| Sophomore All-American Phil Davis posted a 6-2 win over North Carolina State's Ryan Goodman to advance to the national quarterfinals at the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. A win in the quarters and Davis will guarantee himself his second straight All-America tag. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. - March 16, 2006 - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, will have two wrestlers in tomorrow's national quarterfinals at the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Returning All-Americans Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) and Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) both advanced to the final eight at their respective weights to lead Penn State in Thursday's evening session. Penn State finds itself in night place in the team race.
With the All-American tandem taking charge in the championship bracket, Penn State still has the services of five other wrestlers in the consolation bracket. Sunderland's Nittany Lions are in ninth place in the team race as well with 20.5 points, a mere two points out of third and four points out of second. Oklahoma State is well out in front with 36.5 points. In-state rival Oklahoma is in second with 24.5.
Session two began with the pigtail consolations before moving to the championship bracket, and for Penn State, the action began early. Senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) got things started with a pigtail consolation bout against Penn's Cesar Grajales. Driscoll, who had beaten Grajales earlier in the year, dominated the match from the outset. The senior 141-pounder got the match's first takedown at the 1:42 mark and picked up two near fall points to carry a 4-1 lead into the second period with a 1:42 riding time edge. Driscoll chose down to start the second and quickly reversed Grajales to go up 6-1, however, he did give up a point on an illegal hold. Grajales found himself trailing 6-2 and facing a 2:54 riding time deficit entering the third period and chose neutral to begin the third. Driscoll quickly took Grajales down again and, adding another takedown and more back points, coasted to an impressive 13-4 major decision. The win set up another consolation bout later in the evening, the one against Central Michigan's Brandon Carter.
| Senior James Woodall went 0-2 at 149 in day one of the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships, closing out his Penn State career. Woodall was 10-9 this year and leaves Penn State with a 57-39 career record. |
The No. 7 seed at 133, Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) met Jason Borrelli of Central Michigan in a championship bracket second round bout. Strayer got in deep on his first shot attempt, but Borrelli fought it off, countered and scored the takedown himself. Strayer escaped to a 2-1 deficit and then finished on his next shot for a go-ahead takedown with :20 left. The Nittany Lion freshman rode Borrelli out to lead 3-2 going into the second. Strayer chose down to begin the middle period and escaped to lead 4-2. Borrelli immediately took Strayer down to know the score and began working towards a riding time advantage. But Strayer escaped to a 5-4 lead just before Borrelli could gain the advantage. Strayer held a slim 5-4 lead heading into the third and Borrelli chose neutral to start the final period and quickly took Strayer down. He held the Nittany Lion down long enough to build up a minute-plus riding time edge. With the score tied 6-6 with under a minute left, Strayer began working for a must-have takedown. As time wound down, Borrelli countered a last-ditch Strayer shot to ice the match with a takedown at the buzzer. Strayer's heart-breaking 9-6 loss sent him to the consolation bracket where he will meet Buffalo's Mark Budd in Friday morning's session.
Junior 157-pounder Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.), fresh off a quick pin victory in round one, met top-seeded Trent Paulson of Iowa State in the second round. Galloway was strong in the first period as neither wrestler scored in the opening three minutes. Galloway had the choice to start the middle period and chose neutral. The Penn State junior got in on a quick shot, but Paulson fought it off, countered with his own shot but was held at bay by Galloway. The period ended scoreless as well. Paulson had the choice to begin the third and chose down. After nearly a minute of being ridden by the feisty Galloway, Paulson fought off a near fall attempt to reverse Galloway and take a 2-0 lead with 1:14 left. Galloway would work the final 1:14 for a reversal but to no avail and the top-seeded Paulson snuck away with a rugged 2-0 win. Galloway's close loss sent him to the consolation bracket where he will meet Hofstra's James Strouse in tomorrow morning's session.
James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), the No. 9 seed at 174, squared off against No. 8 seed Travis Frick of Lehigh in the second round of the championship bracket. The duo split their two meetings during the regular season. The Nittany Lion junior was taken down at the 1:16 mark and escaped to a 2-1 deficit. Frick, strong in the first period, managed what would be a decisive takedown with just :04 left in the first to carry a 4-1 lead into the second period. Yonushonis chose down to begin the second and escaped, but he could not score in the second as Frick played defense and held the Nittany Lion off to lead 4-2 entering the third. Yonushonis did manage a takedown in the third, but two Frick escapes and a defensive strategy led to a tough 6-4 loss for Yonushonis. Yonushonis will now head to the consolations where he will meet Illinois' Donald Reynolds tomorrow morning.
| Senior heavyweight Joel Edwards pinned Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes in 1:55 to stay alive in the consolation bracket at the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Edwards is one of seven Nittany Lions still alive at the three-day event in Oklahoma City. |
Senior All-American Eric Bradley, the No. 8 seed at 184, followed up a major decision win the first round with a meeting against Big Ten rival Paul Bradley of Iowa. Eric had already beaten Paul 4-2 earlier in the season and was looking to make it two in the same year against the Hawkeye. After a scoreless first period, Paul Bradley got on the board first with an escape from the opening down position. Eric would get the match's first takedown to lead 2-1, but Paul would escape to knot the score at 2-2 heading into the third. Showcasing outstanding conditioning, Eric Bradley scored two more takedowns in the third period, each on the end of the mat. The final takedown came after Eric pulled Paul back onto the mat to secure the points. Eric went on to a convincing 7-4 win and moved into tomorrow's quarterfinals against No. 1 seed Joshua Glenn of American.
Sophomore All-American Phil Davis, the No. 6 seed at 197 and coming off an 11-0 major win in the first round, meet No. 11 seed Ryan Goodman of North Carolina State in his second round battle. Like his teammate Eric Bradley before him, Davis wrestled to a scoreless tie after the first three minutes. Goodman chose down to begin the second period and, perhaps, played right into Davis' hands. Davis rode the Wolfpack grappler for the entire two minutes. Still scoreless after two period, Davis did have a 2:00 riding time edge. The Nittany Lion sophomore chose down and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Davis then added a takedown and two near fall points to build up a sizeable 5-0 lead. Goodman did manage a reversal as time expired, but it was too little too late as Davis coasted to an impressive 6-2 win. The Harrisburg native will now face No. 3 seed B.J. Padden of Nebraska in tomorrow morning's quarterfinals.
With the championship bracket finished for the evening, it was back to the consolation bracket and Nittany Lion senior DeWitt Driscoll at 141. Driscoll took on Brandon Carter of Central Michigan in his next bout. Driscoll got in deep on an early shot attempt and turned it into a five-point move (two for the takedown and three near fall points) a minute into the bout. The Nittany Lion senior added three more back points to lead 8-0 after one. Carter chose down to start the second and Driscoll took advantage. The Nittany Lion senior quickly turned Carter and pinned him at the 3:54 mark to advance to tomorrow's early session. Driscoll went 2-1 on the day and will meet Columbia's Sal Tirico tomorrow.
| Senior DeWitt Driscoll led Penn State's efforts in the consolation bracket with two wins at 141, including a pin of Central Michigan's Brandon Carter. Driscoll is one of seven Penn Staters, five of whom are in the consos, still alive at nationals. |
Continuing in consolation action, senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.) faced off with West Virginia's David Jaregui at 149. Jaregui wasted not time setting the offensive tone, getting a takedown just :06 in to take a 2-0 lead. Woodall escaped to a 2-1 deficit, but had already given up 1:58 in riding time. Jaregui added another takedown as the first period ended and rode Woodall out to a 4-1 lead after one period. The Nittany Lion senior chose neutral to begin the second period, only to give up another quick takedown to the Mountaineer. An escape allowed Woodall to get within four, but Jaregui added another takedown to lead 8-2 heading into the final period. Woodall had each of his offensive thrusts countered and fought off by Jaregui, who added another takedown to lead 10-3 before Woodall got his first takedown at the 1:13 mark to cut the lead to 10-5. The late charge was not enough, however, and Woodall suffered a 12-5 defeat, ending his season and his Nittany Lion career. Woodall went 0-2 in the tournament and ends the 2005-06 campaign with a 10-9 record. He leaves Penn State as a two-time national qualifier and with a 57-39 career record.
Penn State's final bout of the evening took place in the heavyweight bracket where senior Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.) met Tyler Rhodes of Northern Iowa. Edwards got the scoring started early with a takedown a minute into the bout. Looking to end the bout early, the Nittany Lion senior turned Rhodes quickly and got a pin at the 1:55 mark, advancing into tomorrow's consolation round where he will meet Northwestern's Dustin Fox, the No. 10 seed.
In all, Penn State went 5-4 in session two, going 2-3 in the championship bracket and 3-1 in the consolation bracket. The Nittany Lions' day one total, combining the two sessions, stands at 10-7. Session three begins tomorrow morning with the quarterfinals in the championship bracket and the second round of consolations. Action starts at 10 a.m. Central (11 a.m. Eastern) and can be heard live on WBLF 970 AM as well as www.GoPSUsports.com.