University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Tied for Fourth at NCAA Wrestling Championships
3/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Oklahoma State leads the tournament with 30.0 points, followed by Illinois with 28.0 and Nebraska with 25.0 Iowa and Minnesota are tied for fourth at 23.5 points and also have the most wrestlers remaining in the championship with nine apiece.
"With the seedings, we expected to get those three into the quarterfinals," head coach J Robinson said. "Tonight we fought back through consolation and managed to keep all nine guys alive. We were also able to pick up bonus points which moved us up. A lot can change tomorrow, so it's important our guys keep advancing through the wrestlebacks."
The fourth seed at 165, Volkmann continued his recent domination with his 13th win in a row. Leading 9-2 in the third period, Volkmann got his second straight pin in the tournament at 6:43 against Virginia Tech's Chris Stith. Volkmann will face fifth-seeded Pat Owen of Michigan in tomorrow morning's quarterfinals. The two split their previous matches, but Volkmann prevailed 9-7 in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships.
"The first two matches of a tournament are always tough for me," Volkmann said. "I always have to battle through jitters. I was able wear him (Stith) down late in the third period and that was the difference. It's just important for all of us to keep on winning."
Hahn cruised into the championship quarterfinals with a 13-4 major decision against Oklahoma State's Rusty Blackmon. Leading 2-0 entering the second period, Hahn took over with a reversal to start the period. He would add a takedown with back points to extend his lead to 10-3. Hahn finished the match with more than three minutes of riding time. Hahn will take his 24-match winning streak into the quarterfinals against Josh Birt of Pittsburgh.
Konrad joined the Minnesota seniors in the quarterfinals with his third win of the season against Iowa's Ryan Fuller by the score of 6-0. Following a scoreless first period, Konrad took a 1-0 lead on an escape six seconds into the period and used a double-leg takedown at 1:36 of the second to extend the lead to 3-0. Konrad will face fourth-seeded Leonce Crump of Oklahoma tomorrow morning.
Junior Josh McLay nearly pulled of the biggest upset of the tournament at 184 against top-ranked Greg Jones of West Virginia. Scoreless after one period, McLay began the second with an early escape to take a 1-0 lead. Jones matched the escape to start the third period and the two remained tied until late in the match. It was Jones that would come out on top though with his takedown with 14 seconds to go in the match.
Junior All-American Bobbe Lowe faced a familiar foe in the second round of the championship bracket. Two weeks after defeating Lowe in the first round of the Big Ten Championships, sixth-seeded Kyle Ott of Illinois earned a 9-4 decision at 125 pounds. Ott pulled away in the second period on the strength of a pair of takedowns to take a 6-4 lead into the third period. Ott earned a point with an escape to begin the final period and kept Lowe off the scoreboard to take the win.
Redshirt freshman Quincy Osborn rebounded from a first round defeat with an 11-3 major decision against Columbia's Steve Sutton at 133 pounds. Leading 2-0 after two periods, Osborn broke the match open in the third with four takedowns to earn the bonus point.
Sophomore Tommy Owen also advanced in consolation at 141 pounds in dominating fashion. Owen scored a 15-0 technical fall against Boston University's Joey Rivera. Owen led 5-0 after the first period with nearly three minutes in riding time. He finished with 4:50 in time advantage with back points in the final seconds of the match to earn the bonus points.
Sophomore Matt Nagel looked to be in control of his consolation match against Oregon's Joey Bracamonte at 157 pounds. Nagel led 7-4 in the third and was just seconds away from a riding time bonus. Bracamonte scored the reversal to pull within one at 7-6 with less than 40 seconds to go in the match. Nagel got the escape and put the match away with a takedown with six seconds to go in a 10-6 decision.
12th-seeded Jon Duncombe will continue on in the consolation bracket at 174 pounds following a medical forfeit by Keith Clifton from The Citadel.
Session III of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo., resumes at 10 a.m. Central. Championship quarterfinals will be held, along with more of the consolation matches.
2004 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 18-20, 2004
St. Louis, Mo.
Savvis Center
Team Standings - After Day One
1. Oklahoma State, 30.0
2. Illinois, 28.0
3. Nebraska, 25.0
4t. Minnesota, 23.5
4t. Iowa, 23.5
6. Lehigh, 23.0
7. Iowa State, 22.0
8. Michigan, 21.5
9t. Oklahoma, 20.0
9t. Cornell, 20.0
Tonight's results
125 - No. 11 Bobbe Lowe (1-1)
Second Round - No. 6 Kyle Ott (Illinois) dec. Lowe, 9-4
133 - Quincy Osborn (1-1)
Consolation - Osborn maj. dec. Steve Sutton (Columbia), 11-3
141 - Tommy Owen (1-1)
Consolation - Owen tech. fall Joey Rivera (Boston), 15-0
157 - Matt Nagel (1-1)
Consolation - Nagel dec. Joey Bracamonte (Oregon), 10-6
165 - No. 4 Jacob Volkmann (2-0)
Second Round - Volkmann pinned Chris Stith (Virginia Tech), 6:43
174 - No. 12 Jon Duncombe (1-1)
Consolation - Duncombe wins by med. forfeit over Keith Clifton (The Citadel)
184 - Josh McLay (1-1)
Second Round - No. 1 Greg Jones (West Virginia) dec. McLay, 3-1
197 - No. 1 Damion Hahn (2-0)
Second Round - Hahn maj. dec. Rusty Blackmon (Oklahoma State), 13-4
HWT - No. 5 Cole Konrad (2-0)
Second Round - Konrad dec. Ryan Fuller (Iowa), 6-0
