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March 19, 2001
The University of Minnesota wrestling team won the 2001 NCAA Wrestling Championship today in Iowa City, Iowa, utilizing a full-team effort to earn an NCAA-record 10 All-Americans and 138.5 points to capture the school's first wrestling title. With the team title, the Golden Gophers unseat the six-time defending champion, arch-rival Iowa, and perennial national power Oklahoma State to win the University of Minnesota's first NCAA title in any sport since 1979 (men's hockey).
Iowa finished second in the team race with 125.5 points, followed by Oklahoma State with 115.5 points, Oklahoma with 93.5 points and Illinois with 89.0 points.
It is the first time in the 71-year history of the NCAA Championships that 10 wrestlers have earned the prestigious All-American honor in one NCAA tournament. The 10 All-Americans is also a Minnesota school record, breaking the previous mark of six, set in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Gold Country captured the national crown despite not placing a wrestler in the championship finals. No team in the history of the national tournament has won the team title without a finalist.
"We knew that the only way that we could win the title was to have a team effort," Minnesota Head Coach J Robinson said. "We had a game plan from last year to have all 10 guys wrestling well here. We knew that we couldn't win with a lot of ones and twos, but we thought we could win with 10 All-Americans. And that's what we did.
All 10 Golden Gopher grapplers finished in the top eight, earning All-America status and giving Minnesota significant team points. Gold Country had three wrestlers finish in third place (Leroy Vega, Owen Elzen, Garrett Lowney), three in fourth place (Luke Becker, Brad Pike, Jacob Volkmann), one finish in fifth place (Damion Hahn), one sixth-place finisher (Jared Lawrence) and two finish in eighth place (Brett Lawrence, Chad Erikson).
"To win this way was the best way that we could have won," Robinson said. "To have 10 All-Americans and nobody in the finals, and to do it in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, it's a special thing."
Six Golden Gophers earned their first All-America honor &endash; Brett Lawrence, Erikson, Volkmann, Hahn, Elzen and Lowney. Leroy Vega, a junior at 125 pounds, gained his third All-America citation, keeping him on pace to become Minnesota second four-time All-American. Jared Lawrence, Becker and Pike each earned their second All-America honor.
"I can't stop smiling. It's been a great day," Robinson said. "It's a special win for our program. I know how important it is for the state of Minnesota and for our fans."
Junior 125-pounder Leroy Vega earned his third All-America honor and improved on his past two national fifth-place finishes, downing A.J. Grant of Michigan 3-1 to capture third place. With the score tied at one, Vega scored a takedown with two seconds remaining in regulation to gain the hard-fought victory. Vega, now a three-time All-American, is on track to become Minnesota's second four-time All-American.
Senior Brett Lawrence captured his first All-America honor at 133 pounds despite losing to David Douglas of Arizona State 6-3 in the seventh-place match. Lawrence led 2-1 at the start of the third period but Douglas scored six points in the final stanza to win. Lawrence took eighth place and went 4-3 at the national tournament.
Junior Chad Erikson became the third Golden Gopher on the day to become an All-American although he fell 7-6 to Robert Sessley of Ohio State in the seventh-place match. The match went back and forth between the two Big Ten grapplers, but Sessley's third-period escape proved to be the difference. Erikson finishes in eighth place and captures his first All-America honor in his first NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Jared Lawrence lost his third-straight match to finish the tournament, falling 7-4 to JaMarr Billman of Lock Haven in the 149-pound fifth-place match. Billman, a 6-3 loser to Lawrence in the quarterfinals, used a four-point third period to roll to the victory. Lawrence matches his sixth-place All-American finish from last year to gain his second All-America honor.
Sophomore Luke Becker earned his second All-American honor despite losing to Oklahoma State's Shane Roller 12-10 in the 157-pound third-place match. Roller scored 10 points in the first period with one takedown, three near falls and an escape to cruise to a third-place finish. Becker improves upon his sixth-place finish at the 2000 NCAAs.
Minnesota's struggles continued in the consolation finals as senior Brad Pike was downed by Illinois' Matt Lackey 3-2 in the 165-pound third-place match. Lackey only allowed a Pike escape in the second period and used one takedown for the difference in the match. Pike finishes in fourth place, improving upon his seventh-place finish from a year ago and earning his second All-America honor.
Redshirt freshman Jacob Volkmann lost another tough battle to second-seeded Otto Olson of Michigan in the 174-pound third-place match. Olson used a second period escape and did not allow a Volkmann takedown to grab a 3-3 victory. Volkmann captures fourth place and his first All-America honor in his first NCAA Championships.
Redshirt freshman Damion Hahn broke Minnesota's losing streak in the consolation finals, dropping Boise State's Cash Edwards 4-2 in the 184-pound fifth-place match. Hahn captures his first All-America citation in his first appearance at the national tournament.
Junior 197-pounder Owen Elzen captured third place at 197-pounds in dramatic fashion, pinning Boise State's Rusty Cook in 3:59 to earn his first All-America honor. Trailing 4-0 in the second period, Elzen scored a reversal on Cook and rolled the Bronco to his back for the fall. For the Championships, Elzen went 6-1 and provided the Golden Gophers with significant bonus points.
Redshirt freshman Garrett Lowney became the 10th Golden Gopher All-American, taking third place at heavyweight with his first-period pin of Oklahoma's Leonce Crump. Lowney stormed out of the gate, taking Crump down at 0:18, scoring a near fall 10 seconds later before pinning the Sooner at 0:42. Lowney earns his first All-America honor in his first year at the NCAA Championships.