#2 Minnesota State Sits Third After Session III; Abbott in Finals
March 14, 2009
Houston, Tex. - The second-ranked Minnesota State wrestling team
is third with 67.5 points after Session III of the 2009 NCAA Division
II Wrestling Championships. The University of Nebraska-Omaha leads the
tournament with 142.5 points. Newberry is second with 72.5 points. The
University of Nebraska-Kearney (65.0) and Central Oklahoma (60.5
points) trail MSU and round-out the top-five. Sophomore 149-pounder
Tommy Abbott is the lone-Maverick heading to the finals tonight at 6
p.m. Junior 285-pounder Brady Wilson earned his highest placing at a
national meet, finishing third with a pin at 1:01 in the third-place
match.
The championships are being held at the NCAA Division II National
Championships Festival on the campus of the University of Houston.
Sophomore 125-pounder Andy Forstner (Madelia, Minn.) started day two in
wrestlebacks and came back from a 6-2 deficit in the second period to
advance with a 12-8 decision, defeating #1 Curtis Schurkamp of San
Francisco State University. Forstner used a one-point escape, two-point
takedown and three-point nearfall to take a 9-6 lead into the third
period. Schurkamp made it 9-8 with a takedown, but Forstner used an
escape and a two-point takedown as time expired to take the win.
Forstner fell in the consolation semi-finals, losing in an 9-1 major
decision to fourth-ranked Tim Elliott of the University of Central
Oklahoma. He was only down 2-0 after one period, but a tough second put
him down 6-0 and dropped him to the fifth-place match. Forstner
finished sixth, as he lost the fifth-place match by an 7-1 decision to
Carlton Hamilton of Anderson College (S.C.). Hamilton scored six points
in the first period with four coming from near takedowns. Forstner
defeated Hamilton in the first round of the tournament by a 4-2
decision. Forstner earned All-American honors in the tournament and
finished the season 30-13.
At 141, seventh-ranked senior John Putman (Oak Lawn, Ill.) advanced in
wrestlebacks with an 8-6 decision against Cory Bloodgood of the
University of Central Missouri. Putman jumped on Bloodgood, getting a
4-1 lead with two takedowns. Bloodgood got back in the match and the
two were tied 6-6 after five minutes, but Putman earned a point after a
Bloodgood illegal hold to take a 7-6 lead and then added a one-point
escape to earn the victory. Putman continued his quest for third-place,
as he won a 13-6 decision against University of Pittsburgh-Johnson’s
Adam Whetstone. Putman dominated the first period, using four takedowns
to earn an 8-3 lead. He maintained the large lead through the second,
up 10-4. Putman earned a two-point takedown and one point for riding
time to finishing with the win. Putman then battled second-ranked Mario
Morgan of UNO for third-place. The two wrestled to a 0-0 tie after one
period. Morgan got the first point with an escape in the second period
and held the lead 1-0 after five minutes. Putman scored his first point
at the start of the third with an escape to knot the match at 1-1.
Morgan earned a two-point takedown in the first minute of the third
period to take a 3-1 lead. Putman scored on an escape with 12 seconds
remaining, but time expired before he could score again. Putman earned
fourth-place (the highest of his career) for his efforts in the
tournament, only losing his first and last matches to the #1 and
#2-ranked wrestlers, respectively. Putman finished his season 23-9 and
his career 57-30 as a two-time All-American.
Second-ranked sophomore Tommy Abbott (Willmington, Del.) dominated his
semi-finals match, defeating Gannon University’s sixth-ranked Kevin
McElehaney in a major decision, 11-0. Abbott took an 8-0 lead after one
period, using two, three-point nearfalls to cruise to the finals at 149.
Senior Tim Matheson (Circle Pines, Minn.), 165 pounds, lost in his
first wrestleback match of the day, with a 6-4 decision against
eighth-ranked Tad Merritt of St. Cloud State, pushing him down to the
seventh-place match. Matheson was down 5-1 after one period and
couldn’t find a way to comeback. Matheson defeated Merritt in the North
Regional, March 1 and Merritt earned a decision against Matheson in the
dual between the two teams Feb. 19. Matheson won seventh-place with a
7-3 decision against Brandon Kelly of Newberry. Kelly held a 3-2
advantage after the first period, with each wrestler earning a
takedown. The score remained 3-2 in favor of Kelly until the start of
the third period when Matheson tied the match 3-3 with an escape. A
two-point takedown by Matheson gave him the 5-3 lead, en route to the
victory. He earned a point for Kelly stalling and one-point for riding
time. The seventh-place finish is the highest for Matheson in his
career. He finishes the season with a 23-14 record. Matheson
accumulated a 109-21 career record, has made an appearance at the
national meet three times and earned his first-career All-American
honor this season.
At 285, second-ranked junior Brady Wilson (Faribault, Minn.) lost in
the semi-finals to #1 Cy Wainwright of Newberry College by a 8-0 major
decision. Wilson was taken down once in each of the first two periods
to be down 4-0 after five minutes. Wainwright earned three points in
the third period to complete the victory and move into the finals.
Wilson earned a spot in the third-place match with a 3-0 decision
against Nail McGrath of Gannon. Wilson took a 2-0 lead with a two-point
takedown late in the first period. The match remained 2-0 through five
minutes and Wilson tallied a point with an escape in the third period
to win the match. Wilson made quick work of his third-place match,
earning the fall at 1:01 against eighth-ranked Charlie Alexander of
Western State College. Wilson’s third-place finish is his career-best
at a national meet and he earned his three-time All-American status
this year. He finished the season with a 33-4 record.
Place Score Team
1 142.5 Nebraska-Omaha
2 72.5 Newberry
3 67.5 Minnesota State
4 65.0 Nebraska-Kearney
5 60.5 Central Oklahoma
6 54.0 Adams State
54.0 Western State College
8 44.0 St. Cloud State
9 37.0 Mercyhurst
37.0 Upper Iowa
Finals for all the weight classes begin at 6 p.m. this evening.
