University of Minnesota Athletics
NO. 2 WRESTLERS ARE IN SECOND AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
3/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
In the first semifinal match of the evening, sophomore Leroy Vega faced Iowa's Jody Strittmatter. After two periods of wrestling, Strittmatter held a 5-0 lead. At the start of the third period, Vega scored ona quick takedown and received a point after Strittmatter's second stall warning. Strittmatter held on to win the match with an 8-5 decision. At 133 pounds, junior Brett Lawrence ended up with No. 1-ranked Eric Juergens of Iowa. Juergens only scored two points on Lawrence after the first period. After two periods the score was 3-0 with Juergens earning one additional point on the escape. Juergens scored another takedown with 40 seconds remaining to win the match with a 5-1 decision.
The next semifinalist was redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence, seeded first at 149 pounds. Lawrence wrestled the No. 4 seeded Mike Kulczycki from Michigan. Lawrence struck first with a takedown in the first period. Lawrence scored another takedown late in the first period and then again midway through the second period to lead 7-2. In the third period, Lawrence scored an addition point to win the match 8-3. Lawrence will wrestle Illinois' Adam Tirapelle in the championship match. The last time a freshman has won a Big Ten title at Minnesota was Keith Nix in 1988.
Following Lawrences' victory at 149 pounds, the other redshirt freshman in the Golden Gopher lineup, Luke Becker, the No. 2 seed, faced the No. 3 seeded Gray Maynard. The score was 2-1 in the middle of the second period with Maynard earning two points on a nearfall. At the end of two periods of wrestling, the score had not changed with Maynard leading 2-1. Becker earned a quick takedown and a nearfall to lead 6-4 before Maynard earned a takedown to tie the match 6-6 with just under a minute remaining in the match. With just 12 seconds remaining in the match, Becker put Maynard on his back to earn the victory with a pin in 6:48.
Junior Brad Pike was next at 165 pounds. The No. 2 seed faced the No. 3 seed Pete Rogers of Ohio State. After two periods, the match remained scoreless. In the second period, Rogers scored one point on the escape to lead 1-0. Pike earned a point on an escape as well to tie the score at 1-1 with just a little over a minute remaining. Pike scored a late reversal and Rogers earned a point for riding time, giving Pike a close 3-2 victory. Pike will wrestle No. 1 seed Don Pritzlaff from Wisconsin tomorrow afternoon.
At 184 pounds senior Brandon Eggum continued to move through the brackets with ease. The No. 1 seed faced the No. 5 seed Jeff Knupp of Penn State. At the end of one period of competition, the scored remained tied at zero. Eggum was the first to score in the second period with one point on an escape. At the end of the second period, Eggum extended his lead to 3-0 with 1:06 advantage in riding time. Eggum held on to win the match with a 6-1 decision. He will face the third-seeded Nate Patrick of Illinois in the championship final tomorrow afternoon. Eggum will be trying for his second consecutive Big Ten title.
Sophomore Owen Elzen, seeded fifth, faced the No. 1seed Nick Muzashvili of Michigan State in the semifinals. Muzashvili took care of Elzen in just 1:50 with a pin. In the heavyweight match, senior Brock Lesnar faced Illinois' John Lockhart for the first time this season. At the end of the first period, the score remained tied at zero. After two periods, there was still no score, but Lesnar had accumulated over a minute of riding time. Early in the third, Lesnar scored his first point on an escape. Lesnar held on to win the match with a 2-1 decision. Lesnar will face the No. 1 seed Wes Hand of Iowa tomorrow afternoon in the championship match. Lesnar will also attempt to win his second consecutive Big Ten championship match.
Senior Delaney Berger was the lone Golden Gopher to compete in the wrestlebacks this evening. Berger faced No. 7 Joel Walker of Ohio State at 174 pounds. Berger squeaked out a 9-7 victory over Walker to advance to the third place match tomorrow afternoon against No. 1 seeded Kole Clauson of Wisconsin.
RECAP FROM FIRST SESSION In the first round of competition, all 10 Golden Gophers advanced with four of them advancing on an automatic bye. Vega defeated Wisconsin's Tony Black with a 12-4 major decision at 125 pounds. At 133 pounds, Lawrence, seeded fourth, pinned Indiana's Gabe Cook in 4:10. Following him was Erikson, seeded fourth at 141 pounds, with a 15-7 major decision over Sean Peterson of Ohio State.
After four byes, Eggum, seeded No. 1 at 184 pounds, won his first round match with a 15-4 major decision over Wisconsin's Brad Marten. At 197 pounds, fifth-seeded Elzen advanced with an 11-2 major decision over Mark Colegrove of Purdue. At heavyweight Lesnar moved into the second round with a pin in 2:31 over Indiana's Michael Dixon.
In the second round of action, Vega defeated sixth-seeded Ryan Escobar 4-3 to move into the semifinals. Lawrence also decisioned Ohio State's Scott Moore 14-7. Minnesota's first loss on the afternoon came at 141 pounds with Michigan's Damion Logan pinning Chad Erikson. At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence, the No. 1 seed, pinned eighth seed Brent Narkiewicz of Penn State in 6:02 to advance to the semifinals. At 157 pounds redshirt freshman Luke Becker defeated Northwestern's Drew Pariano with a 10-2 major decision to advance to the semifinal round.
Junior Brad Pike decisioned seventh-seeded Jason Rawls of Michigan with an 8-2 score. Pike advanced to the semifinal round. Senior Delaney Berger, the sixth seed, faced No. 3 seed Gabe McMahan of Iowa in his first match of the afternoon. Berger came up way short, losing the match with a 13-5 major decision. Eggum defeated Northwestern's Tom Ciezki 19-7 to advance to the semifinal round at 184 pounds. Elzen, seeded fifth at 197 pounds, defeated fourth-seeded Pat Quirk of Ilinois with a close 6-5 decision. At heavyweight, Lesnar defeated Penn State's Mark Janus 8-1 to advance to the semifinals.
Erikson was the lone Golden Gopher to compete in the first round of the wrestlebacks this afternoon. Purdue's Luis Blanco pinned Erikson in a controversial pin in 57 seconds.
2000 Big Ten Wrestling Championships Purdue University West Lafayette, Ind. ** All rankings are seeding placements Team Scores after Day One 1. Iowa 116.00 2. Minnesota 109 3. Illinois 72 4. Michigan State 66 5. Northwestern 42 6. Michigan 41 7. Ohio State 40 8. Penn State 36.5 9. Wisconsin 31 10. Indiana 30 11. Purdue 14.5 First Round Minnesota Matches 125 - No. 3 Leroy Vega (MINN) maj. dec. Tony Black (WIS) 12-4 133 - No. 4 Brett Lawrence (MINN) pinned Gabe Cooke (IND) 4:10 141 - No. 4 Chad Erikson (MINN) maj. dec. Sean Peterson (OSU) 15-7 149 - No. 1 Jared Lawrence (MINN) Bye 157 - No. 2 Luke Becker (MINN) Bye 165 - No. 2 Brad Pike (MINN) Bye 174 - No. 6 Delaney Berger (MINN) Bye 184 - No. 1 Brandon Eggum (MINN) maj. dec. Brad Marten (WIS) 15-4 197 - No. 5 Owen Elzen (MINN) maj. dec. Mark Colegrove (PUR) 11-2 HWT - No. 2 Brock Lesnar (MINN) pinned Michael Dixon (IND) 2:31 Second Round Minnesota Matches 125 - No. 3 Leroy Vega (MINN) dec. No. 6 Ryan Escobar (ILL) 4-3 133 - No. 4 Brett Lawrence (MINN) dec. No. 5 Scott Moore (OSU) 14-7 141 - No. 5 Damion Logan (MICH) pinned No. 4 Chad Erikson (MINN) 1:13 149 - No. 1 Jared Lawrence (MINN) pinned No. 8 Brent Narkiewicz (PSU)6:02 157 - No. 2 Luke Becker (MINN) maj. dec. No. 7 Drew Pariano (NW) 10-2 165 - No. 2 Brad Pike (MINN) dec. No. 7 Jason Rawls (MICH) 8-2 174 - No. 3 Gabe McMahan (IOWA) maj. dec. No. 6 Delaney Berger (MINN) 13-5 184 - No. 1 Brandon Eggum (MINN) maj. dec. No. 8 Tom Ciezki (NW) 19-7 197 - No. 5 Owen Elzen (MINN) dec. No. 4 Pat Quirk (ILL) 6-5 HWT - No. 2 Brock Lesnar (MINN) dec. No. 7 Mark Janus (PSU) 8-1 First Round of Wrestlebacks 141 - Luis Blanco (PUR) pinned No. 4 Chad Erikson (MINN) 0:57 Semifinals 125 - No. 2 Jody Strittmatter (IOWA) dec. No. 3 Leroy Vega (MINN) 8-5 133 - No. 1 Eric Juergens (IOWA) dec. No. 4 Brett Lawrence (MINN) 5-1 149 - No. 1 Jared Lawrence (MINN) dec. No. 4 Mike Kulczycki (MICH) 7-2 157 - No. 2 Luke Becker (MINN) pinned No. 3 Gray Maynard (MSU) 6:48 165 - No. 2 Brad Pike (MINN) dec. No. 3 Pete Rogers (OSU) 3-2 184 - No. 1 Brandon Eggum (MINN) dec. No. 5 Jeff Knupp (PSU) 6-1 197 - No. 1 Nick Muzashvili (MSU) pinned No. 5 Owen Elzen (MINN) 1:50 HWT - No. 2 Brock Lesnar (MINN) dec. No. 3 John Lockhart (ILL) 2-1 Wrestlebacks 174 - No. 6 Delaney Berger (MINN) dec. No. 7 Joel Walker (OSU) 9-7
