University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Tied for 11th at NCAA Wrestling Championships
3/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
- Live Results
The University of Minnesota is tied for 11th place with 10 points after the first session of the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo. The Golden Gophers have nine wrestlers alive in the tournament with five athletes advancing to the second round of the championship bracket. Illinois is in the early lead with 22 points, followed by defending champion Oklahoma State with 18.
Junior All-American Bobbe Lowe led things off for Minnesota with an 11-5 decision against Christian Staylor of Arizona State. Lowe led from the beginning against Staylor and will now face sixth-seeded Kyle Ott of Illinois in the second round. Ott defeated Lowe, 9-8, in the first round of the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago.
Following three-straight first-round losses for Minnesota, two-time All-American Jacob Volkmann got the Golden Gophers back on track against Zac Fryling of West Virginia. Fryling scored an early takedown just 31 seconds into the match, but Volkmann fought back to take a 3-2 second period lead and scored the fall at 4:17. The fourth-seed in the tournament, Volkmann will meet Chris Stith of Virginia Tech in the second round. Volkmann posted a 13-0 major decision against Stith earlier this season.
Coming off a strong showing at the Big Ten Championships, junior Josh McLay moved into the second round with a 3-2 decision against Hofstra's Brad Christie. McLay scored the early takedown just 10 seconds into the match and earned an escape in the third period in the victory. McLay will look to repeat history against the tournament's top seed, Greg Jones of West Virginia. McLay knocked out the top seed in the Big Ten Championship two weeks ago.
Defending NCAA Champion Damion Hahn won his 23rd match in a row with a 12-4 major decision against Wyoming's Kevin Kessner. Leading 3-1 entering the third period, Hahn strung together four takedowns in the final two minutes to earn the bonus points for the Golden Gophers. Hahn will face Oklahoma State's Rusty Blackmon in the second round. He posted a 10-2 major decision against Blackmon in Minnesota's upset of top-ranked OSU in February.
Fifth-seeded Cole Konrad closed out the first round with a 6-1 decision against Joe Hennis of Edinboro. In control the entire match, Konrad took a 2-0 lead on a first-period takedown and added points for an escape and a stall warning in the second. He closed out the scoring with another takedown with nine seconds to go in the match.
Relegated to the consolation bracket for Minnesota are Quincy Osborn at 133, Tommy Owen at 141, Matt Nagel at 157 and Jon Duncombe at 174. Osborn and Oklahoma's Mimi Miller were scoreless following the first period, but Miller took a 2-0 lead with an early reversal in the second period. After Osborn received a point from a stall warning, Miller took over the match with a takedown and back points and won the match by a 9-2 decision. Osborn will meet Columbia's Steve Sutton in the wrestlebacks.
Owen trailed 4-2 in his match with Steve Esparza of Cal Poly, but following an Esparaza takedown in the second period, Owen was pinned at the 4:17 mark. He will face either Joey Rivera of Boston University or Blake Gunter of Wyoming in the consolation.
Nagel trailed 4-2 entering the third period of his bout with fifth-seeded Kenny Burleson of Missouri. Burleson's reversal 27 seconds into the final period propelled him to an 8-4 decision. Nagel will meet Oregon's Joey Bracamonte in the wrestlebacks.
Seeded 12th, Duncombe was the lone upset for Minnesota at 174 pounds. Duncombe led 1-0 after two periods, but Oklahoma's E.K. Waldhaus scored a pair of takedowns in the third as he earned his second win of the season over Duncombe by the score of 6-2. Duncombe will face Keith Clifton of The Citadel in the consolation.
Session II of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo., resumes at 6:30 p.m. Central.
2004 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 18-20, 2004
St. Louis, Mo.
Savvis Center
Team Standings - After Session I
1. Illinois, 22.0
2. Oklahoma State, 18.0
3. Iowa, 15.0
4t. Cornell, 14.0
4t. Michigan, 14.0
4t. Oklahoma, 14.0
7. Nebraska, 13.0
8t. Lehigh, 12.0
8t. Penn State, 12.0
10. Tennessee-Chattanooga, 11.0
11t. Minnesota, 10.0
11t. Fresno State, 10.0
11t. Northern Iowa, 10.0
Individual Results
125 - No. 11 Bobbe Lowe (1-0)
First Round - Lowe dec. Christian Staylor (Arizona State), 11-5
133 - Quincy Osborn (0-1)
First Round - Mimi Miller (Oklahoma) dec. Osborn, 9-2
141 - Tommy Owen (0-1)
First Round - Steve Esparza (Cal Poly) pinned Owen, 3:57
157 - Matt Nagel (0-1)
First Round - No. 5 Kenny Burleson (Missouri) dec. Nagel, 8-4
165 - No. 4 Jacob Volkmann (1-0)
First Round - Volkamnn pinned Zac Fryling (West Virginia), 4:17
174 - No. 12 Jon Duncombe (0-1)
First Round - E.K. Waldhous (Oklahoma) dec. Duncombe, 6-2
184 - Josh McLay (1-0)
First Round - McLay dec. Brad Christie (Hofstra), 3-2
197 - No. 1 Damion Hahn (1-0)
First Round - Hahn maj. dec. Kevin Kessner (Wyoming), 12-4
HWT - No. 5 Cole Konrad (1-0)
First Round - Konrad dec. Joe Hennis (Edinboro), 6-1
