Gophers Endure Rough Session Three at NCAA Championships
March 21, 2008
It was a disappointing Friday morning for the defending national champion Golden Gopher wrestling
team at the 2008 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo. Minnesota sent
five wrestlers to the championship quarterfinals, but saw just one
(125-pound Jayson Ness) advance to Friday night’s semifinals. Ness tied
the Gophers’ single-season pin mark with his 20th of the season and
second of the tournament.
Four Gophers – Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera, Dustin Schlatter and Roger
Kish – were defeated in their quarterfinal matches and will be forced
to climb back up the bracket through wrestleback competition. Senior
and fifth-seeded C.P. Schlatter saw his collegiate career come to an
end early Friday afternoon, as he was unable to follow up on his
All-American finish last season. Senior Gabe Dretsch (174 pounds) won
his first consolation match but saw his career come to an end in
Friday’s second consolation round. Redshirt freshman Ben Berhow
(heavyweight) was also eliminated in wrestlebacks.
After finishing Thursday night’s action tied for fourth and within
shouting distance of first-place Iowa, the Gophers dropped down to
eighth place after Friday’s early session. Minnesota and Central
Michigan head to the semifinal round with 34.5 team points, with the
Hawkeyes (67 points) comfortably in front of the rest of the field.
They finished the third NCAA session a whopping 19.5 points ahead of
second-place Nebraska and Oklahoma State.
The session’s high point came early for the Gopher faithful in
attendance at the Scottrade Center. Ness, who entered the Friday’s
action 37-1 on the season, squared off with Old Dominion’s James
Nicholson in the quarterfinals. Ness was aggressive from the opening
whistle and opened up a commanding 9-1 lead before pinning Nicholson at
the 4:04 mark. He advances to the national semifinals for the second
consecutive year, where he will take on defending national champion and
third-seeded Paul Donahue of Nebraska.
Ness and Donahue have met four times during their collegiate career
(including an exhibition match at the 2007 NWCA All-Star Classic). The
Bloomington, Minn. native has won three of those matches, including a
dramatic 6-4 overtime win at this year’s National Duals.
Two Bloomington Kennedy High School (Minn.) graduates now share the
Gophers’ all-time single-season fall record. His Friday morning pin
finally pulled Ness even with current Gopher head assistant coach Marty
Morgan, who pinned 20 in 1989-90 en route to an All-American finish at
167 pounds.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, other highlights were hard to come by
during Friday’s quarterfinal action. Reiter tangled with top-seeded
Franklin Gomez (Michigan State) for the second time this year, but like
their dual meet match-up earlier in the season, Reiter simply could not
muster any offense against the 2008 Big Ten Champion. The senior and
two-time All-American recorded three escapes but could not take Gomez
down in a 5-3 loss.
The most discouraging loss of the session came at 149 pounds, where
two-time All-American and former NCAA Champion Dustin Schlatter was
defeated by seventh-seeded Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State
4-1. Caldwell, the only wrestler this season to defeat Iowa’s Brent
Metcalf, jumped in front with a first-period takedown and never looked
back. Down 3-1, Schlatter desperately attempted to shoot during the
third period but could not get in on Caldwell. Schlatter misses the
championship semifinals for the first time in his career and must
advance through the wrestlebacks to gain his third All-American award.
Fifth-seeded Rivera never really got going in his quarterfinal match
with fourth-ranked Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State at 141 pounds.
Rivera’s second straight NCAA quarterfinal loss was a tough one, as
Morgan (who defeated Rivera earlier this season in a dual meet) scored
single takedowns in all three periods for the 8-1 win. Rivera needs to
win one more match for his first career All-American honor.
Injury-plagued senior Roger Kish battled in his quarterfinal with
top-ranked and undefeated Jake Varner of Iowa State, but did not pose
much of an offensive threat to the Cyclone grappler. Kish allowed just
an escape and bonus riding time point to Varner but spent the entire
third period underneath as he lost to Varner for the fourth straight
time. Since defeating Varner twice during the 2006-07 regular season,
Kish has been topped by Varner at last year’s NCAA Championships, the
2007 NWCA All-Star Classic and a dual meet last December.
Consolation wrestling went little better for the Gophers during
Friday’s early session. Dretsch remained on track with a dominating
10-2 major decision win over Maryland’s Mike Letts, but fifth-seeded
157-pound C.P. Schlatter and heavyweight Ben Berhow were each
eliminated during wrestlebacks. Schlatter appeared slowed by his
hamstring injury in a 4-0 loss to Iowa’s Ryan Morningstar, and redshirt
freshman Berhow put up a strong effort but came up short in a 7-4 loss
to Dustin Rogers of West Virginia.
Friday’s final session is set to get underway at approximately 6 p.m.
It will be televised live on ESPNU, with special web-only coverage also
available on ESPN360.com.
Day Two Results – 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
125 – No. 2 Jayson Ness, Second Seed
Quarterfinals: Ness pinned #10 James Nicholson (Old Dominion), 4:04