January 2007 Wrestling Articles

Ever heard that? Or... ever said that?

I believe one of the greatest traits that any official of any sport must have is simple courage. Courage to make the right call, at the right time, regardless of what level, who is watching, or what the consequences of such action might be.

With the above said, I do believe that 99.99% of the referees on the mat working are truly dedicated, know the rules, are 100% unbiased and apply the rules fair and square.

When I watch a wrestling match, I look… more »

Nick and Andy Simmons both record falls; heavyweight Alan O'Donnell
wins in double-overtime to secure victory.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - In a thrilling finish that came down to the
final match, the No. 23 Michigan State wrestling team held off No. 17
Michigan to secure a 21-17 victory over the Wolverines Sunday
afternoon in Jenison Field House before a season-high crowd of 2,792.
With MSU owning a slim 18-17 advantage and needing to claim the
heavyweight bout to clinch the dual, red-shirt freshman Alan O'Donnell
delivered a 2-1, double-overtime decision over Omar… more »

MADISON, Wis.- For the first time since 1965, the No. 9 Wisconsin wrestling team
(16-1-0, 2-1-0) defeated fifth-ranked Iowa 21-14 Saturday in Iowa
City. UW took six of eight bouts, including a pin by No. 13 Dallas
Herbst that sealed the Badgers' win. Wisconsin's victory is its first
in 42 matches against the Hawkeyes.

The action got started at 125 lbs., as Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.)
faced 13th-ranked Charlie Falck. Falck notched a takedown 10 seconds
into the match and never let down, defeating Cudd 12-9 after riding
time. more »

Buckeyes J Jaggers, Chris Vondruska and Mike Pucillo garner wins
COLUMBUS , Ohio ? The Ohio State wrestling team lost, 26-12, to No. 12 Penn State Friday at Rec Hall in State College, Pa. The Buckeyes (5-4; 1-1 Big Ten) received wins from J Jaggers, No. 16 Chris Vondruska and No. 3 Mike Pucillo.

OSU returns to action Sunday when it hosts No. 16 Indiana at 2 p.m. in St. John Arena. Live web streaming of the match is available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Log on to the official web site of the Ohio State Department of… more »

NORMAN, Okla., -- The No. 8/13 Oklahoma Sooners (8-4, 0-2 Big 12) were defeated by the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones (8-3, 2-0 Big 12), 27-9 Saturday night in Ames, Iowa at the Hilton Coliseum.

"We ate a lot of humble pie tonight," head coach Jack Spates said.

The Sooners were able to tie the score with Matt Storniolo's 4-0 decision over Cyler Sanderson at 149-pounds after losing the first match of the evening. This was Storniolo's first action since partially tearing his left bicep muscle against Utah Valley State on Jan. 6 at… more »

Unbeaten Illini Hit the Road for Big Ten Duals; Flores and Poeta Look to stay Perfect

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? The 11th-ranked Fighting Illini wrestling squad continues Big Ten action this weekend when they travel to East Lansing, Mich., on Friday, Jan. 26, to face off against No. 23 Michigan State. On Sunday, the Illini tangle with No. 12 Penn State in University Park, Pa. Two top-ranked and undefeated grapplers will be fighting to keep their rankings and records intact. Illinois boasts No. 1-ranked Mike Poeta (157, 15-0) while the Spartans hold Nick Simmons (133, 25-0). No. 10… more »

Cyclones and Sooners set to clash in Ames, Iowa

NORMAN, Okla., -- The No. 8/13 Oklahoma Sooners (8-3, 0-1) travel to
Ames, Iowa to wrestle the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones (7-3, 1-0) in
their first road Big 12 dual of the season, Friday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.

The Sooners come into the match after defeating the Oregon Ducks,
29-10, last Saturday at the Howard McCasland Field House. The Cyclones
opened up Big 12 action last Saturday as they defeated Nebraska,
25-12.

Last season Iowa… more »

STILLWATER, OKLA. - The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum has announced the selection of the Class of 2007 Distinguished Members to be inducted at its annual Honors Weekend Banquet and Induction Ceremony June 2, 2007 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The event will mark the 31st anniversary Class of the Hall of Fame & Museum.



Four wrestling greats will be added as Distinguished Members in 2007. They are:
Barry Davis of Madison, Wis.
Greg Gibson of Fontana, Calif.
Larry Kristoff of Bertholo, Ill.
William J. Weick of Chicago Ridge,… more »

I was all prepared to write about the great wrestling and of course the intense Iowa atmosphere the fans exhibited last weekend at the National Duals, until I met a certain young wrestler waiting with his mom to get back home from Iowa.
We were "stranded" somewhat in Iowa due to a snow and ice storm but the Good Lord does tend to work in mysterious ways and I do believe, He does truly have a plan.
As I sat in the airport, somewhat upset I was late getting home and all that went with that, the mother… more »

The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team downed No. 10
Penn State, 31-12, in its Big Ten opener on Sunday at the Sports
Pavilion. The Golden Gophers earned bonus points in four of the first
five matches, including a pin by fifth-ranked Jayson Ness over No. 2
Mark McKnight in the marquee match of the day. Ness pulled off the
upset in exciting fashion with the fall in 4:55.

Senior heavyweight Cole Konrad capped off the dual with a 5-1 victory
over No. 11 Aaron Anspach. With the win,… more »

Brester Wins Ninth Straight in NU Loss
Lincoln?197-pound wrestler Craig Brester came back to defeat
fifth-ranked Kurt Backes and win his ninth straight match, but it
wasn't enough as No. 3 Iowa State defeated the 20th-ranked Nebraska
wrestling team, 25-12, Saturday in front of 902 fans at the NU
Coliseum.

Brester trailed 3-1 at the start of the third period, but after
escaping 47 seconds into the final frame, Brester took down Backes
with 1:02 to go in the match to seal the win for the Huskers and pull
… more »

STILLWATER, OK -- The Iowa wrestling team fell to 9-2 on the season
with a 21-11 loss at Oklahoma State Friday night in Stillwater, OK.
The Cowboys improved to 10-3 on the season with the win, and extended
their winning streak in the series to eight matches. It was also
Iowa's second loss to Oklahoma State in seven days, as the Cowboys
scored a 22-13 win on January 13 at the N.W.C.A./Cliff Keen National
Duals in Cedar Falls, IA.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a solid start behind decisions from
… more »

Poeta and Flores Stay Perfect in Big Ten Season Opener
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? The Big Ten season kicked off for the No. 16
Illinois wrestling team as they upset No. 8 Northwestern, 21-13,
Friday night at Huff Hall. The Illini took six out of the ten weight
classes to avenge last season's heartbreaking three-point loss to the
Wildcats. Gabe Flores (125) and Mike Poeta (157) kept their undefeated
season intact in the victory. Ryan Lang, Northwestern's top-ranked
141-pounder didn't compete due to injury.

After dropping their first match at heavyweight,… more »

Competing in the finals of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Cliff Keen Duals, the No. 1 ranked Missouri Tigers fell to No. 2 Minnesota, 20-16, to finish with runner-up honors in the UNI Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. Despite a change in lineup and two-point lead going into the heavyweight bout, the Tigers were unable to hold on for the win.

Suffering an 11-0 loss by major decision at 125 pounds, junior All-American Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) helped bring the Tigers even with Minnesota blanking Mike Thorn, 12-0 at 133 pounds.… more »

...Missouri Advances to Title Bout of National Duals...
Cedar Falls, Iowa - For only the second time in the history of the Missouri wrestling program, the No. 1 ranked Tigers defeated fourth-ranked Oklahoma State, 27-15, to advance to the championship finals of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Cliff Keen National Duals in the UNI Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa. Missouri will take on second-ranked Minnesota at 3 p.m. (CT) in the title bout. With Missouri's win over OSU, the Tigers improved to 7-0 on the season and 32-2 all-time against Oklahoma State.
After suffering a… more »

Missouri, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Minnesota all heading to the Semis.

Did anyone count out the Cowboys? Shame on you. They came out battling and rejuvenated after a lack luster performance at Lone Star Duals. Ran through the hosts UNI and then University of Iowa and did so in front of the Iowa crowd. They now have there hands full tomorrow in the semis where they face the University of Missouri. Just goes to how you that you cant count out John Smith's cowboys.

University of Missouri defeated Penn however not after losing… more »

The second-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team (7-1) will compete in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals this weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Minnesota will face Cornell on Saturday in the first round at 11 a.m. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals at 3 p.m., to face the winner of Oklahoma and Central Michigan. The semifinals and championship match will take place on Sunday at the UNI-Dome.

The National Duals will feature the top nine teams in the nation and 12 of the top 14. In all, 13 of the 16 teams in the tournament are ranked in… more »

It was the 5th of six rounds in Arlington Texas and I was taking a break. I just taped and watched the Oklahoma dual and was getting pretty hungry. I went and got some turkey and started to get ready to relax and eat. As I was eating I was watching the HS girls championship bout at 95lbs and I noticed two things. One, the turkey at the lonestar's was some of the best turkey I ever had! and two these girls were really fun to watch.

Well I thought it was a fluke,-about the girls… more »

Johnny Hendricks is Billy the Kid, or there abouts. He?s cocky but backs everything up, and has fun while he?s doing it. But most importantly he?s a die hard Cowboy through and through.


The way Johnny Hendricks wrestles is great. He really goes out there and battles for the full seven minutes! It?s ironic to see that the one wrestler who has the most to lose-a NCAA championship-wrestles like he doesn?t have anything to lose. It?s a totally entertaining experience that you don?t see very often even from most of… more »

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan wrestling
team split 10 individual matches down the middle against No. 3 Hofstra
as the two teams teams battled to a 18-18 tie on Saturday evening (Jan.
6) in front of 871 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. It marks the first U-M tie
in two seasons as well as the first tie in the series history between
the two programs.

Kicking off the dual with the marquee match of the evening at 165
pounds, senior/junior captain Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North
… more »

NORMAN, Okla., -- The No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners hit the road to begin
2007 when they travel to Grand Prairie, Texas, to compete in the Lone
Star Duals.
The Sooners are looking to stay on the winning track after finishing
2006 with a victory against Cal Poly.
Oklahoma will be competing against Marion Military Institute, Navy and
Utah Valley State. The Sooners will take on the Marion Military
Institute in session one beginning at 8 a.m., Navy in session five at
4 p.m. and Utah Valley State in session six beginning at… more »