| Senior Aaron Anspach lost to defending national champion Cole Konrad in the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships title bout at HWT. Anspach ended his season with a 22-4 record, is a first-time All-American and national runner-up. Penn State placed 11th in the team race. |
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.; March 17, 2007 ?C Penn State Nittany Lion senior heavyweight Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) lost to the defending national champion in the heavyweight title bout at the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Still, his appearance in the tournament??s final championship match-up earned him All-America status as he helped Penn State to an 11th place finish in the team race, just three points out of eighth.
The No. 2 seed in the tournament??s big man division, Anspach met No. 1 seed Cole Konrad of Minnesota in the event??s final title match-up. Konrad, the defending national champion, entered the bout riding a 75 match win streak dating back to his title run last year. The duo was energized to start the bout with Konrad forcing the tempo. Anspach took the first real shot of the bout, getting both arms around Konrad??s upper legs. But the Minnesota big man, who owned a 30-plus pound weight advantage, slipped out of bounds to keep the bout scoreless. Off the reset, Konrad got his arms around Anspach??s shoulders and sent the Nittany Lion senior to his back. Konrad finished off the move by pinning Anspach at the 1:53 mark.
Anspach still went 4-1 in the tournament and ends the year with a 22-4 mark. Three of those losses were to Konrad. A fifth-year senior who has missed two seasons due to injury, Anspach has petitioned the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility and may return next season. That decision could come in April. Anspach??s national runner-up finish is the fourth highest HWT finish in Penn State??s 99 years of wrestling.
Penn State??s seven qualifiers and three All-Americans combined to go 19-13 overall in the tournament. The Nittany Lions 54.0 points is the 14th highest total in school history for head coach Troy Sunderland??s squad. Penn State has crowned three or more All-Americans five times in the past decade alone.
Joining Anspach as All-Americans are sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), who was unseeded at 133 and finished seventh, and junior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), who finished fifth as the No. 4 seed and is now a three-time All-American.
The Nittany Lions went 14-5 this year and were 5-3 in Big Ten duals. Penn State was fourth in the nation in home attendance as well, averaging 3,475 people per home dual match. Penn State??s average was less than 300 per event behind second place Oklahoma State and only 34 per event behind second place Minnesota.
2007 NCAA Championships
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Mich., March 17, 2007
Championship Finals (# - tournament seed)
125: #6 Paul Donahoe (Nebraska) dec. #1 Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma), 3-1 SV
133: #2 Matt Valenti (Penn) dec. #4 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State), 4-2
141: #2 Derek Moore (UC-Davis) tech. fall #1 Ryan Lang (Northwestern), 17-2 (3:41)
149: #5 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) dec. #3 Josh Churella (Michigan), 3-1 SV
157: #1 Trent Paulson (Iowa State) dec. #7 Craig Henning (Wisconsin), 6-5
165: #2 Mark Perry (Iowa) dec. #1 Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State), 4-3
174: #1 Ben Askren (Missouri) dec. #2 Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh), 7-2
184: #1 Jake Herbert (Northwestern) dec. #6 Jake Varner (Iowa State), 6-1
197: #2 Joshua Glenn (American) dec. #9 Kurt Backes (Iowa State), 6-4 SV
HWT: #1 Cole Konrad (Minnesota) WBF #2 Aaron Anspach (Penn State) (1:53)
Final Team Standings (Top 11)
1: Minnesota ?C 98.0
2: Iowa State ?C 88.5
3: Missouri ?C 80.0
4: Northwestern ?C 71.5
5: Oklahoma State ?C 69.0
6: Michigan ?C 62.0
7: Hofstra ?C 60.5
8: Iowa ?C 57.0
9: Edinboro ?C 56.0
10: Ohio State ?C 54.5
11: PENN STATE ?C 54.0
PENN STATE INDIVIDUAL AGATE (# indicates tournament seed)
125: Mark McKnight, Jr., McDonald, Pa./South Fayette (Record: 2-2 NCAA/23-11 overall)
Rd. 1: W, 12-4 maj. dec. Matt Fisk, Lehigh
Rd. 2: L, 4-7 dec. #1 Sam Hazewinkel, Oklahoma
Cn. 1: W, 6-3 dec. Eric Stevenson, Oregon State
Cn. 2: L, 3-16 maj. dec. #10 Nicholas Manthorpe, Iowa State
SEASON COMPLETE
133: Jake Strayer, So., South Fork, Pa./Forest Hills ?C 2007 All-American (Record: 4-2 NCAA/27-8 overall)
Rd. 1: WBF vs. Lou Ruggirello, Hofstra (6:19)
Rd. 2: W, 4-2 dec. Nick Gallick, Iowa State
Qtrs: L, 3-9 dec. #6 Darrell Vasquez, Cal Poly
Cn. 4: W, 9-6 dec. #12 Robert Preston, Harvard
Cn. 5: L, 1-4 dec. #8 Tyler McCormick, Missouri
7th Place: WBF vs. Andrae Hernandez, Indiana (2:38)
SEVENTH PLACE ?C SEASON COMPLETE
149: #12 Dan Vallimont, Fr., Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Twp. (3-2 NCAA/22-12 overall)
Rd. 1: W, 11-2 maj. dec. Ryan Adams, North Dakota State
Rd. 2: L, 2-10 maj. dec. #5 Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro
Cn. 2: W, 10-6 dec. Michael Roberts, Boston
Cn. 3: W, 10-6 dec. Joshua Wagner, Missouri
Cn. 4: L, 1-9 dec. Matt Coughlin, Indiana
SEASON COMPLETE
157: Bubba Jenkins, Fr., Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial (Record: 1-2 NCAA/23-12 overall)
Rd. 1: W, 15-3 maj. dec. Michael Chandler, Missouri
Rd. 2: L, 0-4 dec. #3 James Strouse, Hofstra
Cn. 1: LBF vs. #8 Seth Martin, Lock Haven (2:44)
SEASON COMPLETE
174: #4 James Yonushonis, Sr., Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola (Record: 1-2 NCAA/30-6 overall)
Rd. 1: W, 8-6 dec. Neal Martin, Appalachian State
Rd. 2: L, 1-3 dec. Rudy Rueda, American
Cn. 1: L, 3-5 dec. #7 Brandon Sinnott, Central Michigan
SEASON COMPLETE
197: #4 Phil Davis, Jr., Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg ?C 2007 All-American (Record: 4-2 NCAA/28-5 overall)
Rd. 1: W, 9-3 dec. Ryan Goodman, North Carolina State
Rd. 2: WBF vs. Travis Gardner, Oregon State (4:30)
Qtrs: W, 6-3 dec. #5 Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell
Semis: L, 4-5 dec. #9 Kurt Backes, Iowa State
Con. Semi: L, 4-5 vs. #6 J.D. Bergman, Ohio State
5th Place: W, 8-4 dec. vs. #5 Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell
FIFTH PALCE ?C SEASON COMPLETE
HWT: #2 Aaron Anspach, Sr., Columbia, Pa./Columbia ?C 2007 All-American (Record: 4-1 NCAA/22-4 overall)
Rd. 1: 13-4 maj. dec. Levon Mock, Brown
Rd. 2: 11-1 maj. dec. Joe Fendone, Edinboro
Qtrs: W, 5-4 dec. Payam Zarrinpour, Sacred Heart
Semis: W, 5-3 dec. #3 Bubba Gritter, Central Michigan
Championship Finals: LBF vs. #1 Cole Konrad, Minnesota (1:53)