The Panthers' individual champions included 133-pounder Josh Baldridge (Haysville, Kan.), 149-pounder Nick Pickerell (Albia, Iowa), 157-pounder Tyson Reiner (Mitchell, S.D.), 165-pounder Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa), 184-pounder Andy O'Loughlin (Independence, Iowa), 197-pounder Andrew Anderson (Sioux City, Iowa).
UNI added three more national qualifiers after the coaches' wild card meeting, which included 125-pounder Caleb Flores (Rosemead, Calif.), 141-pounder C.J. Ettelson (Hudson, Iowa) and 174-pounder Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.).
The NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships will take place March 20-22 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Final Team Standings
1. UNI 119.0
2. Air Force 64.5
3. Wyoming 49.5
4. UNC 47.5
5. NDSU 44.5
6. SDSU 14.0
2008 West Regional National Qualifiers
125 - Eric Hoffman (North Dakota State) - 1st
125 - Tony Mustari (Northern Colorado) - 2nd
125 - Caleb Flores (UNI) - 3rd
133 - Josh Baldridge (UNI) - 1st
133 - Cory VomBaur (Wyoming) - 2nd
141 - Jacob Kriegbaum (Air Force) - 1st
141 - Carter Downing (Wyoming) - 2nd
141 - C.J. Ettelson (UNI) - 3rd
149 - Nick Pickerell (UNI) - 1st
149 - Ryan Adams (NDSU) - 2nd
157 - Tyson Reiner (UNI) - 1st
165 - Moza Fay (UNI) - 1st
165 - Stephen Crozier (Air Force) - 2nd
174 - Tyler French (Air Force) - 1st
174 - Alex Dolly (UNI) - 2nd
184 - Andy O'Loughlin (UNI) - 1st
184 - Jacob Devlin (Air Force) - 2nd
197 - Andrew Anderson (UNI) - 1st
197 - Jacob Bryce (North Dakota State) - 2nd
285 - Reece Hopkin (Northern Colorado) - 1st
Alternates
#1 184 - Tyler Sorenson (South Dakota State)
#2 165 - Eric Coxbill (Wyoming)
#3 157 - Anthony Dorward (Air Force)
Outstanding Wrestler - Jacob Kriegbaum (Air Force)
Most Falls - Moza Fay (UNI)
Coach of the Year - Joel Sharratt (Air Force)
Finals
Baldridge captured the 133-pound title with a second-period fall of Wyoming's Cory VomBaur at the 4:34 mark of their match. It was Baldridge's second fall of the day and capped a perfect 3-0 mark at the regional tournament. It will be Baldridge's first trip to Division I nationals after twice earning all-America honors as a junior college wrestler.
Pickerell earned his first trip to nationals with a 9-5 win over North Dakota State's Ryan Adams in the 149-pound title match. Pickerell jumped to a 6-0 lead and was able to withstand a late rally from Adams to take the match.
Reiner won the 157-pound title with a third-period fall at the 6:36 mark of his match with Air Force's Anthony Dorward. Reiner got the fall after he hooked up a body lock and took Dorward straight to his back. It was Reiner's second fall of the day as he went 2-0 in the tournament.
Fay wasted little time in earning his second straight regional crown as he pinned Wyoming's Eric Coxbill 28 seconds into their 165-pound championship bout. For Fay it was his second fall of the tourney and capped a perfect 2-0 weekend.
Senior Alex Dolly was the lone Panther to finish second in the tournament as he dropped the 174-pound championship match to Air Force's Tyler French, 8-0. However, Dolly bounced back and dominated Northern Colorado's Ryan Johnson in the "True Second" match with a 19-6 major decision.
O'Loughlin earned his first trip to nationals by notching a 6-4 win over Air Force's Jacob Devlin in the 184-pound championship tilt.
Junior Andrew Anderson punched his third ticket to the NCAA Championships with a 4-0 triumph in the 197-pound championship. Anderson's win was his third of the day and he scored two major decisions and a shutout.
Consolation Finals
Redshirt freshman Caleb Flores (Rosemead, Calif.) earned third-place honors at 125 pounds with a 5-2 triumph over Air Force's Zach Valdez. Flores' attempt at `True Second' came up short as he was pinned by Northern Colorado's Tony Mustari at the 1:42 mark of their bout.
Senior C.J. Ettelson (Hudson, Iowa) also notched third-place honors in the 141-pound weight class after he scored an 8-5 win over SDSU's Andy Everson. It marked Ettelson's second win over Everson on the day after securing a 5-4 win in the quarterfinals. Ettelson was unable to move up to "True Second" when Wyoming's Carter Downing tallied an 8-1 victory.
Redshirt freshman Dustin Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) battled back for third place with a 4-0 shutout of Air Force's Anthony Stegeman.
Consolation Semifinals
UNI moved three of its wrestlers into the consolation finals with victories in the 2 p.m. session at the 2008 NCAA West Regional.
Redshirt freshman Caleb Flores notched a 5-4 win over South Dakota State's Alan Marvin to advance to the consolation final. Flores was able to secure the winning points with an escape with only 30 seconds left in the third period.
Senior C.J. Ettelson moved on to the consolation final at 141 pounds with a 9-0 major decision over Northern Colorado's Richard Lohr. Ettelson led 6-0 after the first period, but could not escape during the second period. Ettelson chose down to begin the third period and quickly registered a reversal to take control of the match. Ettelson added a riding time point for the nine-point margin.
Redshirt freshman Dustin Bauman earned a spot in the consolation final with a fall at the 2:43 mark of his heavyweight match against North Dakota State's Tyler Hemmesch.
Semifinals
The University of Northern Iowa advanced seven wrestlers into their respective championship weight classes at the 2008 NCAA West Regional. The finals will begin later this afternoon at 4 p.m.
UNI holds a commanding lead in the team race with 78.5 points following the semifinal round. Air Force is in second with 44.0 points, while Wyoming is in third with 40.0 points. North Dakota State is in fourth place with 31.0 points, and Northern Colorado is in fifth place with 20.5 points. South Dakota State is in sixth place with 3.0 points.
At 125 pounds, Caleb Flores and NDSU's Eric Hoffman battled to a scoreless first period. Hoffman escaped to begin the second period and added a takedown at the 1:00 mark of the period to take a 3-0 lead. Hoffman extended the lead with another takedown and a three-point nearfall in the third period. Hoffman advanced with a 10-2 major decision over Flores.
At 133 pounds, No. 4 seed Derek Gillespie tallied a four-point move in the first period against No. 1-seeded Josh Baldridge. Baldridge came back with a reversal on the edge of the match to trim the lead in half, but Gillespie netted a reversal with only three seconds left in the first period. Baldridge and Gillespie traded reversals to begin the second period. However, Baldridge came back with another reversal and then caught Gillespie in a cradle and got the fall at the 3:54 mark of their bout to advance to the 133-pound championship match.
C.J. Ettelson scored the first takedown of his match with No. 3-seeded Jacob Kriegbaum at 141 pounds, but Kriegbaum turned the tables with a pair of three-point nearfalls after registering a reversal. The Hudson native cut into the margin with a reversal and a two-point nearfall and trailed only 8-6 entering the final period. Kriegbaum chose down to start the third period, but Ettelson was unable to get a nearfall in the third period and suffered a 9-7 loss.
UNI's Nick Pickerell opened up a 5-0 lead in the first period and used that to score a 6-2 victory over Northern Colorado's Daniel Prater at 149 pounds.
The Panthers then used a flurry of first-period falls to advance a trio into the finals at their respective weights. Tyson Reiner got his pin at the 2:03 mark against UNC's Rocco DaPaolo at 157 pounds. Moza Fay tallied his fall at 1:25 against Air Force's Stephen Crozier at 165 pounds. Alex Dolly then tied up NDSU's Shannon Fettig and got the pin at 1:01 at 174 pounds.
At 184 pounds, Andy O'Loughlin became the sixth Panther to reach the finals when he dominated UNC's Patrick Carey at 184 pounds, 20-4. UNI's Andrew Anderson was overpowering at 197 pounds and moved onto the finals with a 15-4 major decision over UNC's Patrick Carey.
At heavyweight, UNI's Dustin Bauman dropped a 4-3 decision to Wyoming's Jason Still.
Quarterfinals
UNI compiled a perfect 5-0 record in its five quarterfinal matchups. As a result, UNI advanced all 10 wrestlers into the semifinals with the other five Panthers advancing via byes.
Flores scored a 4-2 victory in a matchup with Wyoming's Cody Grant at 125 pounds. It marked the second time this season that Flores had defeated Grant.
Baldridge netted a hard-fought 3-0 triumph at 133 pounds against South Dakota State's Derek Pirner.
Ettelson battled back from an early 4-0 deficit to tally a 5-4 victory over South Dakota State's Adam Everson at 141 pounds. Ettelson scored a pair of reversals and added a riding time point to advance to the semifinals.
Pickerell wasted little time advancing to the semifinals as he tallied a fall at the 1:35 mark of his 149-pound bout against South Dakota State's Sean Flynn.
Anderson took it right to South Dakota State's Jeremy Swier at 197 pounds. Anderson advanced to the semis with a 16-4 win.
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