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Rhoten and Krinkie wrap up runner-up national finishes
Minnesota State finishes third in team race
March 12, 2005
Omaha, Neb.-- Minnesota State put forth its best showing in 11 years with a third place finish at the 2005 NCAA Division II National Championships with a stellar showing in the final day of competition. Five Maverick All-Americans combined for a 9-4 mark on the second day, including runner-up performances by sophomores Jason Rhoten and Travis Krinkie, to accumulate 77.5 team points. The third-place finish is the best for a Maverick squad since head coach Jim Makovsky's 1993-94 squad finished second.
Third-ranked sophomore Jason Rhoten (Mantorville, Minn.) opened the session for Minnesota State with a semifinal match against fifth-ranked R.J. Paterniti of Gannon. Rhoten scored the first takedown of the match early in the first period, yielding a late escape to lead 2-1 after one period. Rhoten chose the down position for the second period and quickly escaped but gave up the equalizing takedown to Paterniti. With the match knotted at three points apiece, Rhoten proceded to control Paterniti the entire two minutes to gain the riding time point that turned the match in his favor 4-3 and send him to the finals for the first time. His opponent was fourth-ranked Pacifico Garcia of San Francisco State. The two battle to a scoreless first period but a clasping penalty on Rhoten and an escape for Garcia put him down by a score of 2-0 entering the third. Rhoten gained an escape in just ten seconds to pull to within one but a last-second takedown attempt fell just short as the clock ran out 2-1 in favor of Garcia. Rhoten finishes his sophomore campaign with a record of 31-7 and improves his career mark to 58-11.
Third-ranked sophomore Travis Krinkie (Blue Earth, Minn.) earned his first trip to the finals with a semifinal win over a familiar opponent, Tim Johns of Southwest MSU. Krinkie had already defeated Johns 9-2 at the North Regional and did it again by a score of 8-4 to advance. Krinkie racked up three takedowns and a reversal while allowing Johns just four escapes. He drew top-ranked Careef Robertson of Anderson in the finals. Krinkie yielded a takedown at 1:47 but escaped just seconds later to close the first period down 2-1. After choosing down in the second period, Krinkie escaped to knot the score and pulled ahead with a deep double-leg takedown that send Robertson tumbling off the mat. Robertson would pull back to 4-3 with an escape late in the second frame and knotted the score at four apiece with an escape in the early moments of the final frame. The match went into overtime where Robertson secured the winning takedown on the edge of the mat at the 35 second mark. Krinkie finishes his second All-American season with a record of 31-8.
Junior Mathias Bitz (Bismarck, N.D.) fell in the semifinals to second-ranked Angelo Vettesse of Finday by a score of 4-2. Bitz earned a late reversal and eradicated Vettesse's riding time advantage to climb back in the match. With both wrestlers on their feet and seconds remaining, a throw by Bitz came just as time expired. In the consolation semifinals, Bitz traded escapes with sixth-ranked Luke Main of West Liberty State in the second and third period. Just 20 seconds into the sudden victory session, Bitz got a deep single-leg shot on Main and swept around for the winning takedown. In the third-place match, he face David Nordhues, the top-ranked wrestler in the country. Bitz had defeated Nordhues 4-3 in a tie-breaker quarterfinal match. The rematch went in his favor as well as he earned a slim 3-2 win to place third in his first season in a Maverick uniform. Bitz and Nordhues fended off numerous shots in the first period and the match was scoreless after one period. Following a Nordhues escape in the second, Bitz scored a deep, double-leg takedown with just seconds left in the period to take a 2-1 lead. Nordhues racked up over one minute of riding time on Bitz in the third period before releasing him to try for the winning takedown but it was Bitz who took a deep shot and held on for the win. By going 4-1 in the tournament, he finishes his junior season with a record of 32-12.
In his first consolation match of the day, senior Josh Janousek (Greenbush, Minn.) took on defending national champion Jeff Sylvester of Nebraska-Kearney. Janousek used three takedowns and a wealth of riding time to defeat Sylvester 7-2 and advance. In the consolation semifinals, he earned a rematch with John Goral of Wisconsin-Parkside who defeated him 5-4 in the first round. Neither wrestler was able to garner a takedown in the first but Janousek needed just seven seconds to escape in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Goral picked up an escape of his own early in the third to send the match to overtime. Neither wrestler managed a point in the one minute sudden victory session and the match went to the tie-breaker. Janousek rode Goral for the duration of the first session, nearly earning near fall points at the tail end of the time. Janousek wasted little time getting out in his half of the tie-breaker, avenging the earlier defeat 2-1 to head to the third and fourth place round. He fell by slim 2-1 margin to Plamen Paskalev of Central Missouri State on a third-period takedown. Janousek finishes his Maverick career with a fourth-place finish and a season record of 37-8. An All-American in both his seasons at MSU, he owns a career mark of 59-18.
Senior heavyweight Mike Engelmann (Spencer, Iowa) continued his pinning ways in the consolation rounds with a fall over Jon Richard of Limestone in 4:05. Engelmann used an unconventional roll over Richard to gain a reversal and put him to his back for good in the second period. In the consolation semifinals, Engelmann was trailing 4-3 after a late escape but scored a takedown in the last minute of his match with second-ranked Tervel Dlagnev of Nebraska-Kearney to earn a chance at the consolation championship. In the final match of his career, Engelmann topped fourth-ranked Aldo Campea of Ashland for third place. After a scoreless first period, Engelmann escaped from the bottom position to take a lead of 1-0. Campea hooked up a single-leg shot but Engelmann rolled through and stacked him up for a fall at 4:03, his fourth of the tournament and 23rd of the season. He finishes his season with a record of 33-11 after a 5-1 showing at the meet. Over his four-year career, he racked up a 91-35 record with 39 falls over the last two seasons alone.
The North Central Conference was well represented, with all three top spots. Nebraska-Omaha won its second consecutive team title, outdistancing runner-up Augustana by 8.5 points.
Final Team Standings
|
Team |
Pts. |
|
|
1. |
Nebraska-Omaha |
109.5 |
|
2. |
Augustana |
101 |
|
3. |
Minnesota State |
77.5 |
|
4. |
Pitt-Johnstown |
73.5 |
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5. |
Findlay |
65 |
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6. |
Nebraska-Kearney |
54.5 |
|
7. |
UNC-Pembroke |
52.5 |
|
8. |
Shippensburg |
51.5 |
|
9. |
Mercyhurst |
48.5 |
|
10. |
Adams State |
45.5 |