Saturday, March 4, Hilton Coliseum
Schedule
11 a.m. - First round
Noon - Semifinals
4 p.m. - Consolations
7 p.m. - Finals
Tickets
Adult reserved - $17
Youth reserved - $7
(high school age and younger)
Adult general admission - $10
Youth general admission - $7
For tickets call the Iowa State athletic ticket office at 1-888-ISU-Cyclones (1-888-478-2925); fans can order tickets online at www.cyclonestickets.com or in person through 5 p.m. Friday at the ISU athletic ticket office. Tickets will go on sale at Hilton Coliseum at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Reserved seat tickets are $17 for adults and $7 for youth high school age and younger. General admission seating is $10 for adults and $7 for youth high school age and younger.
2005 Big 12 Conference Team Scoring/champions
1. Oklahoma State 95.5 (7)
2. Iowa State 49 (2)
3. Nebraska 47.5 (1)
4. Oklahoma 45
5. Missouri 35
125 pounds
Sam Hazewinkel - Oklahoma
Coleman Scott - Oklahoma State
Paul Donahoe - Nebraska
Austin DeVoe Missouri
Ben Hanisch - Iowa State
Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel blitzed through the 2004-05 regular season schedule unbeaten before being dealt his first loss in the Big 12 finals by Oklahoma State true freshman Coleman Scott. Scott received most outstanding wrestler honors at the 2005 conference tournament in Omaha, Neb. Last season, Scott came in as the third seed and pinned No. 2 seed former Nebraska NCAA qualifier, Matt Keller (now at UT-Chattanooga) late in the third period. Hazewinkel comes into this week's tournament with a 25-1 record and is gunning to retain the Big 12 title he won in 2004 when he beat Nebraska NCAA champion Jason Powell, 5-2. Hazewinkel has already defeated Scott twice this season (6-4, 2-0) as OSU swept Bedlam. Scott, a freshman All-American in 2005 who is possibly the tallest 125-pounder in the country, has put it together during his sophomore season. Scott is one of the toughest wrestlers to score on as a result of his lanky frame and long reach. Hazewinkel has defeated Scott in three of their four career matches. Scott has downed Nebraska's Paul Donahoe three times this season. Donahoe, a Roy Hall protégé, has all the accolades from Davison High School in Michigan and had Virginia Tech's Brent Metcalf and Iowa State top-10 2005 recruit Jonathan Reader as teammates. Donahoe has compiled an impressive 22-6 record in his first season replacing Keller and is second on the team behind fellow freshman Vince Jones, with nine pins. Donahoe helped propel Nebraska to the National Duals semifinals with pins against Iowa and Michigan. Donahoe has the potential to make a deep run in the NCAA Championships and earn All-America status. Missouri's Austin DeVoe seeks his first NCAA Championships appearance after missing the 2005 Big 12 meet due to injury. The absence of former three-time NCAA qualifier Grant Nakamura opened the door at Iowa State for sophomore Ben Hanisch. Four of the five 125 pound starters are nationally ranked with Hazewinkel, Scott and Donahoe rated in the top 10.
133 pounds
Nathan Morgan - Oklahoma State
Tyler McCormick - Missouri
Patrick Aleksanyan - Nebraska
Jesse Sundell - Iowa State
Joe Comparin - Oklahoma
Nathan Morgan, the 2005 Big 12 champ as a true freshman (like Coleman Scott) is on a roll, going through his sophomore season with just one loss. The Bakersfield, Calif., native missed All-America status by just one match at the NCAA Championships last season, falling to North Carolina's Evan Sola, 4-0, in the consolations. Morgan has been one of the hottest wrestlers in the country, downing Minnesota's Big 10 champion and All-American Mack Reiter twice, hometown counterpart Darrell Vazquez of Cal Poly and Penn State's Jake Strayer. Morgan comes into the Big 12 Championships ranked second nationally but fell to Edinboro's No. 1 rated and 2005 NCAA runner-up Shawn Bunch in the second round of the national tournament last season. Morgan's only blemish this season came in the Reno Tournament of Champions finals to UT-Chattanooga's (and former Nebraska wrestler) Matt Keller in overtime. Missouri's Tyler McCormick is nationally ranked. McCormick would have most likely would have qualified for the 2005 NCAA Championships, but had to default by injury while leading Nebraska's third-seeded Dominick Moyer in the Big 12 semifinals and Iowa State's Jesse Sundell whom McCormick has beaten three times in his career. McCormick was named the most recent Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after beating Keller, 4-2. Since Moyer bumped up to 141 pounds, Cal-State Fullerton transfer Patrick Aleksanyan entered the starting lineup and had a solid dual season with 14 wins, seven of them in dual competition. Joe Comparin was Oklahoma's 133-pound representative at the 2005 Big 12 Championship. Comparin beat ISU's Sundell in the first round but couldn't top the Cyclone for third place.
141 pounds
Nate Gallick - Iowa State
Teyon Ware - Oklahoma
Dominick Moyer - Nebraska
Chris McCormick - Missouri
Ethan Kyle - Oklahoma State
Iowa State's Nate Gallick is 6-1 against two-time national champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma and has beaten the Sooner this season. Gallick is aiming for his third straight Big 12 title after defeating Ware in last season's Big 12 final and Nebraska All-American Matt Murray in 2004. Ware, like Gallick, has dominated all his opponents this season and comes in with only one loss on the season - to Gallick. The departure of Oklahoma State All-American Daniel Fishkorn from the Cowboy roster makes this bracket unpredictable.
149 pounds
Zack Esposito - Oklahoma State
Matt Storniolo - Oklahoma
Jason Knipp - Iowa State
Ryan Davis/Robert Sanders - Nebraska
Marcus Hoehn/Josh Wagner - Missouri
Defending national champ Zack Esposito has been dominating, except for a pair of losses to Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter. Esposito major decisioned Oklahoma's Matt Storniolo in last year's Big 12 final. Esposito has beaten Storniolo five times in his decorated career. Jason Knipp has emerged as a dependable starter for the Cyclones as he scored a huge upset over No. 11 James Woodall from Penn State in ISU's non-conference victory over the Nittany Lions. The junior has wrestled well in open tournaments and gave Iowa's second-ranked Ty Eustice two, hard-fought matches (10-8, 6-3). Ryan Davis, an Oklahoma State transfer, has been splitting time with fellow freshman Robert Sanders at 149 pounds. Davis had a decorated high school career at Blair Academy, locking down Asics first-team prep All-American status and three national prep titles. Missouri's Wagner has been nationally ranked for most of the dual season but has split time with Hoehn at 149 pounds.
157 pounds
Trent Paulson - Iowa State
Kevin Ward - Oklahoma State
Michael Chandler - Missouri
Shane Vernon/Will Rowe - Oklahoma
Chris Oliver - Nebraska
Kevin Ward beat Trent Paulson in second round of the Big 12 Championships last season, pulling a 7-4 upset as the fourth seed downed the top-seeded Cyclone. Paulson had defeated Ward, the defending conference champion, earlier in the season soundly and has a 5-3 decision over the Cowboy this year. Paulson garnered All-American status after making a successful transition from 149 pounds during his sophomore campaign. Winning his first three matches in his second NCAA Championships appearance, the junior downed the defending national champion Matt Gentry of Stanford, before falling to eventual champion Ryan Bertin of Michigan. Paulson posted an impressive win over Indiana upstart Brandon Becker, who roared through the consolations to fifth-place after losing his first match. At the 2005 NCAA meet, Ward lost to Iowa's eventual 2005 NCAA runner-up Joe Johnston. Oliver is a former four-time Nebraska state champ who split matches with Ward, lost to Missouri's Michael Chandler in overtime and Oklahoma's Will Rowe via major decision.
165 pounds
Johny Hendricks - Oklahoma State
Matt Pell - Missouri
Travis Paulson - Iowa State
Jarrod King - Oklahoma
Marc Harwood - Nebraska
2005 NCAA champion Johny Hendricks is back to defend his Big 12 crown after edging out Missouri's Tyron Woodley in the finals last year. In just his second match of the season, Hendricks may have set the tone with a convincing 5-2 decision over Lehigh's former national champion Troy Letters. Travis Paulson, a 2004 All-American at 157 pounds, missed All-American status by one match. Hendricks and Missouri's Matt Pell have each defeated Paulson twice this season, accounting for the Cyclone's only losses.
174 pounds
Ben Askren - Missouri
Jacob Klein - Nebraska
Brandon Mason - Oklahoma State
David Bertolino - Iowa State
Wes Roberts - Oklahoma
Three of the top 10 wrestlers at 174 pounds in the nation are from the Big 12. Missouri pinning machine Ben Askren has already victimized Nebraska's Jacob Klein with a fall and major decisioned Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State and Iowa State's David Bertolino. Askren downed Oklahoma's Wes Roberts for his 100th career win at Mizzou but had to score three takedowns in the third period. The 8-6 decision marked Askren's first win this season not resulting in bonus points. Askren will be looking to claim his second Big 12 title, the first in 2004, when he defeated Oklahoma State's Chris Pendleton to capture outstanding wrestler honors. Mason, a Council Bluffs product, has been nationally ranked in the top 10 and could finish runner-up. Bertolino was in the national rankings temporarily after downing Roberts, 7-6. The ISU sophomore beat Mason in the first round at the Kaufman-Brand Open before the Cowboy avenged that loss in the wrestlebacks. Klein was as hot as anybody in January, helping Nebraska to a third-place finish at National Duals and knocking off Iowa's Mark Perry, Michigan's Nick Roy and Central Michigan's Brandon Sinnott. Klein was an All-American at 165 pounds in 2004, placing seventh, but missed All-America status by one match last season.
184 pounds
Kurt Backes - Iowa State
Vince Jones - Nebraska
Justin Dyer - Oklahoma
Raymond Jordan - Missouri
Rusty Blackmon - Oklahoma State
Iowa State's 2004 All-American Kurt Backes' most impressive win this year was a major decision against Penn State's top-ranked Eric Bradley. Backes, the defending Big 12 conference champ, has been strong against league competition. Backes routed Nebraska's Vince Jones in the dual season finale with a 19-3 technical fall win. Oklahoma's Justin Dyer has historically given Backes the most trouble. Their matches have been high-scoring, explosive affairs. Backes prevailed over the Sooner, 10-8, in January. Nebraska's Vince Jones has beaten Arizona State's C.B. Dolloway and Iowa's Paul Bradley, two wrestlers who defeated Backes this season. Jones has amassed 15 pins, good for third in the Big 12, behind Ben Askren (174, Missouri) and Steve Mocco (HWT, Oklahoma State).
197 pounds
Jake Rosholt - Oklahoma State
Joel Flaggert - Oklahoma
B.J. Padden - Nebraska
Jeff Foust - Missouri
Joe Curran - Iowa State
It is really a toss-up between B.J. Padden of Nebraska, Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State and Oklahoma's Joel Flaggert, ranked between third and fifth nationally. Padden has fared better against Rosholt, downing the two-time national champion three times in his career. This Big 12 trio made their presence felt last year at the NCAA Championships, as Rosholt, Flaggert and Padden place first, fourth and fifth, respectively. Rosholt downed Padden, 10-9, in the 2005 NCAA semifinals, and Flaggert defeated Padden, 7-6, in the wrestlebacks, underscoring the Big 12's 197-pound dominance. Last season, Flaggert had the toughest road to All-American status as he drew eventual runner-up Sean Stender of Northern Iowa in his first round match at the national tourney. Padden defeated the current top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan, 5-3 to finish fifth. After falling to Stender, 13-6, Flaggert rallied in the consolations for a 6-1 NCAA effort to place fourth. Missouri's Jeff Foust was the 2004 Big 12 champion. Curran, a true freshman, was thrown into the fire in his first year at Iowa State and responded with pins early in the season against Iowa and Utah Valley State and scoring a fall in the Virginia Tech dual.
HWT
Steve Mocco - Oklahoma State
Jake Hager - Oklahoma
Jon May - Nebraska
Richard Schopf - Iowa State
Sean Connole - Missouri
OSU's Steve Mocco, a two-time national champion, cruised to his first Big 12 title last season, after giving up a reversal to Iowa State two-time All-American Scott Coleman -- the first offensive points scored on him all year. Oklahoma's Jake Hager is ranked fifth nationally. Mocco pinned Hager in their first meeting but Hager kept Mocco within a decision in the second battle.
Fox Sports Net will broadcast the Big 12 Championships on tape delay March 12 at 12:30 p.m.
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