University of Minnesota Athletics
WR: Golden Gopher Wrestlers Place Fifth at NCAAs
3/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The Golden Gophers finished with 72.5 team points. Oklahoma State crowned five individual champions and ran away with the team race with 153.0 points. It is the Cowboy’s third straight national title. Michigan placed second with 83.0 points, followed by Oklahoma with 77.5 and Cornell with 76.5. Big Ten Champion Illinois finished in sixth place with 70.5 points.
“Obviously you are never satisfied when you don’t win, but to finish in the top five with such a young team, that’s quite an accomplishment,” head coach J Robinson said. “I was proud of the way Cole wrestled tonight. For him to have two top-four finishes at nationals in his first two years, it says a lot about how talented and dedicated he is.”
In the final match of the tournament, Konrad went toe-to-toe with Mocco. After a scoreless first period that saw Konrad be the aggressor, Mocco started the second period down and took a 1-0 lead with an early escape. Midway through the period, Konrad was able to life Mocco’s leg, but was unable to finish. Konrad began the third period with an escape to tie the match and eventually send it into overtime. In the first sudden victory overtime period, Mocco used his patented leg sweep to earn the title. With Konrad’s right leg lifted in the air, Mocco spun him to the ground to earn his second national title and extended his consecutive win streak to 71 matches.
“I was able to get a hold of his leg a couple of times during the match, but I just couldn’t finish,” Konrad said. “In overtime he switched it up on me. He usually sweeps with the left leg and I was caught off guard. I felt good going into the match, but just couldn’t finish.”
A native of Freedom, Wis., Konrad finished an outstanding sophomore season with a 41-3 record. Konrad’s 29-win match streak, which was snapped tonight, is the sixth-longest in school history. He is one of just seven wrestlers in school history to reach 40 wins and his total ranks fourth all-time. After finishing fourth as a freshman last year, he is now a two- time All-American. Minnesota has had an All-American heavyweight in 10 of the last 11 years.
The Golden Gophers conclude the 2004-05 season with four All-Americans in Konrad, senior Bobbe Lowe, junior Matt Nagel and freshman Mack Reiter. Minnesota will return three All-Americans and nine NCAA qualifiers next season. The Golden Gophers earned a top-five finish at the NCAA Championships for the 14th time in history and the eighth time in the last nine years.
Final Team Scores
1. Oklahoma State, 153.0
2. Michigan, 83.0
3. Oklahoma, 77.5
4. Cornell, 76.5
5. Minnesota, 72.5
6. Illinois, 70.5
7. Iowa, 66.0
8. Lehigh, 60.0
9. Iowa State, 57.0
10. Indiana, 54.5
NCAA Championship Finals
125 - #5 Joe Dubuque (Indiana) dec. #3 Kyle Ott (Illinois), 2-0
133 - #1 Travis Lee (Cornell) dec. #2 Shawn Bunch (Edinboro), 6-3
141 - #2 Teyon Ware (Oklahoma) dec. #1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State), 3-2
149 - #1 Zack Esposito (Oklahoma State) dec. #2 Phillip Simpson (Army), 5-2
157 - #2 Ryan Bertin (Michigan) dec. #8 Joe Johnston (Iowa), 8-5
165 - #3 Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State) dec. #4 Mark Perry (Iowa), 5-2
174 - #1 Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State) dec. #2 Ben Askren (Missouri), 10-5
184 - #1 Greg Jones (West Virginia) dec. #7 Tyler Baier (Cornell), 5-3
197 - #2 Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) dec. #5 Sean Stender (Northern Iowa), 5-4
HWT - #1 Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State) dec. #2 Cole Konrad (MN), 3-1 SV1
Golden Gopher All-Americans
125 – Bobbe Lowe (7th Place)
133 – Mack Reiter (4th Place)
165 – Matt Nagel (6th Place)
HWT – Cole Konrad
Final Golden Gopher Individual Results
125 - #8 Bobbe Lowe
1st Round – Lowe tech. fall Brandon Strong (Air Force), 20-5
2nd Round – #9 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) dec. Lowe, 4-3
Consolation – Lowe dec. Chris Helgeson (UNI), 5-2
Consolatoin – Lowe dec. Adam Smith (Penn State), 4-3
Consolation - #6 Efren Ceballos (CS Bakersfield) dec. Lowe, 8-6
Seventh Place – Lowe dec. #9 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State), 7-3
Seventh Place with a 4-2 Record
133 - #3 Mack Reiter
1st Round – Reiter dec. Jesse Sundell (Iowa State), 5-0
2nd Round – Reiter dec. Dominick Moyer (Nebraska), 7-5
Quarterfinals – Reiter dec. Chad Mendes (Cal Poly), 8-3
Semifinals - #2 Shawn Bunch dec. Reiter, 6-4
Consolation – Reiter pinned #10 Matt Sanchez (CS Bakersfield), 1:18
Third Place - #5 Tom Clum (Wisconsin) dec. Reiter, 2-1
Fourth Place with a 4-2 Record
141 – Tommy Owen
1st Round - #11 Michael Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. Owen, 13-5
Consolation – Nate Gulosh (Navy) pinned Owen, 5:28
0-2 Record
149 – Quincy Osborn
1st Round - #3 Dustin Manott (Cornell) tech. fall Osborn, 18-3
Consolation – Osborn pinned Isaac Knable (Indiana), 2:24
Consolation - #8 Ben Cherrington (Boise State0 dec. Osborn, 4-0
1-2 Record
157 – C.P. Schlatter
1st Round – Schlatter dec. #9 Derek Zinck (Lehigh), 7-4
2nd Round – #8 Joe Johnston (Iowa) dec. Schlatter, 5-3
Consolation – Schlatter dec. Eric Neil (Central Michigan), 6-2
Consolation – Schlatter dec. Brad Cieleski (Missouri), 8-3
Consolation - #10 Brian Stith (Arizona State) dec. Schlatter, 3-1
3-2 record
165 - #10 Matt Nagel
1st Round – Nagel pinned Jim Bertulis (Bloomsburg), 1:40
2nd Round - #7 Jacob Klein (Nebraska) dec. Nagel, 2-1
Consolation – Nagel maj. dec. Brody Barrios (Cal Poly), 9-1
Consolation – Nagel dec. Matt Ellis (Oregon State), 3-0
Consolation – Nagel dec. #8 Travis Paulson (Iowa State), 2-1
Consolation - #2 Ryan Churella (Michigan) tech. fall Nagel, 16-0; 5:26
Fifth Place - #6 Jon Sioredas (Chattanooga) pinned Nagel, 6:07
Sixth Place with a 4-3 Record
174 – Gabriel Dretsch
1st Round – Dretsch dec. Joe Lowe (UNC Greensboro), 7-3
2nd Round - #3 Pete Friedl (Illinois) pinned Dretsch, 1:32
Consolation – Kelly Flaherty (Wisconsin) pinned Dretsch, 6:46
1-2 Record
184 - #10 Roger Kish
1st Round – Kish tech. fall Ron Howard (Cleveland State), 23-7
2nd Round - #7 Tyler Baier (Cornell) dec. Kish, 4-2
Consolation – Kish dec. T.J. Morrison (Rider), 10-7
Consolation – Kish dec. Frank Cornely (Duke), 7-2
Consolation – Matt Pell (Missouri) dec. Kish, 10-7
3-2 Record
197 – Matt Koz
1st Round – Koz pinned Landon Seefeldt (CS Fullerton), 4:12
2nd Round – Daren Burns (UNCG) dec. Koz, 4-3 2OT (on criteria)
Consolation – Ryan Flaherty (Wisconsin) dec. Koz, 7-5
1-2 Record
HWT - #2 Cole Konrad
1st Round – Konrad maj. dec. Dusty Hoffschneider (Wyoming), 12-4
2nd Round – Konrad maj. dec. Tyler Shovlin (Cornell), 13-5
Quarterfinals – Konrad dec. #10 Scott Coleman (Iowa State), 3-2
Semifinals – Konrad dec. #3 Cain Velasquez (Arizona State), 6-2
Finals - #1 Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State) dec. Konrad, 3-1 SV1
Second Place with a 4-1 record
