Three Golden Gophers advance to championship semifinals

March 17, 2006

Three Golden Gopher wrestlers have advanced to the championship semifinals at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. True freshman Dustin Schlatter, sophomore Roger Kish and junior Cole Konrad will wrestle tonight at 6 p.m. for a spot in Saturday night’s finals. Sophomore All-American Mack Reiter was disqualified in his quarterfinal match against fifth-seeded Chris Fleeger of Purdue. Second-seeded C.P. Schlatter was eliminated in the third round of consolation.

With a total of four wrestlers still alive in the tournament, Minnesota sits in fourth place with 44.5 points. Three-time defending NCAA Champion Oklahoma State is in first place with five wrestlers in the semifinals with two more in the consolation bracket. The Cowboys have a total of 76 points. Iowa is in second place with 47.5 points, followed by Oklahoma with 47.

In his matchup against Fleeger at 133 pounds, Reiter trailed 2-0 late in the first period. With Fleeger riding on top, Reiter rose to his feet with the Boilermaker on his back. Before the referee could stop the match due to a potential dangerous move, Reiter turned and slammed Fleeger to his back. Reiter was penalized a point, but after Fleeger was unable to continue following an injury timeout, Reiter was disqualified. He will meet Boise State’s Scott Jorgenson in tonight’s consolation round. The winner of the match will earn All-America status.

Dustin Schlatter advanced to the semifinals with an 8-0 major decision against eighth-seeded Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan. It was Schlatter’s third straight win by major decision in the tournament. He took a 2-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and rode Tannenbaum for over a minute. He added two more takedowns and added a bonus point for over two minutes of riding time.

Schlatter will meet fourth-seeded Matt Storniolo of Oklahoma in tonight’s semifinal. It will be the first meeting between the pair. Schlatter is 6-0 this year against opponents ranked in the top five. With a 40-1 overall record, he also became the ninth wrestler in school history to reach 40 wins in a season.

Kish moved into the semifinals with a 7-4 decision over 10th-seeded C.B. Dolloway of Arizona State. Dolloway defeated Kish in early January. Kish took a 6-1 first-period lead with a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall. Dolloway cut the lead to 6-4 in the third period, but Kish held on for the win.

Kish will face Illinois’ Pete Friedl in tonight’s semifinal. Kish defeated Friedl, 3-1, in the finals of the Big Ten Championship two weeks ago. Kish is 36-4 on the year and has won 18 of his last 19 matches.

Konrad rounded out Minnesota’s semifinal trio with a 4-0 decision against eighth-seeded Michael Faust of Virginia Tech. Following a scoreless first period, he rode Faust the entire two-minute second period. After taking a 1-0 lead on an escape in the third, he put the match away with a late takedown.

Konrad will face a familiar foe in the semifinals when he meets fourth-seeded Cain Velasquez of Arizona State. Konrad owns a 4-1 record against the Sun Devil during his career. Velasquez defeated Konrad, 4-3, last year after Konrad was penalized twice for stalling late in the match. Velasquez is one of just two wrestlers to beat Konrad in the past two seasons. Konrad is 39-0 on the year and has won 68 of his last 69 matches dating back to his loss to Velasquez.

C.P. Schlatter opened the morning session with a 3-2 decision against Oklahoma State’s Kevin Ward. It was his third-straight win over the Cowboy. Schlatter’s run ended though as he was upset by Oregon State’s Tony Hook by a 7-3 decision. Leading 2-1, Hook opened the second period with a reversal and two-point near fall. Schlatter ends his sophomore season with a 36-7 record. He won the Big Ten Championship two weeks ago.

Sophomore Manuel Rivera was eliminated in the second round of consolation following a 9-2 loss to Sean Markey of The Citadel. Markey took control of the match with a takedown and a two-point near fall as time expired in the first period. Rivera finished with a 1-2 record in his first appearance at the NCAA Championship.

Senior All-American Matt Nagel saw his career end in disappointing fashion as he was pinned by Hofstra’s Chris Vondruska in the consolation second round. Nagel led 3-2 and was riding Vondruska in the third period. After trying to turn Vondruska to get near fall points, Vondruska was able to gain defensive position and earned the fall with 46 seconds to go in the match.

A former five-time Minnesota state champion out of Frazee, Nagel finishes his collegiate career with a 100-60 career record. He became the 27th wrestler in school history to reach 100 wins when he defeated Stephen Anceravage of Cornell last night. He was a three-time NCAA qualifier and earned All-America status last year with a sixth-place finish. Nagel is the lone senior on Minnesota’s roster.

Fellow Frazee, Minn., native Gabriel Dretsch was also eliminated in Friday morning’s session. He trailed all the way in an 8-4 decision against West Virginia’s Kurt Brenner. He finished his second NCAA Tournament with a 1-2 record.

The tournament continues tonight with more consolation action, as well as the championship semifinals. The session begins at 6 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPNU.

2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
March 17, 2006 at Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Session III

Team Scores
1. Oklahoma State, 76
2. Iowa, 47.5
3. Oklahoma, 47
4. Minnesota, 44.5
5. Penn State, 39.5
6. Lehigh, 39
7t. Arizona State, 38.5
7t. Hofstra, 38.5
9. Michigan, 38
10. Cornell, 33

Individual Results
133 - #4 Mack Reiter
1st -- Reiter pinned Mark Budd (Buffalo), 1:32
2nd -- Reiter dec. Joshua Pniewski (Gardner-Webb), 7-2
Qtrs -- #5 Christopher Fleeger (Purdue) wins by injury default
Consolation -- vs. Scott Jorgenson (Boise State)

141 -- Manuel Rivera
1st - #2 Teyon Ware (Oklahoma) dec. Rivera, 4-3
Consolation -- Rivera dec. Kyle Larson (Oregon State), 7-4
Consolation -- #12 Sean Markey (The Citadel) dec. Rivera, 9-2
1-2 record

149 - #1 Dustin Schlatter
1st -- Schlatter maj. dec. Anthony Baza (CS Bakersfield), 8-0
2nd -- Schlatter maj. dec. Ryan Osgood (Northern Iowa), 14-1
Qtrs -- Schlatter maj. dec. #5 Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan), 8-0
Semis -- vs. #4 Matt Storniolo (Oklahoma)

157 - #2 C.P. Schlatter
1st -- Schlatter dec. Seth Martin (Lock Haven), 3-2
2nd -- Andrew Flanagan (Harvard) dec. Schlatter, 4-3
Consolation -- Schlatter dec. Kevin Ward (Oklahoma State), 3-2
Consolation -- Tony Hook (Oregon State) dec. Schlatter, 7-3
2-2 record

165 - #6 Matt Nagel
1st -- Deonte Penn (Edinboro) dec. Nagel, 8-5
Consolation -- Nagel dec. #11 Stephen Anceravage (Cornell), 4-3
Consolation -- Chris Vondruska (Hofstra) pinned Nagel, 6:14
1-2 record

174 - #10 Gabriel Dretsch
1st -- Kenneth Robertson (Eastern Illinois) dec. Dretsch, 3-2
Consolation -- Dretsch dec. Blake Maurer (Ohio State), 6-1
Consolation -- Kurt Brenner (West Virginia) dec. Dretsch, 8-4
1-2 record

184 - #2 Roger Kish
1st -- Kish pinned Jeremy Colbert (N.C. State), 2:00
2nd -- Kish dec. Ryan Halsey (Cal Poly), 7-2
Qtrs -- Kish dec. #10 C.B. Dolloway (Arizona State), 7-4
Semis -- vs. #6 Pete Friedl (Illinois)

HWT - #1 Cole Konrad
1st -- Konrad dec. Dusty Hoffschneider (Wyoming), 8-4
2nd -- Konrad pinned Tyler Shovlin (UNC Greensboro), 3:19
Qtrs -- Konrad dec. #8 Michael Faust (Virginia Tech), 4-0
Semis -- vs. #4 Cain Velasquez (Arizona State)