University of Minnesota Athletics
Session I in the Books in Omaha
3/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Omaha, Neb. - The University of Minnesota wrestling team took the mat to open the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships today (Mar. 18), and through the first of six sessions, the Gophers find themselves in a three-way tie for 10th place.
Minnesota had four winners in day one, locking up 11.0 points to sit tied in 10th with Missouri and Oklahoma who also had four winners. Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.) led the charge with a pin for bonus points while Mike Thorn (St. Michael, Minn.) won by major decision. Sonny Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.) and Ben Berhow (Hayward, Minn.) notched decisions on the day.
Iowa leads the team standings with a tournament best nine winners in the first session, scoring 21.5 points in the process. Oklahoma State had seven winners and is second with 16.0 points. Central Michigan, Lehigh and Wisconsin are all tied for third with 15.0 points.
It was an up and down opening session for the Gophers, who saw five wrestlers lose matches in addition to the four winners. In the first match of the day, Zach Sanders (Wabasha, Minn.) fell, and in one stretch through the middle of the tournament Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.), Dustin Schlatter (Masillion, Ohio), Cody Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.) and Scott Glasser (Bismarck, N.D.) lost consecutive bouts.
The real loss, though, was Schlatter, who suffered a tough hit to his already hurt knee and was left unable to finish the match. The senior and three-time All-American took off the Big Ten Championships to heal and prepare for one final run at the NCAA Tournament, but instead had his effort cut short.
The four winners are still in the hunt for an NCAA title while those who suffered a defeat still have plenty to wrestle for, including third place and All-America honors. The stakes are raised though, as another loss leaves them out of the tournament. The second session gets under way at 6:30 p.m. (CT) this evening back at the Quest Center, with one match for each wrestler. When session three begins in Friday morning, though, those still in the consolation bracket will have to wrestler twice in the session to continue advancing.
The four winners are just one win away from becoming a NCAA Quarterfinalist and just two away from ensuring All-America status as a semifinalist.
Ness started the winning with yet another pin, his 19th on the year and 16th in the first period. Just 2:12 into the match, Ness had a victory over Sean Clair over Eastern Michigan, and he was on to the second round. He had now matched his pin total from last season and is one away from tying the school record mark of 20 he hit in his sophomore season. Now 27-0, Ness will move on to face Ian Paddock from Ohio State in the second round. Paddock entered the tournament unseeded after a 22-12 freshman season.
Thorn was nearly as impressive in his match, scoring a 14-2 win over Anwar Goeres of Binghamtom. Thorn won for the fifth straight time, earning bonus points for the fifth time in that stretch. Thorn led the entire way in the match en route to his team leading 10th major decision on the year. After going 0-2 at the NCAA tournament a year ago, Thorn earns his first win at the National Championships, moving on to face unseeded Germane Lindsey of Ohio.
Sonny Yohn won for the sixth time in his last seven matches, with the lone loss being in the Big Ten Championship. He will face Oklahoma State's Alan Gelogaev in the second round, after Gelogaev upset ninth seeded Chad Beatty of Iowa in overtime. Gelogaev was unseeded entering the tournament, despite ending the regular season with a No. 11 ranking.
Berhow scored his third straight win and sixth in his last seven matches. He avenged an earlier loss this season to Cal State Bakersfield's Mitch Monteiro, beating the 11th seed today in overtime 6-4. Berhow advances to face Nate Everhart from Indiana, who handed Berhow his only defeat in his last seven bouts.
The Gophers will look to advance in the brackets and move up in the team standings when Session II begins tonight.
Players Mentioned
