Phil Davis, the second seed, vs. Wisconsin's Dallas Herbst, seeded third. Davis got the 6-0 shut out to make the finals a match between the second and fourth seeds.
Hwt: Dustin Fox, the top-seeded big man for Northwestern, faced off against Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt, the fifth seed. No score in the first period. Fox got a quick escape to start the second. In the third, despite being outweighed by 50 pounds, Rosholt escaped. With the score tied, in the last half-minute, the Wildcat got a single-leg takedown. After a restart, the Cowboy got an escape in the last thirteen seconds but it wasn't enough; the Big Ten champ got the 3-2 win.
The other side of the bracket featured second-seeded JD Bergman of Ohio State taking on third-seeded Ed Prendergast of Navy. Prendergast scored the first takedown … with Bergman getting a reversal to close the first period 2-2. In the second, the Buckeye got a quick escape, followed by a takedown. The Midshipman got an escape to make the score 5-3. In the third, Prendergast got out … but the Buckeye ended up with the 5-4 victory to set the stage for a revisit of the 2008 Big Ten heavyweight finals.
At the end of the evening, two defending champs would not be able to try for a second straight title (Gillespie and Glenn)… leaving just Mark Perry and Keith Gavin to see if magic will strike twice Saturday night.
Team standings:
1. Iowa 102
2. Ohio State 71
3. Iowa State 68
4. Penn State 63
5. Central Michigan 61.5
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