| Two-time All-American Eric Bradley, the No. 8 seed, placed eighth at the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships, going 3-3 in the tournament. Bradley lost his seventh place bout this morning to No. 3 Ben Wissell of Purdue. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. - March 18, 2006 - Penn State All-Americans James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) and Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) both placed eighth at the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships, dropping their seventh place bouts this morning. Head coach Troy Sunderland's team remains in the top ten of the team race, sitting in ninth place. The Nittany nation now awaits tonight's finals and the 197-pound title bout featuring two-time All-American sophomore Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.)
Sunderland's Lions sit in ninth place with 53.5 points. Oklahoma State continues to lead the team race with 114.5 points, far in front of second place Oklahoma, which has 80.5. For Penn State seventh place is still a possibility if Davis claims the crown at 197.
Yonushonis got things started for Penn State with his seventh place bout at 174 against No. 4 seed Jacob Klein of Nebraska. Yonushonis, the No. 9 seed, could not score on Klein in the first period and the first three minutes went by scoreless. Yonushonis took down to start the second period but could not escape and, while still tied 0-0, was facing a 2:00 riding time deficit. Yonushonis was the aggressor in the final period, cutting Klein loose. The Nittany Lion junior could not take Klein down, however, and the Cornhusker went on to post a 2-0 win. Yonushonis, who grabbed his first All-America honor this weekend with a 4-3 record and an eighth place finish, ends his season with a 24-9 record.
Bradley, a two-time All-American and the No. 8 seed at 184, met No. 3 seed Ben Wissell of Purdue in the seventh place bout. The duo had already split two meetings earlier this year, with Bradley claiming a 3-1 dual match victory and Wissell winning 7-6 in the Big Ten Tournament's third place bout. Neither wrestler could manage a serious offensive threat in the first period and the opening stanza ended scoreless. Bradley chose down to begin the second and escaped after just :11 seconds. Wissell got in deep on a shot right away and got the takedown to go ahead 2-1 at the 1:31 mark. Bradley quickly escaped to tie the score at 2-2. Wissell, however, answered with a second takedown to take a 4-2 lead. The Boilermaker wrestler rode Bradley out to lead 4-2 after two periods with :58 in riding time. Wissell chose down to start the third and was let out by Bradley to a 5-2 lead. Wissell countered a Bradley shot and picked up a bout clinching takedown at the 1:20 mark. Wissell went on to claim seventh place with the 8-2 win. Bradley, who went 3-3 at the tournament, ends the 2005-06 season with a 14-6 record. A two-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten Champion, Bradley ends his career with an 81-16 record.
Through five sessions, Penn State is 22-16 overall (0-2 today, 12-7 Friday and 10-7 Thursday). Penn State's three All-Americans are the most for the school since it had four in 2003.
Through five sessions, Penn State has picked up a tremendous amount of bonus points. Penn State has seven pins (worth two bonus points each) and three majors (worth one bonus point each) for 17 bonus points. Bradley and Davis became the fifth and sixth repeat All-Americans under Sunderland. Yonushonis becomes the 13th different individual to earn All-America laurels under Sunderland as well. In all, the veteran Nittany Lion mentor has now coached 18 All-Americans (including multiple winners who earned their second titles in Sunderland's first year).
The tournament will conclude with this evening's championship finals at 7:30 p.m. Davis takes on defending national champion Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State in the 197-pound final. The full session will be aired live on ESPN and can be heard, as usual, on WBLF 970 AM. It will also be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com.
2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships Placing Bouts 3 Through 8 (All wrestlers All-Americans) 125 3rd: No. 2 Sam Hazewinkel, Oklahoma 6-2 dec. No. 1 Nick Simmons, Michigan State 5th: No. 6 Coleman Scott, Oklahoma State WBF No. 9 Chad Mendez, Cal Poly (0:52) 7th: No. 8 John Velez, Northwestern 8-5 dec. No. 12 Tanner Gardner, Stanford 133 3rd: No. 1 Shawn Bunch, Edinboro 8-2 dec. No. 4 Mack Reiter, Minnesota 5th: No. 3 Tom Clum, Wisconsin 9-6 dec. No. 2 Nathan Morgan, Oklahoma State 7th: Tyler McCormick, Missouri 6-4 dec. No. 8 Matt Keller, Chattanooga 141 3rd: No. 3 Cory Cooperman, Lehigh 9-0 maj. dec. No. 6 Ryan Lang, Northwestern 5th: No. 4 Andy Simmons, Michigan State 11-2 maj. dec. No. 9 Brandon Rader, West Virginia 7th: No. 7 Alex Tsirtsis, Iowa 4-2 SV dec. David Hoffman, Virginia Tech 149 3rd: No. 3 Zack Esposito, Oklahoma State 5-4 dec. No. 4 Matt Storniolo, Oklahoma 5th: No. 6 Jonathan Masa, Hofstra 9-0 maj. dec. No. 8 Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan 7th: No. 7 Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro WBF No. 5 Mark DiSalvo, Cent. Michigan (6:22) 157 3rd: No. 7 Dustin Manotti, Cornell 8-2 dec. No. 1 Trent Paulson, Iowa State 5th: No. 11 Derek Zinck, Lehigh 9-8 dec. No. 9 Joe Johnston, Iowa 7th: No. 6 Brandon Becker, Indiana 9-4 dec. No. 8 Craig Henning, Wisconsin 165 3rd: No. 3 Muzaffar Abdurakmanov, American Med. Forf. Deonte Penn, Edinboro 5th: Joey Bracamonte, Oregon 4-3 dec. No. 8 Travis Paulson, Iowa State 7th: Daniel Thompson, The Citadel 8-2 dec. Eric Luedke, Iowa 174 3rd: No. 3 Mark Perry, Iowa 11-2 maj. dec. No. 5 Michael Patrovich, Hofstra 5th: No. 12 Matthew Herrington, Penn WBF No. 8 Travis Frick, Lehigh (6:44) 7th: No. 4 Jacob Klein, Nebraska 2-0 dec. No. 9 James Yonushonis, Penn State 184 3rd: No. 6 Pete Friedl, Illinois 13-2 maj. dec. No. 1 Joshua Glenn, American 5th: No. 10 C.B. Dalloway, Arizona State 6-1 dec. No. 4 Joseph Mazzurco, Cornell 7th: No. 3 Ben Wissell, Purdue 8-2 dec. No. 8 Eric Bradley, Penn State 197 3rd: No. 3 B.J. Padden, Nebraska 5-1 dec. No. 7 Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell 5th: No. 5 Joel Flaggert, Oklahoma Med. Forf. Chris Weidman, Hofstra 7th: No. 8 Ryan Bader, Arizona State 5-3 dec. No. 1 Wynn Michalak, Cent. Michigan HWT 3rd: No. 3 Greg Wagner, Michigan 9-1 maj. dec. No. 4 Cain Velasquez, Arizona State 5th: No. 8 Michael Faust, Virginia Tech 3-3 RT crit. Dec. No. 5 Ben Ogunwole, Harvard 7th: No. 7 Jacob Hager, Oklahoma WBF Kirk Nail Ohio State (2:28) 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships Top Ten Teams Through Session 5 1: Oklahoma State 114.5 2: Oklahoma 80.5 3: Minnesota 76.0 4: Iowa 70.0 5: Cornell 62.0 6: Arizona State 61.5 7: Michigan 57.5 8: Edinboro 56.0 9: PENN STATE 53.5 9: Lehigh 53.5 Penn State Individual Results Through Session 5: 197: Phil Davis, So. Harrisburg, Pa. - 6 seed (4-0 to date - All-American - Wrestling for National Title tonight) Rd 1: W, 11-0 maj. dec. Jon Oplinger, Drexel Rd 2: W, 6-2 dec. No. 11 Ryan Goodman, North Carolina State Quarterfinals: W, 6-5 dec. No. 3 B.J. Padden, Nebraska Semifinals: W, 7-4 dec. No. 7 Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell 174: James Yonushonis, Jr., Philipsburg, Pa. - 9 seed (4-3 - All-American - 8th place) Rd 1: W, 8-4 dec. Brian Bernal, Wyoming Rd 2: L, 4-6 dec. No. 8 Travis Frick, Lehigh Cons Rd 2: WBF Donald Reynolds, Illinois (3:16) Cons Rd 3: W, 6-3 dec. Wes Roberts, Oklahoma Cons Qtr: W, 7-2 dec. No. 8 Kenneth Cook, UC-Davis Cons Semi: LBF No. 12 Matthew Herrington, Penn (0:41) 7th Place Bout: L, 0-2 dec. No. 4 Jacob Klein, Nebraska 184: Eric Bradley, Sr., Plaistow, N.H. - 8 seed (3-3 - All-American - 8th place) Rd 1: W, 10-2 maj. dec. Greg Perz, Eastern Illinois Rd 2: W, 7-4 dec. Paul Bradley, Iowa Quarterfinals: LBF No. 1 Joshua Glenn, American (6:30) Cons Qtr: W, 7-6 dec. No. 7 Kurt Backes, Iowa State Cons Semi: L, 4-11, No. 4 Joseph Mazzurco, Cornell 7th Place Bout: L, 2-8 dec. No. 3 Ben Wissell, Purdue 133: Jake Strayer, Fr., South Fork, Pa. - 7 seed (3-2 - eliminated in round of 12) Rd 1: W, 4-0 dec. Tommy Vargas, Cal State-Bakersfield Rd 2: L, 4-7 dec. Jason Borrelli, Central Michigan Cons Rd 2: W, 7-0 dec. Mark Budd, Buffalo Cons Rd 3: W, 7-1 dec. Gabriel Flores, Illinois Cons Qtr: L, 1-9 maj. dec. No. 8 Matt Keller, Chattanooga HWT: Joel Edwards, Sr., Upper Darby, Pa. (3-2 - eliminated in Round of 12) Rd 1: LBF No. 4 Cain Velasquez, Arizona State (1:06) Cons Rd 1: WBF Tyler Rhodes, Northern Iowa (1:55) Cons Rd 2: W, 3-2 dec. No. 10 Dustin Fox, Northwestern Cons Rd 3: WBF No. 12 Adam LoPiccolo, American (3:38) Cons Qtr: L, 3-3 RT Criteria No. 8 Michael Faust, Virginia Tech 141: DeWitt Driscoll, Sr., Connellsville, Pa. (3-2 -- eliminated) PT: L, 3-5 dec. Michael Keefe, Chattanooga Cons PT: W, 13-4 maj. dec. Cesar Grajales, Penn Cons Rd 1: WBF Brandon Carter, Central Michigan (3:54) Cons Rd 2: WBF Sal Tirico, Columbia (0:41) Cons Rd 3: L, 2-13 dec. David Hoffman, Virginia Tech 157: Nathan Galloway, Jr., State College, Pa. (2-2 -- eliminated) Rd 1: WBF Aric Fuhrman, Bloomsburg (0:26) Rd 2: L, 0-2 dec. No. 1 Trent Paulson, Iowa State Cons Rd 2: WBF James Strouse, Hofstra (0:34) Cons Rd 3: L, 3-9 dec. No. 8 Craig Henning, Wisconsin 149: James Woodall, Sr., Dupont, Pa. (0-2 - eliminated) Rd 1: L, 2-9 dec. No. 4 Matthew Storniolo, Oklahoma Cons Rd 1: L, 5-12 dec. David Jauregui, West Virginia