The Clum-Reiter match was eagerly anticipated as the pair had not met since the third place bout of the 2005 NCAA Championships, where Clum came out on top, 2-1. The first period was tight with Clum scoring a takedown early and Reiter answering an escape and a takedown to lead 3-2. Early in the second period Reiter notched another escape but Clum responded with another takedown as time was running out to even the score at 4-4.
The third period was aggressive but ended in a stalemate sending the match into sudden death overtime. As to be expected, the grapplers battled even through the first and second overtimes with neither wrestler able to score. However, with 13 seconds left in the third overtime, Clum gained advantage scored a takedown to defeat Reiter, the defending Big Ten champ. Clum heads his fourth NCAA's with a 14-2 overall record.
At 149 lbs. Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) earned a spot in the consolation final after an injury default from Ohio State's J Jagers. Turner then faced familiar foe Ty Eustice of Iowa in the bout for third place. Eustice, the No. 2 seed, jumped out to a three point lead in the first period after notching an escape and a takedown. Turner earned an escape of his own in the second to tighten the score and another in the third to trail by one. However, the Hawkeye would hang on and claim third with a 3-2 win.
At 125 lbs. junior Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) had his hands full with top-ranked Joe Dubuque of Indiana in the consolation semifinals. Cudd was looking to avenge his 10-4 loss to Dubuque in the opening round of the tournament. Unfortunately, the No. 1 seed proved to be too much for Cudd, earning a 12-1 major decision victory.
Cudd then battled fifth seed Lucas Magnani of Iowa for fifth place in the championships. The pair met earlier this season in dual action where Magnani edged out Cudd, 6-4. However, this match up would be different as Cudd dominated the first period and eventually pinned Magnani at 2:59 to claim fifth place.
Sophomore Craig Henning's (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) hope of repeating his third place performance from last season are gone after falling to Brandon Becker of Indiana in the consolation semifinals. Henning fell behind 4-2 after Becker earned a takedown and a two-point near fall in the first period and was unable to catch up, losing 5-3. Henning would go on to claim fifth place by default. Heading into the NCAAs Henning is 25-7 overall.
Senior Ed Gutnik (Iselin, N.J.) faced third seed Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa in the consolation semifinal at 141 lbs. Tsirtsis jumped out to an early lead and kept rolling defeating Gutnik, 11-4. In the battle for fifth place Gutnik then faced Manuel Rivera of Minnesota, seeded seventh. Gutnik defeated Rivera earlier this season, 2-0, but was unable to win a second time, falling 6-3.
Qualifying for his first ever NCAA championships was redshirt freshman Dallas Herbst at 197 lbs. The Winneconne, Wis. native dominated Jeff Clemens of Michigan State, pinning the Spartan just 40 seconds into the match. Herbst concluded his first championships 3-2 and heads to the NCAAs with an 18-10 record.
Follow the Badger wrestling team as it heads to the 2006 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. March 16-18. Last season the Badgers finished tied for 15th with 38.5 points. For the latest updates and scores check uwbadgers.com
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