March 22, 2008
| Senior Mark McKnight turned Iowa's Charlie Falck to his back and walked away with a 7-5 win over the Hawkeye during a 1-1 morning at nationals. McKnight went 6-2 during his All-America run to place fourth at 125 as an unseeded wrestler. |
St. Louis, Mo.; - With two teammates waiting in the wings for the national finals, Penn State wrestling All-Americans Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) and Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) took to the mats in the medal rounds, looking to place as high as third. The All-American pair combined to go 3-1 and collected eight more team points, keeping Penn State in a mad race for second place at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Vallimont went 2-0 to place third at 157, wrestling to his seed and ending a superb year 32-3 mark. He began opened up the morning round with a thrilling 2-1 win over defending national champion and top-seeded Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro. He then downed Indiana's Brandon Becker 5-4 to claim third place.
McKnight notched a huge win in his first action of the session, taking down Iowa's Charlie Falck, the No. 5 seed, by a 7-5 score. The win was McKnight's fifth in a row and sixth of the tournament. His hot run ended in the third place bout as defending national champion Paul Donahoe of Nebraska grabbed a hard-fought 6-3 decision. McKnight posted a 6-2 record in his final run at nationals, finally claiming the All-America honor and finishing fourth as an unseeded wrestler at 125.
McKnight and Vallimont went 3-1 on the day, giving Penn State a 24-9 overall mark through five sessions. Penn State now sits in fourth place (tied with Ohio State) with 71.0 points. The Lions are just three points behind second place Nebraska (74.) and one point behind third place Iowa State (72.0). Iowa leads the team race with 109.5 points. The Nittany Lions have four All-Americans for the first time since 2003 and its team point total of 71.0 is already the sixth highest in school history.
Sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) and senior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) will take part in the national finals at 149 and 197 tonight, looking to claim elusive national crowns. The championship finals are at 7:30 p.m. Central and will air live on ESPN. This year's tournament is being held in St. Louis' Scottrade Center.
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Senior 125-pounder Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), an unseeded All-American at 125, faced 5th seed Charlie Falck of Iowa in the medal round at 125. Falck forced the first scramble, getting in on McKnight's leg and looking for an early takedown. But McKnight scrambled underneath the Hawkeye and forced a stalemate at the 2:12 mark. Falck got in deep on McKnight's left leg and initiated another scramble, but this time McKnight's counter was more than the first time. He stepped behind Falck and turned the Hawkeye grappler for two back points and a 4-0 lead with 1:26 left in the period. Falck managed to escape to a 4-1 deficit with McKnight having :58 in riding time. Down 4-1, Falck chose down to start the second period. McKnight immediately worked his way into a near cradle position, almost turning Falck again. But the Hawkeye managed to work his way out of trouble and almost reversed McKnight. The Lion did not give up any points and Falck escaped to a 4-2 deficit with just over 1:00 left in the period. McKnight's riding time edge sat at 1:55. Falck forced a fierce scramble on the edge of the mat that nearly resulted in a takedown, but the official waved off any points for Falck and McKnight carried his 4-2 lead into the final period. Up by two, McKnight chose down to start the final period and was allowed up to a 5-2 lead, but he was hit with a stall warning in the process. The Nittany Lion then countered a quick Falck shot and forced another scramble that led to a quick takedown for the Hawkeye, cutting McKnight's lead to 5-4. A quick second stall call briefly tied the score at 5-5 until Falck let McKnight up to a 6-5 lead with less than :30 left. McKnight then kept the 5th seeded Hawkeye at a distance to close out the bout and, with his riding time point, posted a stunning 7-5 win. The victory, McKnight's sixth of the tournament, moves him into the consolation championship bout against No. 3 seed and defending national champion Paul Donahoe of Nebraska. The unseeded Nittany Lion would finish no lower than fourth.
In the consolation final against Donahoe, the duo battled evenly through the first minute, with neither man getting an edge. But Donahoe quickly stepped behind McKnight to take a 2-0 lead with 1:19 left. McKnight escaped after a brief struggle, cutting the Husker's lead to 2-1 heading into the second period. Up by one, the defending champion chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Donahoe then completed a double-leg on the edge of the mat to up his lead to 5-1 with a takedown at the 1:12 mark. McKnight escaped with :58 left to cut the NU lead to 5-2 and began looking for his first takedown. McKnight shot low on Donahoe's ankles after a reset at the :25 mark, but Donahoe forced a stalemate and kept his 5-2 lead heading into the final period. McKnight chose down to begin the third period and needed to escape quickly to both get a point and avoid giving Donahoe a riding time edge. The Lion did escape to a 5-3 deficit, but not before Donahoe built up a 1:06 riding time edge. McKnight could not break through Donahoe's solid defensive style and dropped hard-fought 6-3 decision. The loss, however, did not dampen a stunning tournament run that ended with a 6-2 mark in the tournament and a fourth-place finish. The four-time qualifier, now All-American, ends his senior season with a 19-11 record. He went 107-45 in four years (the first two at Buffalo).
157: All-American Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), the 3rd seed at 157, met defending national champion and No. 1 seed Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro in the medal round, looking to move into the consolation finals with a shot at third place. Still stinging from his close loss in the semifinals last night, Vallimont took the opening shots against Gillespie, but the Fighting Scot stepped away from each. At the 1:34 mark, Vallimont completed a high single but could not finish as the defending titlist broke free to keep things scoreless two minutes into the opening period. Vallimont's offensive efforts paid off, however. With just :12 left, the Nittany Lion got in on Gillespie's leg and with just :02 left, he lifted the Scot off the mat and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown as the period ended. Down by two, Gillespie chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 2-1 deficit. Vallimont was solid over the course of the second, taking smart shots and, while not scoring, keeping Gillespie from any serious scoring chances. Up 2-1, Vallimont chose neutral to star the final period. Gillespie took his first real shot at the 1:40 mark, nearly working his way behind Vallimont. But the Nittany Lion moved to the side and out of bounds to force a reset with 1:25 left in the bout. Vallimont shot low on Gillespie's right ankle, getting in on the Scot with :45 left. Gillespie forced a scramble that resulted in a reset with :28 left. Vallimont then kept Gillespie at a distance to kill the clock and post a 2-1 victory over the defending national champion. His win moves him into the consolation finals where he will meet No. 4 seed Brandon Becker of Indiana with third place on the line.
In the third place bout against Becker, Vallimont quickly took the Hoosier down for a 2-0 lead at the 2:00 mark and nearly turned him for a fall. But Becker was able to fight off Vallimont's efforts and gave up no back points to keep things close. The Nittany Lion sophomore then put together a very strong ride, dominating Becker and looking for an opening to turn him. Becker rolled out of Vallimont's grasp at the :52 mark to cut the Lion's lead to 2-1. Vallimont had amassed 1:28 in riding time. Vallimont wasted no time in getting in deep on Becker again, forcing a scramble in the middle of the mat as the period wound down. But Becker deftly forced a scramble that effectively killed the clock. Down by one, Becker chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 2-2 tie with 1:40 left in the bout. Vallimont forced a wild scramble with :38 left in the period that nearly resulted in a takedown for each wrestler. But action moved out of the circle and the match remained deadlocked 2-2 heading into the third period. With a riding time point in hand, Vallimont chose neutral to start the period and quickly got in deep on Becker's waste. But Becker once again was strong on defense and forced a stalemate at the 1:18 mark. Another Vallimont shot led to a bout clinching takedown with :52 left and the Lion nearly pinned Becker but did not get the quick call. Becker did manage a reversal of Vallimont as the Nittany Lion worked for a pin, but the 4-4 tie was brief as Vallimont's riding time edge gave him the 5-4 win. In his first season at 157, Vallimont wrestled to his seed with a third place finish. He went 5-1 to earn his first ever All-America tag and ends his sophomore year with a 32-3 record.
2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Team Standings - After Session 5
1: Iowa - 109.5
2: Nebraska - 74.0
3: Iowa State - 72.0
4: PENN STATE - 71.0
4: Ohio State - 71.0
6: Michigan - 69.0
6: Central Michigan - 69.0
8: Oklahoma State - 66.0
9: Cornell 63.0
10: Minnesota - 61.5
Penn State's record overall: 24-9
Penn State Agate (All # are tournament seeds)
125 -- Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette), Sr. - ALL-AMERICAN - 4TH PLACE - SEASON COMPLETE
Tournament Record: 6-2 - Overall Record now: 19-11
Rd. 1: W, 5-1 dec. #12 Tyler Shinn, Oklahoma State
Rd. 2: L, 2-5 dec. #5 Charlie Falck, Iowa
Cn. Rd. 2: W, 6-2 dec. Marcos Orozco, UC-Davis
Cn. Rd. 3: W, 7-3 dec. Eric Morrill, Edinboro
Rd. of 12: W, 5-4 (tb) #6 Gabe Flores, Illinois
Cn. Qtrs: W, 3-1 (sv) dec. #10 James Nicholson, Old Dominion
Cn. Semi: W, 7-5 dec. #5 Charlie Falck, Iowa
Cn. Finals: L, 3-6 dec. #3 Paul Donahoe, Nebraska
141 - Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley), #12 seed, Fr. - Round of 12 - SEASON COMPLETE
Tournament Record: 3-2 - Overall Record now: 21-7
Rd. 1: WBF over Carter Downing, Wyoming (3:32)
Rd. 2: L, 5-8 dec. #5 Manuel Rivera, Minnesota
Cn. Rd. 2: W, 4-2 dec.. #11 Keith Sulzer, Northwestern
Cn. Rd. 3: W, 14-6 maj. dec. Adam Frey, Cornell
Rd. of 12: LBF vs. Matt Kyler, Army (6:43)
149 - Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial), #6 seed, So. - ALL-AMERICAN
Tournament Record: 4-0 - Overall Record now: 26-5
Rd. 1: W, 15-5 maj. dec. Bryce Saddoris, Navy
Rd. 2: W, 4-3 dec. #11 Ryan Lang, Northwestern
Qtrs: W, 5-3 dec. #3 J.P. O'Connor, Harvard, tomorrow morning
Semis: W, 12-8 dec. vs. #7 Darrion Caldwell, North Carolina State, tonight
FINALS: vs. #1 Brent Metcalf, Iowa, tomorrow night, 7:30 p.m. Central, ESPN
157 - Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Twp.), #3 seed, So. - ALL-AMERICAN - 3RD PLACE - SEASON COMPLETE
Tournament Record: 5-1 - Overall Record now: 32-3
Rd. 1: W, 8-6 (sv) dec. Seth Garvin, Chattanooga
Rd. 2: W, 10-7 dec. Steven Brown, Central Michigan
Qtrs: W, 7-5 dec. #11 Tyler Sherfey, Boise State
Semis: L, 5-6 dec. #2 Mike Poeta, Illinois
Cn. Semi: W, 2-1 dec. #1 Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro Cn. FINALS: W, 5-4 dec. #4 Brandon Becker, Indiana
165 - Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), So. - SEASON COMPLETE
Tournament Record: 2-2 - Overall Record now: 17-16
Rd. 1: L, 1-3 dec. #12 Jarrod King, Edinboro
Cn. Rd. 1: W, 14-5 maj. dec. Ryan Patrovich, Hofstra
Cn. Rd. 2: W, 12-0 (sv) dec. #11 Kurt Gross, Kent State
Cn. Rd. 3: L, 2-9 dec. Patrick Pitsch, Arizona State
184 - Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata), Jr. - SEASON COMPLETE
Tournament Record: 0-2 - Overall Record now: 19-10
Rd. 1: LBF vs. #12 Jack Jensen, Oklahoma State
Cn. Rd. 1: L, 2-4 dec. #5 seed Josh Weitzel, Oklahoma
197 - Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg), #2 seed, Sr. - ALL-AMERICAN
Tournament Record: 4-0 - Overall Record now: 25-1
Rd. 1: WBF over Riley Orozco, Cal-State Bakersfield (1:47)
Rd. 2: W, 9-2 dec. Logan Brown, Purdue
Qtrs: W, 7-3 dec. #7 Hudson Taylor, Maryland tomorrow morning
Semis: W, 6-0 dec. #6 Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin
FINALS: vs. #4 Wynn Michalak, Central Michigan, tomorrow night, 7:30 p.m. Central, ESPN