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    Minnesota State Mankato finishes third

    Houston, Tex. -- Second-ranked sophomore 149-pounder Tommy Abbott (Willmington, Del.) became the 28th national champion to wear the Minnesota State singlet. Abbott won a 6-5 decision against fourth-ranked Christopher Freije of Western State University to claim his first national championship. Abbott's win helped the second-ranked Mavericks to a third-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships with 71.5 points. MSU has now finished in the top-5 the last five years and produced three national champions in the last two seasons. The University of Nebraska-Omaha were crowned national champions for the sixth time in its history with 146.5 points.

    "Our team goal will continue to be winning a national championship," said head coach Jim Makovsky. "I'm proud of our guys. We have a lot of new guys and at the beginning of the season it was a blank sheet of paper, but we ended up having a successful season. I'm proud of Tommy (Abbott). He's gone through a lot of adversity and he made a lot of improvements this season, both as a person and as a wrestler. He has a chance to do something that has never been done in school history - win three national championships."

    The championships were held at the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival on the campus of the University of Houston.

    Freije took a 2-0 lead at 1:33 with a takedown, but Abbott cut the deficit in half with a one-point escape. Abbott recorded a takedown of his own at 2:15 to take a 3-2 lead. Freije responded with an escape and the first period ended in a 3-3 tie. The only point of the second period came when Abbott earned a one-point escape just four seconds into the period at 3:04. Freije tied the match at 4-4 with an escape at 5:05. Abbott earned a takedown at 6:02 to take a 6-4 lead, which proved to be enough as he wrestled his way to the championship. Freije earned a one-point escape to make the score 6-5.

    "It feels great. I'm the first wrestler from Delaware to be a national champ," Abbott said. "I'm glad to support my home state of Delaware and my new hometown Mankato. I'm disappointed (about the team placing). I know we could have done better than that, but all-in-all we wrestled a pretty good tournament."

    Abbot finishes the season with a 30-6 overall record. Abbott won the NCAA Super Regional Three to qualify for his second national meet appearance. Abbott is now a two-time All-American. Abbott was an All-American in 2008, finishing fifth at 149.

    The Mavericks finish in the top-5 for the 20th time in program history. Finishing ahead of MSU was UNO and Newberry College (80.5 points). The University of Nebraska-Kearney (65.0) and Adams State (62.0 points) rounded out the top-5.
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