Abbott Claims Championship at 149; #2 Mavericks Earn Third-Place
March 14, 2009
Houston, Tex. - Second-ranked sophomore 149-pounder Tommy Abbott
(Willmington, Del.) became the 28th national champion to wear the Minnesota State
singlet. Abbott won a 6-5 decision against fourth-ranked Christopher
Freije of Western State University to claim his first national
championship. Abbott’s win helped the second-ranked Mavericks to a
third-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
with 71.5 points. MSU has now finished in the top-5 the last five years
and produced three national champions in the last two seasons. The
University of Nebraska-Omaha were crowned national champions for the
sixth time in its history with 146.5 points.
“Our team goal will continue to be winning a national championship,”
said head coach Jim Makovsky. “I’m proud of our guys. We have a lot of
new guys and at the beginning of the season it was a blank sheet of
paper, but we ended up having a successful season. I’m proud of Tommy
(Abbott). He’s gone through a lot of adversity and he made a lot of
improvements this season, both as a person and as a wrestler. He has a
chance to do something that has never been done in school history - win
three national championships.”
The championships were held at the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival on the campus of the University of Houston.
Freije took a 2-0 lead at 1:33 with a takedown, but Abbott cut the
deficit in half with a one-point escape. Abbott recorded a takedown of
his own at 2:15 to take a 3-2 lead. Freije responded with an escape and
the first period ended in a 3-3 tie. The only point of the second
period came when Abbott earned a one-point escape just four seconds
into the period at 3:04. Freije tied the match at 4-4 with an escape at
5:05. Abbott earned a takedown at 6:02 to take a 6-4 lead, which proved
to be enough as he wrestled his way to the championship. Freije earned
a one-point escape to make the score 6-5.
“It feels great. I’m the first wrestler from Delaware to be a national
champ,” Abbott said. “I’m glad to support my home state of Delaware and
my new hometown Mankato. I’m disappointed (about the team placing). I
know we could have done better than that, but all-in-all we wrestled a
pretty good tournament.”
Abbot finishes the season with a 30-6 overall record. Abbott won the
NCAA Super Regional Three to qualify for his second national meet
appearance. Abbott is now a two-time All-American. Abbott was an
All-American in 2008, finishing fifth at 149.
The Mavericks finish in the top-5 for the 20th time in program history.
Finishing ahead of MSU was UNO and Newberry College (80.5 points). The
University of Nebraska-Kearney (65.0) and Adams State (62.0 points)
rounded out the top-5.
Place Score Team National Champions
1 146.5 Nebraska-Omaha 1
2 80.5 Newberry 2
3 71.5 Minnesota State 1
4 65.0 Nebraska-Kearney
5 62.0 Adams State 2
6 60.5 Central Oklahoma
7 54.0 Western State College
8 44.0 St. Cloud State
9 41.0 Mercyhurst 1
10 37.0 Upper Iowa
2009 Maverick All-Americans
Weight Name Times Honored Place
125 Andy Forstner 1 6th
141 John Putman 2 4th
149 Tommy Abbott 2 1st
165 Tim Matheson 1 7th
285 Brady Wilson 3 3rd
In 16 seasons under Makovski, the Mavericks have finished in the top-10
at the national tournament 12 times and in the top-5 six times,
including the last five years. Five Mavericks earned All-American
status this year. Makovski has coached 66 All-Americans in his 16
seasons with the program. He has coached eight wrestlers to a national
championship.
Minnesota State NCAA Tournament Finishes and All-Americans (2005-2009)
Year Finish All-Americans
2005 3rd 5
2006 5th 6
2007 4th 4
2008 2nd 4
2009 3rd 5
Total 24
