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Golden Gophers in first place at Big Ten Wrestling Championships with six finalists
March 4, 2006
The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team is in first place entering the final day of the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind. Six Minnesota wrestlers advanced to tomorrow’s finals, along with a total of eight who have qualified for the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Second-place Illinois has five wrestlers in the finals along with five still alive in the consolation bracket.
The Golden Gophers moved into first following a perfect 6-for-6 performance in the championship semifinals. Defending Big Ten Champions Mack Reiter and Cole Konrad will attempt to defend their titles tomorrow at 133 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. True freshman Dustin Schlatter, along with his older brother, C.P., will wrestle for Big Ten titles at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. Senior Matt Nagel and sophomore Roger Kish also advanced to the title matches at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively.
Minnesota has 116.5 points while second-place Illinois has 112. Michigan is in third place with 89 points, followed by Iowa in fourth, Northwestern and Penn State tied for fifth, Wisconsin in seventh, Michigan State in eighth, Purdue in ninth, Ohio State in 10th and host Indiana in 11th.
The Golden Gophers will try to win their fifth Big Ten title since 1999. Of Minnesota’s six title matches, three will pit the Golden Gophers against Illinois wrestlers. Illinois is seeking its second-straight Big Ten Championship.
Reiter will defend his title as he advanced to the championship with a hard-fought 4-3 decision against Michigan’s Mark Moos at 133 pounds. Moos jumped ahead early with a takedown, but Reiter rallied with a takedown of his own later in the first period. Tied at three entering the second period, Reiter took a 4-3 lead with an escape. Reiter then rode Moos the entire third period to earn his fourth career win against Moos. Reiter will face third-seeded Tom Clum of Wisconsin in tomorrow’s finals. Clum won both meetings between the pair a year ago.
Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter advanced to the 149-pound title match with a 4-1 decision against fourth-seeded J Jaggers of Ohio State. Leading 1-0 in the third, Schlatter rode Jaggers for 1:34 in the third period. After Jaggers tied the match with an escape, Schlatter scored a takedown with less than 10 seconds to go in the match. He was awarded another bonus point for riding time. Schlatter will meet the surprise of the tournament, unseeded Troy Tirapelle of Illinois, in the finals.
157 pounds will feature the older brothers of the 149-pound finalists. Third-seeded C.P. Schlatter will face top-ranked Alex Tirapelle of Illinois in tomorrow’s championship. Schlatter avenged an earlier loss to second-seeded Craig Henning of Wisconsin with a 1-0 victory. Schlatter rode Henning the entire two-minute second period and then held off the Badger the entire third period. The bonus point for riding time proved to be the difference. Tirapelle defeated Schlatter twice last season.
Nagel kept the roll going as he advanced to his first Big Ten final with a 4-2 decision over second-seeded Mike Poeta of Illinois. Nagel took a 2-0 lead with a takedown midway through the first period. After Poeta pulled to within 3-2 with a second-period takedown, Nagel earned the escape to reclaim the two-point lead. Nagel will face top-ranked Ryan Churella of Michigan in tomorrow’s final. Churella is 4-0 in his career against Nagel.
Kish also pulled off an upset at 184 pounds to reach the title match. He claimed a 9-4 decision over second-seeded Ben Wissel of Purdue. Trailing 2-1 in the first period, Kish took his first lead with a late takedown. Kish extended the lead to 6-2 with a second-period takedown. He put the match away with a takedown with less than 20 seconds to go in the match. Kish will meet Illinois’ Pete Friedl, the defending Big Ten Champion at 174 pounds. Friedl upset defending 184-pound champion Eric Bradley of Penn State in the semifinals.
Konrad closed out the perfect semifinal round with a pin of Joel Edwards of Penn State. Konrad scored the first takedown of the match and then earned his third career pin against Edwards in 2:45. Konrad improved to 35-0 on the season. He will attempt to defend his Big Ten Championship against second-seeded Greg Wagner of Michigan. Wagner won the first two meetings between the pair two years ago, but Konrad has since won four in a row.
Rivera qualified for his first NCAA Championship with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket at 141 pounds. After his 12-4 major decision against Nick Spatola of Indiana, he upset sixth-seeded Cassio Pero of Illinois, 6-2, to advance to the consolation semifinals. Rivera will meet top-seeded Josh Churella of Michigan. Churella was upset by Northwestern’s Ryan Lang in the semifinals.
Dretsch will compete in his second NCAA Championship after his impressive run through the 174-pound consolation bracket. Dretsch defeated Wisconsin senior Ryan Flaherty, 10-4, in his first match. Flaherty entered the match with three wins against Dretsch. Dretsch then rallied from an early 5-0 deficit for an 8-6 upset of fifth-seeded Blake Maurer of Ohio State. Dretsch will face sixth-seeded Donny Reynolds of Illinois in tomorrow’s consolation semifinal.
Redshirt freshman Travis Lang was eliminated following his 11-6 loss against Wisconsin’s Collin Cudd. Lang had won the previous meeting between the pair. Sophomore Mitch Kuhlman was ousted at 197 pounds after he was pinned against Michigan’s Willie Breyer in 2:26. A natural 165-pounder, Kuhlman was giving up nearly 17 pounds to Breyer.
The seventh-place matches and consolation semifinals will begin at 11 a.m. Central tomorrow morning. The finals, along with third- and fifth-place matches, will begin at 1 p.m.
2006 Big Ten Championships
March 4, 2006 at Bloomington, Ind.
Updated Team Standings
1. Minnesota, 116.5
2. Illinois, 112.0
3. Michigan, 89.0
4. Iowa, 72.5
5. Northwestern, 68.0
5. Penn State, 68.0
7. Wisconsin, 58.0
8. Michigan State, 45.5
9. Purdue, 40.0
10. Ohio State, 39.0
11. Indiana, 30.5
125 - No. 7 Travis Lang
1st - Lang pinned Nathan Costello (OSU), 2:24
Qtrs - No. 2 Nick Simmons (MSU) dec. Lang, 7-0
Consolation - Collin Cudd (UW) dec. Lang, 11-6
1-2 record
133 - No. 1 Mack Reiter
1st - Bye
Qtrs - Reiter pinned No. 8 Reece Humphrey (OSU), 1:30
Semis - Reiter dec. No. 4 Mark Moos (MICH), 4-3
Finals - vs, No. 3 Tom Clum (UW)
141 - No. 7 Manuel Rivera
1st - Bye
Qtrs - No. 2 Andy Simmons (MSU) dec. Rivera, 9-4
Consolation - Rivera maj. dec. Nick Spatola (IND), 12-4
Consolation - Rivera dec. No. 6 Cassio Pero (ILL), 6-2
Consolation - vs. No. 1 Josh Churella (MICH)
149 - No. 1 Dustin Schlatter
1st - Bye
Qtrs - Schlatter maj. dec. No. 8 Darren McKnight (MSU), 17-3
Semis - Schlatter dec. No. 4 J Jaggers (OSU), 4-1
Finals - vs. Troy Tirapelle (ILL)
157 - No. 3 C. P. Schlatter
1st - Bye
Qtrs - Schlatter dec. No. 6 Steve Luke (MICH), 2-0
Semis - Schlatter dec. No. 2 Craig Henning (UW), 1-0
Finals - vs. No. 1 Alex Tirapelle (ILL)
165 - No. 3 Matt Nagel
1st - Bye
Qtrs - Nagel tech. fall Dan Bedoy (Purdue), 17-0, 6:34
Semis - Nagel dec. No. 2 Mike Poeta (ILL), 4-2
Finals - vs. No. 1 Ryan Churella (MICH)
174 - No. 8 Gabriel Dretsch
1st - Bye
Qtrs - No. 1 Jake Herbert (NW) dec. Dretsch, 5-3
Consolation - Dretsch dec. Kelly Flaherty (UW), 10-4
Consolation - Dretsch dec. No. 5 Blake Maurer (OSU), 8-6
Consolation - vs. No. 6 Donny Reynolds (ILL)
184 - No. 3 Roger Kish
1st - Bye
Qtrs - Kish dec. No. 6 Mike Tamillow (NW), 9-4
Semis - Kish dec. No. 2 Ben Wissel (Purdue), 9-4
197 - No. 7 Mitch Kuhlman
1st - Bye
Qtrs - No. 2 Phil Davis (PSU) maj. dec. Kuhlman, 12-0
Consolation - Willie Breyer (MICH) pinned Kuhlman, 2:26
0-2 record
HWT - No. 1 Cole Konrad
1st - Bye
Qtrs - Konrad pinned No. 8 Matt Weight (ILL), 0:56
Semis - Konrad pinned No. 4 Joel Edwards (PSU), 2:45
Finals - vs. No. 2 Greg Wagner (MICH)