Session I in the Books in Omaha
March 18, 2010
Omaha, Neb. - The University of Minnesota wrestling
team took the mat to open the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships today
(Mar. 18), and through the first of six sessions, the Gophers find
themselves in a three-way tie for 10th place.
Minnesota had four winners in day one, locking up 11.0 points to sit
tied in 10th with Missouri and Oklahoma who also had four winners.
Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.) led the charge with a pin for bonus
points while Mike Thorn (St. Michael, Minn.) won by major decision.
Sonny Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.) and Ben Berhow (Hayward, Minn.) notched
decisions on the day.
Iowa leads the team standings with a tournament best nine winners in
the first session, scoring 21.5 points in the process. Oklahoma State
had seven winners and is second with 16.0 points. Central Michigan,
Lehigh and Wisconsin are all tied for third with 15.0 points.
It was an up and down opening session for the Gophers, who saw five
wrestlers lose matches in addition to the four winners. In the first
match of the day, Zach Sanders (Wabasha, Minn.) fell, and in one
stretch through the middle of the tournament Mario Mason (Moorestown,
N.J.), Dustin Schlatter (Masillion, Ohio), Cody Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.)
and Scott Glasser (Bismarck, N.D.) lost consecutive bouts.
The real loss, though, was Schlatter, who suffered a tough hit to his
already hurt knee and was left unable to finish the match. The senior
and three-time All-American took off the Big Ten Championships to heal
and prepare for one final run at the NCAA Tournament, but instead had
his effort cut short.
The four winners are still in the hunt for an NCAA title while those
who suffered a defeat still have plenty to wrestle for, including third
place and All-America honors. The stakes are raised though, as another
loss leaves them out of the tournament. The second session gets under
way at 6:30 p.m. (CT) this evening back at the Quest Center, with one
match for each wrestler. When session three begins in Friday morning,
though, those still in the consolation bracket will have to wrestler
twice in the session to continue advancing.
The four winners are just one win away from becoming a NCAA
Quarterfinalist and just two away from ensuring All-America status as a
semifinalist.
Ness started the winning with yet another pin, his 19th on the year and
16th in the first period. Just 2:12 into the match, Ness had a victory
over Sean Clair over Eastern Michigan, and he was on to the second
round. He had now matched his pin total from last season and is one
away from tying the school record mark of 20 he hit in his sophomore
season. Now 27-0, Ness will move on to face Ian Paddock from Ohio State
in the second round. Paddock entered the tournament unseeded after a
22-12 freshman season.
Thorn was nearly as impressive in his match, scoring a 14-2 win over
Anwar Goeres of Binghamtom. Thorn won for the fifth straight time,
earning bonus points for the fifth time in that stretch. Thorn led the
entire way in the match en route to his team leading 10th major
decision on the year. After going 0-2 at the NCAA tournament a year
ago, Thorn earns his first win at the National Championships, moving on
to face unseeded Germane Lindsey of Ohio.
Sonny Yohn won for the sixth time in his last seven matches, with the
lone loss being in the Big Ten Championship. He will face Oklahoma
State's Alan Gelogaev in the second round, after Gelogaev upset ninth
seeded Chad Beatty of Iowa in overtime. Gelogaev was unseeded entering
the tournament, despite ending the regular season with a No. 11 ranking.
Berhow scored his third straight win and sixth in his last seven
matches. He avenged an earlier loss this season to Cal State
Bakersfield's Mitch Monteiro, beating the 11th seed today in overtime
6-4. Berhow advances to face Nate Everhart from Indiana, who handed
Berhow his only defeat in his last seven bouts.
The Gophers will look to advance in the brackets and move up in the team standings when Session II begins tonight.
