| Senior All-American Eric Bradley was upset by No. 4 seed Pete Friedl of Illinois, 2-1 TB, ending his reign as two-time defending Big Ten Champion. Already heading to nationals, Bradley will work back for a shot at third place during Sunday's session, which starts at noon. |
Full Brackets After Day 1
Bloomington, Ind. ?C March 4, 2006 ?C The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, advanced one wrestler to the championship finals of the 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Sunderland also knows that five of his wrestlers have advanced to nationals with three others still alive for a shot at Oklahoma City. Penn State finds itself in fifth place in the team race after the second session of the two-day tournament in Bloomington, Ind.
Minnesota leads the team race with 116.5, followed by Illinois (112.0), Michigan (89.0), Iowa (72.5), Penn State (68.0) and Northwestern (68.0). Before Penn State??s Davis earned his spot in the finals, a full evening of action in the consolation bracket took place for six Penn State wrestlers.
The 6 p.m. session began with the first round of consolations, where six Penn Staters found themselves after hard-fought losses in the quarterfinals. Freshman Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) got things started for Penn State at 125, facing Ohio State??s Nathan Costello. Pataky, the No. 8 seed, easily took down Costello twice. After the second takedown, the true freshman began turning Costello for back points but got caught too far under the Buckeye and found himself avoiding being pinned himself. Pataky fought hard for :30 seconds, but Costello??s position was too strong and he pinned Pataky at 1:53. The loss ended Pataky??s tournament and season. The Clearfield native went 0-2 in the tourney and the season 15-8.
At 133, freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), the No. 4 seed, met Northwestern??s Daniel Quintela.. Strayer dominated the match from start to finish, beginning with three take downs in the first period. After the third takedown, Strayer rode Quintela out and led 6-2 entering the second. Strayer took down to start the middle period and escaped for the only points of the second period. The third period was all Strayer as the Nittany Lion freshman coasted to a solid 11-3 major decision, keeping his hopes of nationals alive.
Senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.), also a No. 4 seed, faced Purdue??s Jason Cook in the first round of 141 consolations. Driscoll controlled the first period by taking Cook down at the 2:36 mark, adding three back points, and riding the Boilermaker out. With a 5-0 lead and massive riding time in his favor, Driscoll chose down to start the second and summarily reversed Cook to go up 7-0. Cook would close to within 7-2 after two, however, and chose down to begin the third. Driscoll rode Cook for most of the period, cementing his riding time point and coasting to an 8-4 win and a second round consolation appointment.
Nittany Lion James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.), who went 1-1 in the first session as the No. 7 seed at 149, met Indiana??s Matt Cooper. Woodall got the bout??s first take down with :30 left in the first and led 2-1 after the first stanza. The Nittany Lion senior chose down to begin the second and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. He added another take down to go up 5-2 after a Cooper escape. With Woodall up 5-2 entering the final period, Cooper chose down to start the period but was turned to his back by Woodall. The two near fall points put the Penn Stater in command 7-2. After a Cooper escape, Woodall added one more take down and rolled to a 10-4 victory and a shot at nationals in the next round of wrestle-backs.
Junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.), the No. 8 seed at 157, went 1-1 in the first session and got a bye in the first round of the consolations, giving him a chance to watch and wait to see whom he would face in the second round of consolations later in the evening, with a trip to Oklahoma City in the offing.
At 165, freshman David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) met Wisconsin??s Jake Donar in the first round of wrestle-backs. Erwin was the No. 4 seed while Donar was No. 6. Erwin, who injured his left knee in his opening round upset loss, was obviously affected by the injury against Donar. The true freshman battled through the pain. Donar led 2-0 after one period and chose down to begin the second. Erwin turned the Badger for a quick three back points to take a 3-2 lead, but Donar countered with a reversal and began working on Erwin from the top position. He rode Erwin out in the second to lead 4-3 after two with 1:57 in riding time. Erwin chose neutral to begin the third but could not overcome his earlier injury and, in the end, dropped a tough 10-3 decision to Donar. The loss was a disappointing end to what has been an outstanding season for the rookie. Erwin ends his first campaign as a Nittany Lion with a 23-8 record.
At the conclusion of the first round of consolations, the semifinals began on the two center mats in Assembly Hall??s four-mat set-up, with the second round of consolations taking place on the two outer mats. With Penn State??s four semifinalists being in the final four weight classes, all Lion eyes turned to the outer mats where second round consolation bouts occurred. The second round of wrestle-backs mirrored the quarterfinals in importance as the winner of these bouts was guaranteed a trip to nationals while the loser would be left with more work to do Sunday to cement a spot in Oklahoma City.
First up for Penn State with a shot at nationals was Strayer at 133. Strayer, the No. 5 seed, met No. 8 seed Reece Humphrey of Ohio State. Strayer opened up the bout with a take down at the 1:03 mark and proceeded to ride Humphrey for the rest of the first period, taking a 2-0 lead and a 1:47 riding time edge into the second period. The Nittany Lion red-shirt freshman chose down to begin the second and escaped to a 3-0 lead before Humphrey notched a take down to cut the Strayer lead to 3-2. Strayer would escape in due time and led 4-2 heading into the final period. He would punch his ticket to nationals and keep alive his dreams of third place with a dominant third period, adding another take down and rolling to a 7-3 win. Strayer went 2-1 on the day, earned a spot in nationals, and will continue on tomorrow in the noon session.
At 141, Driscoll, the No. 4 seed, met No. 8 seed Ed Gutnik of Wisconsin. The senior could not get his offense going early, battling to a 0-0 tie after one. Gutnik chose down to begin the third, quickly escaped and added a take down to lead 3-0 before Driscoll got on the board with an escape. The second period ended with that same score and Driscoll chose down to begin the third. He quickly escaped but could not fight through Gutnik??s defense until late in the third. Trying to through Gutnik to his back, Driscoll was countered and gave up a late take down and, in the end, falling to 5-2. Still alive after going 1-2 on the day, Driscoll will wrestle for seventh place and a shot at nationals tomorrow in the noon session.
Woodall, the No. 7 seed at 149, met No. 6 seed Tyler Turner of Wisconsin. Turner got the lone take down of the first period and led 2-0 after three minutes. The Badger dominated the second period, however, building up a 5-0 lead with 2;23 in riding time heading into the final period. Woodall chose neutral to begin the third and took Tuner down at the 1:09 mark, cutting the Badger??s lead to 5-2. Woodall could not get any closer, however, and dropped an 8-3 decision. The senior co-captain went 2-2 in the first session and remains alive, with a shot at seventh place and a trip to Oklahoma City looming in tomorrow??s noon session.
After a bye in the first round of wrestle-backs, Galloway got his shot at a trip to Oklahoma City against No. 5 seed Brandon Becker of Indiana. Galloway, the No. 8 seed, battled the higher seeded Becker to a 0-0 tie after one. The second period was another struggle as neither wrestler had a scoring chance until Galloway, with :15 left, nearly took Becker down. Galloway was not awarded the take down and Decker immediately countered for a five point move, adding three back points to his own take down. Trailing 5-0 entering the third, Galloway chose down to start the period and quickly escaped, but the State College native could not close the gap and dropped a hard-fought 7-1 decision. Galloway, 1-2 on the day, remains alive and will wrestle for seventh place and a trip to nationals tomorrow.
For Penn State, all consolation action was out of the way before the Nittany Lions in the semifinals began their bouts. First up for Penn State in the semis was junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.). Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, met top-seeded Jake Herbert of Northwestern in one semi at 174. Herbert, the second-ranked 174-pounder in the country, got the first take down just :14 seconds in and rode Yonushonsis for the remainder of the period, picking up a point on two stalls in the process. Herbert chose down to begin the second and escaped quickly to a 4-0 lead. Herbert added another take down to go up 6-0 and another stall point to lead 7-0 after two. Yonushonis chose neutral to begin the third but could not manage any points himself as Herbert went on to post an impressive 10-0 win. Yonushonis, already heading to nationals, went 1-1 on the day and will wrestle in the consolation semis tomorrow with a chance to place as high as third.
Penn State??s top-seeded All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) met No. 4 Pete Friedl of Illinois at 184. Neither wrestler could break through the other??s defense in the first period, with the bout entering the second tied 0-0. Bradley chose down to begin the second and escaped to a 1-0 lead after :31 seconds. The 1-0 Bradley lead held through the period and Friedl chose down to start the final stanza. Friedl quickly escaped to knot the score at 1-1. Bradley had a late chance to nail a take down but could not convert and the match went to sudden victory. After a scoreless minute, the match went to the first TB period, with Bradley down to start. Needing to get out in the :30, Bradley could not turn the trick, leaving the door open for Friedl to score the upset with an escape. The Illini did just that, notching one of the tournament??s biggest upsets with the 2-1 tie breaker win. Bradley, already heading to nationals as a returning All-American, went 1-1 on the day and will look to climb back to third place in tomorrow??s session.
Sophomore All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), the No. 2 seed at 197, met No. 3 seed Matt Delguyd of Northwestern. The twosome battled through a scoreless first period. With the choice to start the second, Delguyd chose down to begin the middle stanza. The decision did not pay off, however, as Davis, powerful on top, rode Delguyd for all but one second of the period. Trailing 1-0, but with a 1:59 riding time edge, Davis chose down to begin the second and quickly escaped to knot the bout at 1-1. Davis did not allow Delguyd to mount any offense as Davis?? defense kept the Wildcat at bay. The riding time point earned in the second period helped Davis post a 2-1 win and advance to the championship finals to meet top seed Tyrone Byrd of Illinois. Davis went 3-0 on the day and has already punched his ticket to nationals.
At heavyweight, Nittany Lion senior Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.), the No. 4 seed, met tournament top seed and the nation??s top ranked heavyweight, Minnesota??s Cole Konrad. Konrad got a quick take down plus two back points to go up 4-0 :30 in to the first period. Konrad would work hard on top and eventually pin Edwards at the 2:45 mark. Edwards went 2-1 on the day. Already heading to nationals, the senior will work for third place beginning tomorrow at noon.
In all, Penn State went 5-8 in session two. The Nittany Lions combined to go 13-14 overall in both Saturday sessions.
The tournament concludes Sunday with a session beginning at 12 p.m. as the final spots in Oklahoma City, and all placers three through eight, will be decided. The Championship Finals will begin at approximately 2 p.m. The entire session can be heard live on WBLF 970 AM and will be streamed live to a worldwide audience at GoPSUsports.com