Mavericks Successfully Defend North Region Championship
March 1, 2009
Marshall, Minn. -- In the 2009 NCAA Regional Wrestling championships, the third-ranked Minnesota State wrestling team
set out to defend their 2008 championship, and did just that as it
claimed the team title with 132.5 points, outdistancing second-place
St. Cloud State, who finished with 112 points. All ten Mavericks earned
a trip to nationals.
Sophomore 125-pounder Andy Forstner (Madelia, Minn.), who was ranked #1
in the region, began his day with a bye in the quarterfinals round
which advanced him to the semifinals match. In the semifinals match,
Forstner defeated Augustana College’s Al Meger by decision, 10-3. With
the victory Forstner advanced to the championship round where he
wrestled Corbin Surat of Northern State and defeated him, 8-2. Forstner
will be making his first trip to nationals.
Minnesota State senior Tim Haneberg (Tinley Park, Ill.) opened
competition against MSU-Moorhead’s Kelly Janke in the 133-pound bracket
and defeated Janke by decision, 7-6. Haneberg then grappled with the
top-ranked 133-pounder in the region, Trevor Franklin of Upper Iowa
University and was defeated by major decision, 8-0. With the loss,
Haneberg dropped down into the consolation bracket where he lost in the
third-place match as he fell to Michal Barrie of Southwest Minnesota
State, 3-1. With the fourth-place finish, Haneberg qualified for his
first trip to nationals.
Second-ranked 141-pound senior John Putman (Oak Lawn, Ill.) began the
tournament with a bout against Landon Dellasilva of the University of
Mary and defeated Dellasilva by major decision, 12-4, earning his way
to the semi-finals round.
Putman was then upset in the form of pin-fall by JR Baker of Upper Iowa
University in 2:55. In the consolation bracket, Putman lost in the
third-place match to Jay Sherer, 7-6. With the fourth-place finish,
Putman qualified for nationals for the second time. In 2008, Putman
finished sixth at the national championships.
Second-ranked 149-pound sophomore Tommy Abbott (Wilmington, Del.) began
the day looking to defend his 2008 Regional title against
MSU-Moorhead’s Derek Bornstad in the opening round. Abbott defeated
Bornstad by decision, 3-2 and defeated David Albrecht by decision, 4-2
in the semifinals round. Abbott then defeated Jacob Roberts of St.
Cloud State, 11-5, in the championships match to earn his second trip
to nationals. Last year, Abbott finished fifth at the national
championships.
Junior and 157-pounder Travis Elg (Mountain Lake, Minn.), ranked sixth
in the nation, defeated his first opponent University of Mary’s Taylor
Nagel by decision, 7-1. Elg then went on to win his next match versus
Tallen Ward of MSU-Moorhead by pin-fall in 1:39. Elg won the
championship match over Travis Eggers of Upper Iowa, 14-7 by decision
and will be making his third appearance at nationals. Elg earned
All-American honors at the national championships last year with a
sixth-place finish. For his efforts, Elg was named the tournament’s
Most Outstanding Wrestler.
In the 165-pound bracket, MSU senior Tim Matheson (Circle Pines, Minn.)
was victorious in the first round in which he defeated Phillip Downs of
Northern State University by decision, 9-5. In the semi-final round,
Matheson defeated St. Cloud State University’s Tad Merritt by decision,
6-2. Matheson fell to MSU Moorhead’s Tyler Tubbs, 12-5 in the finals to
earn second-place and his third trip to nationals.
Junior Ben Becker (Fort Dodge, Iowa) was defeated in the first round of
the 174-pound bracket by Augustana College’s Brian Schultz by decision,
2-1. Becker then began competition in the consolation bracket where he
won his first match against MSU-Moorhead’s Jarrett Hall. Becker ended
up finishing fifth in the 174-pound bracket. Becker then defeated
Donnie Bowden of Northern State University in the true fourth-place
match and will make his first trip to nationals.
In the 184-pound bracket, sophomore Aaron Norgren (Good Thunder, Minn.)
grappled with Upper Iowa’s Tony Gehling in the opening round and earned
a 13-5 major decision victory. Norgren then dropped his next match to
Brad Padgett of St. Cloud State by decision, 12-5. Norgren was then
victorious in both of his consolation matches and finished third
overall as he defeated Upper Iowa’s Tony Gehling by pinfall in 5:26.
With the third-place finish, Norgren qualifies for nationals for the
first time.
Sixth-ranked sophomore Pat Mahan (Owatonna, Minn.) wrestled
MSU-Moorhead’s Matt Norton in his first round match in the 197-pound
bracket and won by pin-fall in 2:45. Mahan then defeated Dusty Vliem of
the University of Mary by pin-fall in 1:19 to advance to the
championship round. In the championship match, Mahan defeated Tyler
Copsey of Augustana, 5-1, and will be make his first trip to nationals.
In the 285-pound bracket, second-ranked junior Brady Wilson (Faribault,
Minn.) defeated Arron Cramer by pin-fall. Wilson then earned a victory
by decision, 5-3, over Tim Johnson of MSU-Moorhead to advance to the
finals. Wilson finished the day by defeating Augustana’s Lance Peters
by pin-fall in 1:03. Wilson is making his third trip to nationals and
was a third-place finisher in 2008 and a fifth-place finisher in 2007.
The 2009 national championships will be held in Houston, Texas, March 13-14.
