On Saturday, after Cornell wrapped up the team title in Las Vegas, outdistancing second-place Wisconsin by 38.5 points, it was a different feeling for the Big Red coach.
Cornell (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)Cornell was without the services of two of its top wrestlers, Mike Grey (133) and Kyle Dake (149), but still scored 140 points and crowned three champions in Mack Lewnes (174), Steve Bosak (184), and Cam Simaz (197).
"You put Dake and Grey in there, you can see what kind of team we have," said Koll. "A lot of people wondered if we had enough kids to do it at a national level. I think this should give our team a lot of confidence."
Lewnes, who is ranked No. 1, won his third straight Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title with a 6-2 win over Central Michigan's Ben Bennett at 174 pounds. The match was scoreless after one period, but Lewnes used a second period reversal and third period takedown to pace him to the victory.
Steve Bosak (Photo/Larry Slater)Simaz and Purdue's Logan Brown battled to a scoreless first period in the finals at 197 pounds. But Simaz eventually pulled away, picking up a takedowns in each of the final two periods and adding an escape and riding time point for the 6-0 victory.
Michigan's Kellen Russell (141) and Wisconsin's Andrew Howe (165) both claimed their second tournament titles in Las Vegas.
Russell, who won this event as a true freshman in 2007, navigated his way through a bracket that included the nation's top three wrestlers at 141 pounds. He pinned second-ranked Jimmy Kennedy in the semifinals before edging 2009 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly, 3-2, in the finals. Oklahoma's Zack Bailey, who entered the event ranked No. 1, finished fifth.
Kellen Russell (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)"In college, I don't really see rankings mattering that much," said Russell, a two-time Big Ten champion and 2009 All-American. "When you get to the nationals, everybody is even there. Everybody is tough that you wrestle. There's no easy match that you have at NCAAs. It's nice to maybe have a seed at NCAAs, but really in the end it doesn't matter that much."
Howe, an undefeated NCAA champion last season, registered a 10-3 victory in the finals over Cornell's Justin Kerber.
Boise State finished third, only a half point behind runner-up Wisconsin, and crowned three champions, which was more than any other program. Winning titles for Boise State were Andrew Hochstrasser (133), Jason Chamberlain (149), and Adam Hall (157).
The second-ranked Hochstrasser defeated Wisconsin's third-ranked Tyler Graff, 7-3, to win a deep weight class at 133 pounds that included six of the nation's top 10 wrestlers.
"Not every weight class has that, but I was lucky enough to have a lot of good competitors," said Hochstrasser. "It's a fun time to go in and show what you've got."
Chamberlain, who is ranked third, topped a past champion at this event, Corey Jantzen of Harvard, 4-2, to capture the title at 149 pounds.
Hall avenged a loss from last month's NWCA All-Star Classic by beating Arizona State's Bubba Jenkins, 2-1, in the tiebreaker.
Adam Hall (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)"You don't want to be the only guy in the finals that comes home without a championship," said Hall. "There were three of us in the finals. I was thinking the entire time three for three. I needed to stay disciplined to make it three for three."
Boise State is currently ranked No. 2. Still, Hall knows there are naysayers who don't believe Boise State can compete with other more established college wrestling powers.
"We're working hard and we're trying to get to where we're a perennial power every year," said Hall. We're recruiting the right guys and doing the right things. I feel we have the best coaches in the country because they complement each other. You look at all these other programs and they have seven coaches. We have three. We're doing the things with that we have because we don't necessarily have the budget. They don't call us Budget State University for nothing."
Arizona State's Anthony Robles put together a dominating two days to win the title at 125 pounds. The Sun Devil senior outscored his five opponents 71-5, picking up three major decisions, a major decision, and a decision. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event.
Anthony Robles (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)He faced familiar opponents in the semifinals and finals. In the semifinals, Robles won by technical fall, 16-0, over Virginia Tech's Jarred Garnett, a wrestled he defeated in Las Vegas in 2008. He won by major decision, 13-1, in the finals over Oklahoma's Jarrod Patterson, which marked the third meeting between the two and second this season.
Robles knows that familiar opponents will give him different feels to try to solve him, which doesn't concern him.
"I've seen different styles from different wrestlers," said Robles. "With this being my fifth year, I think I've seen all the different styles that are going to come at me, so it's just a matter of what they bring to the table and how I'm going to adjust to it. I think a big difference for me this year is that I'm comfortable. I know what they're bringing, so it's just about me executing my style on top of them."
At heavyweight, Oklahoma's Nathan Fernandez claimed the title with a victory in the finals over Michigan's Ben Apland, 4-0. The Sooners finished fourth in the team standings, two points behind third-place Boise State.
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Cornell 140
2. Wisconsin 101.5
3. Boise State 101
4. Oklahoma 99
5. Illinois 91
6. Michigan 86.5
7. Virginia Tech 74.5
8. Cal State-Bakersfield 68.5
8. Purdue 68.5
10. Oregon State 66.5
Finals Results
125: No. 3 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) major dec. No. 8 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma), 13-1
133: No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State) dec. No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), 7-3
141: No. 3 Kellen Russell (Michigan) dec. No. 9 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly), 3-2
149: No. 3 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) vs. No. 7 Corey Jantzen (Harvard), 4-2
157: No. 3 Adam Hall (Boise State) dec. No. 2 Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State), 2-1 TB
165: No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) dec. No. 4 Justin Kerber (Cornell), 10-3
174: No. 1 Mack Lewnes (Cornell) dec. No. 6 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), 6-2
184: No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) dec. No. 11 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin), 2-0
197: No. 2 Cam Simaz (Cornell) dec. No. 10 Logan Brown (Purdue), 6-0
285: No. 11 Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma) dec. Ben Apland (Michigan), 4-0
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