Minutes after Jake Varner's loss in the 184-pound finals, members of the media converged on Cael Sanderson to question him after the team's fifth-place finish.
Sanderson didn't know of the team's final placement and hadn't spoke to Varner. But the second-year coach gave his reaction to the conclusion of his standout pupil's defeat.
"Obviously he's upset; he's a competitor. You know, he wrestled hard, you know. He's got nothing to hang his head about. He's got to get ready, keep his head up and get ready for next year," Sanderson said. "I mean, he had a great year. He's going into his junior year - he's a two-time NCAA finalist, you know, that doesn't happen very often.
“He's a great leader for our team; he's doing a phenomenal job. I'm extremely proud of him, and I told him that going in, you know, just go out there and wrestle hard, and he did. You know, he was real close. It's sports, sometimes the ball doesn't roll your way."
Varner's loss cast a distinctly somber the ISU wrestling team's 2008 NCAA Tournament. Sanderson, assistant coach Tim Hartung, and several wrestlers thought the team performed well, but just did not finish as well as hoped.
Here are several other thoughts from Sanderson, Hartung, and 141-pounder Nick Gallick, who finished fifth.
Iowa State assistant coach Tim Hartung
HIS FEELINGS ON THE TOURNAMENT
"Seven All-Americans is something to be proud of. I think it would have helped a lot of our guys in that round of All-American last year to break through, because it changes your expectations this year. Everybody, I think, coming in always says they want to be a national champion, which I'm sure they all do, but realistically it's hard to take that first step into being a national champ without being in that top-8, so I think it would have helped Zabriskie, Fanthorpe and Sanderson if they could have gotten in there last year.
But, you know, we always just ask the best effort out of these guys. We always try to keep it simple. And up and down the line we can't fault the guys on their effort. There is work to be done: guys have to get better, take care of different areas, whether it is anxiety and nerves and stress, or whether it is learning better skills for offensive attacks, but what are you going to do. Everyone else wrestled well too. I mean, you come in against a team like Iowa, which was the favorite, and they would have had to falter. And they - you look at them individually in weight classes. I'm sure they would have liked to do better in some weights, but didn't falter as a team. They wrestled well, and that's how it ended up. And a lot of other programs did the same. Ohio State, they were looking real good.”
“Our guys wrestled hard, and we have a young team, so we have a great nucleus of six All-Americans coming back next year, so it's just back to the drawing board right away."
ON COMING BACK NEXT SEASON
If you don't get what you want right now, you look to what you can do next year. The thing that sucks is that it is 360-some days [until the next NCAA Tournament], but that's the way athletics go. You've just got to use the experience that you gained this year and come back next year with maybe a more solid belief that this team can win and each individual can win, and come back and swing the bat again and see what happens.
ON JAKE VARNER
He works extremely hard. He deserved to win just as much as the other guy did, but when it comes down to it - and you can always say this and that - but when it comes down to it, you've got to score points. You've got to go take attacks. And even though he was moving [Pucillo] and really out-attacking him, there was another level there and [Varner] knows that and I'm sure he'll work on it and he'll come back swinging next year. I wouldn't want to draw him next year. He'll be on a mission next year — like he was this year — but he’s going to go back and work and get better. I guess the silver lining is he's got two more shots at it.
Ohio State 184-pounder Mike Pucillo
ON HIS FEELING FOR RIDING TIME IN THE SECOND TIEBREAKER
Not really one, two, three, but I knew roughly what 15 seconds feels like, what 10 seconds feels like. They actually stopped it when there was two seconds to go in the riding time, and I knew all I had to just hold for his first move. After I stopped the first move, I kenw I was ok on the riding time. I felt pretty confident he wasn't going to take me down, so I wasn't going to take any chances there.
ON HIS STRATEGY
I figured I could beat him at his own game. He's pretty good on top. I’m pretty good on bottom.
Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson
ON THE TOURNAMENT
Iowa had an incredible year, and they really had a great tournament too and did an outstanding job. I think they obviously have a ton to be proud of … We're excited and looking forward to the future. I mean we're going to have some good teams coming. We're going to get better every year. We knew that, we knew that a couple years ago. It's my job to make sure that happens.
ON IOWA STATE’S PERFORMANCE
We had a great group of kids. Seven All-Americans — I mean, that’s pretty dang good. We're pretty happy about that. We just didn't do some things that it takes to do real well at a national tournament and that's get bonus points, you know, win some of those close matches in the championship brackets. I don't know if we had more than one or two bonus points in the whole [tournament], but that's part of having a young team and those are things that will come for us. So yeah, this team, they improved a lot. Seven All-Americans, you know, we've just got to step it up a little bit and get them higher up on the podium where they're scoring a few more points. But I'm proud of these guys. They wrestled hard. They all fought, they competed hard and we've got a lot to work with.
ON HOW VARNER WAS DEALING WITH THE LOSS
I haven't really talked to him yet. Obviously, he’s upset; he's a competitor. You know, he wrestled hard, you know. He's got nothing to hang his head about. He's got to get ready, keep his head up and get ready for next year. I mean he had a great year. He's going into his junior year, he's a two-time NCAA finalist, you know — that doesn't happen very often. He's a great leader for our team; he's doing a phenomenal job. I'm extremely proud of him, and I told him that going in, you know, just go out there and wrestle hard, and he did. You know, he was real close. It's sports, sometimes the ball doesn't roll your way.
ON REGROUPING AFTER A 1-for-7 QUARTERFINAL ROUND
We meet before every round. It was tough quarterfinal round for us. We knew to really compete we had to get some upsets, and we didn't, you know. We had some close calls, but that round of 12 [in consolations] is where we really had a great round and it brought us out of 12th or 11th place … These guys they pulled together as a team when they needed to. We just needed to win a couple more close matches to really be able to get up there.
ON VARNER’S CLOSE LOSS
Yeah, it’s tough, it’s tough, but those things happen. You've just got to keep things in perspective. This isn't life and death; this is a game. You know, Jake works extremely hard. He's going to do some amazing things, and he already has being a two-time finalist as a sophomore, you know. He has got a lot to be proud of.
Iowa State 141-pounder Nick Gallick
ON HIS IMPROVEMENT DURING THE SEASON
I had a slow start to the season. I had some stuff I needed to work on. A couple of us maybe needed to grow into the weight class a little more, but I think we did. We lifted hard and worked hard, and it paid off.
ON THE TEAM’S 7-for-7 PERFORMANCE IN THE ROUND TO BE ALL-AMERICANS
I’m impressed but I'm not surprised. We work hard all year for the second and third day. That’s what we're best at. Our conditioning is great. That was the big improvement I think, with everybody. 7-0 — I think other teams get tired as the tournament goes on. Not us.
ON HIS FIFTH-PLACE FINISH
I mean, I feel like I could have done better. I think I didn't wrestle very well in my quarters match. Improvements I need to make — still working on bottom. I think on my feet — I'm really comfortable on my feet with everybody. I'm comfortable on bottom now; I've improved a lot on it. But I think I need to keep working on it — top and bottom, even on my feet. There is definitely a lot of room for improvement.
ON BUILDING OFF OF THIS SEASON
There is definitely stuff to build off coming into next year. There are a lot of returners that are back that are going to be tough. There are a lot of guys that didn't place that are tough and are coming back next year, so we’re going to be tough. Never satisfied.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Complete NCAA Tournament match results
125 pounds - Tyler Smith: did not place
Luke Smith, Central Michigan dec. Tyler Clark, 4-3 (TB1)
Marcos Orozco, UC-Davis dec. Clark, 4-1
133 pounds - Nick Fanthorpe: seventh
No. 5 Nick Fanthorpe dec. Steve Bell, Maryland, 8-2
Fanthorpe dec. Cory Fish, Boise State, 3-1
No. 4 Joey Slaton, Iowa dec. Nick Fanthorpe, 2-1 (TB1)
Fanthorpe dec. No. 6 Lou Ruggirello, Hofstra, 5-1
No. 8 Mack Reiter, Minnesota dec. Fanthorpe, 4-2
Fanthorpe dec. No. 11 Joe Baker, Navy, 7-6
141 pounds - Nick Gallick: fifth
No. 9 Nick Gallick dec. Chris Drouin, Arizona State, 3-0
Gallick dec. Zach Bailey, Oklahoma, 10-7
No. 1 Chad Mendes, Cal Poly dec. Gallick, 5-0
Gallick dec. Drew Headlee, Pittsburgh, 9-3
Gallick dec. No. 5 Manuel Rivera, 8-2
No. 2 Charles Griffin, Hofstra dec. Gallick, 3-2
Gallick dec. Matt Kyler, Army, 3-2
149 pounds - Mitch Mueller: did not place
Mitch Mueller dec. Kyle Fried, Binghamton, 7-3
Mueller maj. dec. Anthony Constantino, Columbia, 12-3
No. 2 Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota dec. Mueller, 6-2
Josh Wagner, Missouri dec. Mueller, 2-1
157 pounds - Cyler Sanderson: seventh
No. 7 Cyler Sanderson dec. Matt Moley, Bloomsburg, 11-6
No. 10 Michael Chandler, Missouri dec. Sanderson, 5-3
Sanderson dec. Ryan Hluschak, Drexel, 7-3
Sanderson dec. Newly McSpadden, Oklahoma State, 3-2
Sanderson dec. Johnny Bonilla-Bowman, Hofstra, 7-6
No. 1 Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro pin Sanderson, :40
Sanderson dec. Moley, Bloomsburg, 7-5
165 pounds - Jon Reader: seventh
No. 6 Jon Reader dec. Andrew Rendos, Bucknell, 8-2
Reader maj. dec. No. 11 Kurt Gross, Kent State, 15-2
No. 3 Nick Marable, Missouri dec. Reader, 5-3
Reader dec. No. 9 Trevor Stewert, Central Michigan 5-1
No. 10 Mike Cannon dec. Reader, 7-6
Reader dec. Stephen Dwyer, Nebraska, 10-7
174 pounds - Aron Scott: did not place
Aron Scott dec. Randy Oates, George Mason, 2-0
No. 3 Brandon Browne, Nebraska dec. Scott, 8-5
Lloyd Rogers, Tennessee-Chatanooga dec. Scott, 8-2
184 pounds - Jake Varner: second
No. 1 Jake Varner dec. Lion Zamir, Penn, 6-0
Varner pin Zack Giesen, Stanford, 2:06
Varner dec. No. 8 Roger Kish, Minnesota, 2-0
Varner dec. No. 4 Christian Sinnott, Central Michigan, 4-2
No. 2 Mike Pucillo, Ohio State dec. Varner, 3-3 (TB2)
197 pounds - David Bertolino: eighth
David Bertolino maj. dec. Patrick Bradshaw, Edinboro, 10-0
Bertolino dec. No. 3 Mike Tamillow, Northwestern, 6-4 (SV1)
No. 6 Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin dec. Bertolino, 5-4
Bertolino dec. Daren Burns, UNC Greensboro, 3-2
No. 7 Hudson Taylor dec. Bertolino, 6-5
No. 5 Max Askren, Missouri dec. Bertolino, 11-9 (SV1)
Heavyweight - David Zabriskie: sixth
No. 7 David Zabriskie dec. Mitch Monteiro, Cal-State Bakersfield, 10-3
Zabriskie dec. No. 10 Zach Sheaffer, Pittsburgh, 3-2
No. 2 J.D. Bergman maj. dec. Zabriskie, 11-1
Zabriskie dec. Jermail Porter, Kent State, 3-2
Zabriskie dec. No. 6 Kyle Massey, Wisconsin, 7-2
No. 5 Jared Rosholt, Oklahoma State dec. Zabriskie, 6-1
No. 4 Matt Fields, Iowa dec. Zabriskie, 4-2 (SV2)
Luke Smith, Central Michigan dec. Tyler Clark, 4-3 (TB1)
Marcos Orozco, UC-Davis dec. Clark, 4-1
133 pounds - Nick Fanthorpe: seventh
No. 5 Nick Fanthorpe dec. Steve Bell, Maryland, 8-2
Fanthorpe dec. Cory Fish, Boise State, 3-1
No. 4 Joey Slaton, Iowa dec. Nick Fanthorpe, 2-1 (TB1)
Fanthorpe dec. No. 6 Lou Ruggirello, Hofstra, 5-1
No. 8 Mack Reiter, Minnesota dec. Fanthorpe, 4-2
Fanthorpe dec. No. 11 Joe Baker, Navy, 7-6
141 pounds - Nick Gallick: fifth
No. 9 Nick Gallick dec. Chris Drouin, Arizona State, 3-0
Gallick dec. Zach Bailey, Oklahoma, 10-7
No. 1 Chad Mendes, Cal Poly dec. Gallick, 5-0
Gallick dec. Drew Headlee, Pittsburgh, 9-3
Gallick dec. No. 5 Manuel Rivera, 8-2
No. 2 Charles Griffin, Hofstra dec. Gallick, 3-2
Gallick dec. Matt Kyler, Army, 3-2
149 pounds - Mitch Mueller: did not place
Mitch Mueller dec. Kyle Fried, Binghamton, 7-3
Mueller maj. dec. Anthony Constantino, Columbia, 12-3
No. 2 Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota dec. Mueller, 6-2
Josh Wagner, Missouri dec. Mueller, 2-1
157 pounds - Cyler Sanderson: seventh
No. 7 Cyler Sanderson dec. Matt Moley, Bloomsburg, 11-6
No. 10 Michael Chandler, Missouri dec. Sanderson, 5-3
Sanderson dec. Ryan Hluschak, Drexel, 7-3
Sanderson dec. Newly McSpadden, Oklahoma State, 3-2
Sanderson dec. Johnny Bonilla-Bowman, Hofstra, 7-6
No. 1 Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro pin Sanderson, :40
Sanderson dec. Moley, Bloomsburg, 7-5
165 pounds - Jon Reader: seventh
No. 6 Jon Reader dec. Andrew Rendos, Bucknell, 8-2
Reader maj. dec. No. 11 Kurt Gross, Kent State, 15-2
No. 3 Nick Marable, Missouri dec. Reader, 5-3
Reader dec. No. 9 Trevor Stewert, Central Michigan 5-1
No. 10 Mike Cannon dec. Reader, 7-6
Reader dec. Stephen Dwyer, Nebraska, 10-7
174 pounds - Aron Scott: did not place
Aron Scott dec. Randy Oates, George Mason, 2-0
No. 3 Brandon Browne, Nebraska dec. Scott, 8-5
Lloyd Rogers, Tennessee-Chatanooga dec. Scott, 8-2
184 pounds - Jake Varner: second
No. 1 Jake Varner dec. Lion Zamir, Penn, 6-0
Varner pin Zack Giesen, Stanford, 2:06
Varner dec. No. 8 Roger Kish, Minnesota, 2-0
Varner dec. No. 4 Christian Sinnott, Central Michigan, 4-2
No. 2 Mike Pucillo, Ohio State dec. Varner, 3-3 (TB2)
197 pounds - David Bertolino: eighth
David Bertolino maj. dec. Patrick Bradshaw, Edinboro, 10-0
Bertolino dec. No. 3 Mike Tamillow, Northwestern, 6-4 (SV1)
No. 6 Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin dec. Bertolino, 5-4
Bertolino dec. Daren Burns, UNC Greensboro, 3-2
No. 7 Hudson Taylor dec. Bertolino, 6-5
No. 5 Max Askren, Missouri dec. Bertolino, 11-9 (SV1)
Heavyweight - David Zabriskie: sixth
No. 7 David Zabriskie dec. Mitch Monteiro, Cal-State Bakersfield, 10-3
Zabriskie dec. No. 10 Zach Sheaffer, Pittsburgh, 3-2
No. 2 J.D. Bergman maj. dec. Zabriskie, 11-1
Zabriskie dec. Jermail Porter, Kent State, 3-2
Zabriskie dec. No. 6 Kyle Massey, Wisconsin, 7-2
No. 5 Jared Rosholt, Oklahoma State dec. Zabriskie, 6-1
No. 4 Matt Fields, Iowa dec. Zabriskie, 4-2 (SV2)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
4-for-6 in wrestlebacks
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Iowa State wrestling team won four of six placement matches here Saturday morning at the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Tournament.
The Cyclones moved into third place as a team with 72 points - two behind Nebraska (74), which has no finalists. Penn State and Ohio State are tied for fourth with 71 points. Three Buckeyes have a chance to add to that total in finals matches, while two Nittany Lions can win championships.
The Cyclones moved into third place as a team with 72 points - two behind Nebraska (74), which has no finalists. Penn State and Ohio State are tied for fourth with 71 points. Three Buckeyes have a chance to add to that total in finals matches, while two Nittany Lions can win championships.
Gallick, Zabriskie fall short in consolation bids
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Sophomores Nick Gallick and David Zabriskie each lost their consolation semifinal matches at the NCAA Div. I Champions here Saturday morning.
Gallick (133) fell to Hofstra's second-seeded Charles Griffin, 3-2. Zabriskie (HWT) dropped a 6-1 decision to Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt. Each will wrestle for fifth place later in the day.
Gallick scored the only takedown of the match against Griffin, but was ridden out in the second period.
Zabriskie failed in his bid to avenge his Big 12 finals loss to Rosholt. The Cowboy scored a takedown off a driving, double-leg shot with one second left in the first period. Rosholt built a riding time advantage in the second period before Zabriskie could escape. Rosholt countered a desperation scoring attempt by Zabriskie in the closing seconds.
In a rematch of the 141-pound Big 12 finals, Gallick will take on Matt Kyler of Army of Oklahoma State for fifth place. Zabriskie will wrestle Iowa's fourth-seeded Matt Fields.
Gallick (133) fell to Hofstra's second-seeded Charles Griffin, 3-2. Zabriskie (HWT) dropped a 6-1 decision to Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt. Each will wrestle for fifth place later in the day.
Gallick scored the only takedown of the match against Griffin, but was ridden out in the second period.
Zabriskie failed in his bid to avenge his Big 12 finals loss to Rosholt. The Cowboy scored a takedown off a driving, double-leg shot with one second left in the first period. Rosholt built a riding time advantage in the second period before Zabriskie could escape. Rosholt countered a desperation scoring attempt by Zabriskie in the closing seconds.
In a rematch of the 141-pound Big 12 finals, Gallick will take on Matt Kyler of Army of Oklahoma State for fifth place. Zabriskie will wrestle Iowa's fourth-seeded Matt Fields.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wrestlers rally in consolations
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Iowa State wrestling team salvaged the second day of the NCAA Div. I Tournament in the evening consolation round.
Seven Cyclones earned All-American honors here Friday - the most for Iowa State since 1993. Sophomore 184-pounder Jake Varner (29-0) reached the finals for the second straight season by beating Central Michigan's Christian Sinnott, 4-2, in the semifinals.
Iowa State moved into back into third place as a team, but Iowa clinched the team title with a strong fourth session performance. The Cyclones have 68 points - three less than Ohio State. The Hawkeyes have 102 team points.
Varner led 3-0 in the final seconds before Sinnott scored a takedown. The Cyclone had only been taken down once all season - on Nov. 16 by Rider's Doug Umbehauer.
He will face Ohio State's second-seeded Mike Pucillo in the finals.
Nick Gallick (141) and David Zabriskie (HWT) are still trying for third place, while Nick Fanthorpe (133), Cyler Sanderson (157), Jon Reader (165) and David Bertolino (197) will wrestle for seventh place Saturday morning.
Seven Cyclones earned All-American honors here Friday - the most for Iowa State since 1993. Sophomore 184-pounder Jake Varner (29-0) reached the finals for the second straight season by beating Central Michigan's Christian Sinnott, 4-2, in the semifinals.
Iowa State moved into back into third place as a team, but Iowa clinched the team title with a strong fourth session performance. The Cyclones have 68 points - three less than Ohio State. The Hawkeyes have 102 team points.
Varner led 3-0 in the final seconds before Sinnott scored a takedown. The Cyclone had only been taken down once all season - on Nov. 16 by Rider's Doug Umbehauer.
He will face Ohio State's second-seeded Mike Pucillo in the finals.
Nick Gallick (141) and David Zabriskie (HWT) are still trying for third place, while Nick Fanthorpe (133), Cyler Sanderson (157), Jon Reader (165) and David Bertolino (197) will wrestle for seventh place Saturday morning.
Black Friday
ST. LOUIS, Mo. The fourth-ranked Iowa State wrestling team's NCAA championship hopes all but disappeared here Friday after a dismal third session.
The Cyclones lost five of six quarterfinal matches here Friday, falling from third to 10th place in the team standings. Top-ranked Iowa appears to be running away with the tournament after advancing five of seven quarterfinalists to the semifinals.
No. 1 seeded Jake Varner (184) and seventh-seeded Cyler Sanderson (157) were the only two Cyclones to win matches.
Sanderson, Nick Fanthorpe (133), Nick Gallick (141), Jon Reader (165), David Bertolino (197) and David Zabriskie (HWT) are alive in the consolation bracket - each needing one win to earn All-American honors.
Varner knocked off a familiar rival, Minnesota's Roger Kish, to advance. Varner rode Kish out in the third period to beat the Golden Gopher senior, 2-0.
The Cyclone knocked off Kish in last year's semifinals and twice during the 2007-08 regular season. Varner (28-0) will wrestle Central Michigan's fourth-seeded Christian Sinnott, who twice wrestled Varner to close decisions during the regular season.
Mitch Mueller (149) and Aron Scott (174) lost consolation matches and were eliminated from the tournament.
Championship quarterfinals
No. 4 Joey Slaton, Iowa dec. No. 5 Nick Fanthorpe, 2-1 (SV1, TB2)
No. 1 Chad Mendes, Cal Poly dec. No. 9 Nick Gallick, 5-0
No. 3 Nick Marable, Missouri dec. No. 6 Jon Reader, 6-2
No. 1 Jake Varner dec. No. 8 Roger Kish, Minnesota, 2-1
No. 6 Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin dec. David Bertolino, 5-4
No. 2 J.D. Bergman, Ohio State maj. dec. David Zabriskie, 11-1
Consolation
Josh Wagner, Missouri dec. Mitch Mueller, 2-1
Cyler Sanderson dec. Ryan Hluschak, Drexel, 7-3
Lloyd Rogers, Tennessee-Chatanooga dec. Aron Scott, 8-2
The Cyclones lost five of six quarterfinal matches here Friday, falling from third to 10th place in the team standings. Top-ranked Iowa appears to be running away with the tournament after advancing five of seven quarterfinalists to the semifinals.
No. 1 seeded Jake Varner (184) and seventh-seeded Cyler Sanderson (157) were the only two Cyclones to win matches.
Sanderson, Nick Fanthorpe (133), Nick Gallick (141), Jon Reader (165), David Bertolino (197) and David Zabriskie (HWT) are alive in the consolation bracket - each needing one win to earn All-American honors.
Varner knocked off a familiar rival, Minnesota's Roger Kish, to advance. Varner rode Kish out in the third period to beat the Golden Gopher senior, 2-0.
The Cyclone knocked off Kish in last year's semifinals and twice during the 2007-08 regular season. Varner (28-0) will wrestle Central Michigan's fourth-seeded Christian Sinnott, who twice wrestled Varner to close decisions during the regular season.
Mitch Mueller (149) and Aron Scott (174) lost consolation matches and were eliminated from the tournament.
Championship quarterfinals
No. 4 Joey Slaton, Iowa dec. No. 5 Nick Fanthorpe, 2-1 (SV1, TB2)
No. 1 Chad Mendes, Cal Poly dec. No. 9 Nick Gallick, 5-0
No. 3 Nick Marable, Missouri dec. No. 6 Jon Reader, 6-2
No. 1 Jake Varner dec. No. 8 Roger Kish, Minnesota, 2-1
No. 6 Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin dec. David Bertolino, 5-4
No. 2 J.D. Bergman, Ohio State maj. dec. David Zabriskie, 11-1
Consolation
Josh Wagner, Missouri dec. Mitch Mueller, 2-1
Cyler Sanderson dec. Ryan Hluschak, Drexel, 7-3
Lloyd Rogers, Tennessee-Chatanooga dec. Aron Scott, 8-2
Thursday, March 20, 2008
A good day
Cyclones in third-place, advance six to quarters
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Iowa State wrestling team worked itself into third place after the first two rounds of the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Tournament here Thursday.
Six Cyclone wrestlers advanced to quarterfinals, and three wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket.
Iowa State had just four wrestlers reach the quarterfinals in last year's NCAA runner-up performance, but three of those were finalists. Head coach Cael Sanderson thought Thursday was "a good day," but said the Cyclones need to continue their winning ways on Friday.
"I like what I'm seeing right now; we've just got to keep rolling," said head coach Cael Sanderson. "We've got to have a better day tomorrow."
Iowa State won 10 of their 11 matches in the first session and six of 10 in the second.
Nick Fanthorpe (133), Nick Gallick (141), Jon Reader (165), Jake Varner (184), David Bertolino (197) and David Zabriskie (HWT) won their first two matches of the tournament.
Mitch Mueller (149), Cyler Sanderson (157) and Aron Scott (174) lost in the second round, while Tyler Clark (125) exited the tournament after two losses.
Here are the results:
Championship second round
133 - No. 5 Nick Fanthorpe dec. Cory Fish, Boise State, 3-1
141 - No. 9 Nick Gallick dec. Zach Bailey, Oklahoma, 10-7
149 - No. 2 Dustin Schatter, Minnesota dec. Mitch Mueller, 6-2
157 - No. 10 Michael Chandler, Missouri dec. Cyler Sanderson, 5-3
165 - No. 6 Jon Reader maj. dec. No. 11 Kurt Gross, 15-2
174 - No. 3 Brandon Browne, Nebraska dec. Aron Scott, 8-5
184 - No. 1 Jake Varner pin Zack Giesen, Stanford, 2:06
197 - David Bertolino dec. No. 3 Mike Tamillow, Northwestern, 6-4 (SV)
HWT - No. 7 David Zabriskie dec. No. 10 Zach Sheaffer, Pittsburgh, 3-2
Consolation
125 - Marcis Orozco, UC-Davis dec. Clark, 4-1
Team Standings
1. Iowa 29.5
2. Nebraska 26.5
3. Iowa State 25
Tie-4. Central Michigan, Minnesota 24
Match-by-match results
125 pounds - Tyler Clark (19-11)
The true freshman gave up a first period takedown and had trouble escaping UC Davis' Marcos Orozco, losing his first wrestleback match and dropping out of the tournament.
133 pounds - Nick Fanthorpe (30-4)
Fanthorpe took down Boise State's Cory Fish with 45 seconds left in the first period. The Cyclone sophomore would add an escape in the second period, but would score no more in a 3-1 decision. Fanthorpe controlled the match, but needed to twist out of a low single by Fish in the third period.
Quarterfinal opponent: 4th-seeded sophomore Joey Slaton (34-4), Iowa, who beat Fanthorpe, 6-5, in the rivalry dual in December.
141 pounds - Nick Gallick (25-11)
Gallick took Oklahoma freshman Zach Bailey down eight seconds into the match and steadily built a lead thereafter. Gallick scored another takedown in the first, two more in the second, and another in the third. Bailey scored five escapes and a takedown to keep the match close, but Gallick was the aggressor throughout a 10-7 victory. The sophomore beat Bailey, 10-3, earlier this season.
Quarterfinal opponent:Cal Poly's No. 1 seeded senior Chad Mendes (28-0). Mendes is one of five undefeated wrestlers in the tournament. He is known for his ability to hit the cement mixer - a dynamic pinning move.
149 pounds - Mitch Mueller (22-12)
The sophomore faced the consequences of being a low seed, facing Minnesota's second-seeded Dustin Schlatter in the second round. Schlatter controlled tie-up and scored takedowns in the first and third periods to win a 6-2 decision.
Quarterfinal opponent: Josh Wagner, Missouri, who Mueller beat in the Big 12 semifinals, 9-5. Wagner won the first meeting against Mueller, 5-4.
157 pounds - Cyler Sanderson(29-5)
Sanderson lost his third battle with Missouri's Michael Chandler, 5-3. With the score tied, 2-2, to start the third period, the Tiger junior tilted Sanderson to score three near-fall points in the third period. Sanderson escaped, but was unable to score a takedown to tie the match and looked worn out, which was strange because of Sanderson's normally excellant conditioning. Head coach Cael Sanderson explained the occurance by saying that Cyler often gets too worked up before matches.
Quarterfinal opponent: Ryan Hluschak, Drexel. The burly senior challenged graduated Cyclone 2007 NCAA Champion Trent Paulson in last year's NCAA quarterfinals.
165 pounds - Jon Reader (28-7)
Reader scored a takedown and two three-point near-falls in a 15-2 major decision win against Kent State senior Kurt Gross. The freshman added two more takedowns and built up over three minutes of riding time in the remainder of the victory.
Quarterfinal opponent:3rd-seeded sophomore Nick Marable, Missouri, who beat Reader, 4-3, in late February. Marable won a scramble and scored a takedown with 32 seconds left in the third period of the two's first meeting. Marable won a 3-1 decision over Arizona State's Pat Pitsch to advance.
174 pounds - Aron Scott (13-12)
Scott scored the first takedown against Nebraska's Brandon Browne, but the Cornhusker overcame the early deficit to win an 8-5 decision.
Quarterfinal opponent:Lloyd Rogers, Tennessee-Chatanooga.
184 pounds - Jake Varner (27-0)
Varner wasted no time, throwing Stanford's Zack Giesen to the mat and twisting his shoulders to the mat for a fall in 2:06.
Quarterfinal opponent:8th-seeded Minnesota senior Roger Kish, who placed third last season. Varner beat Kish in last year's NCAA Tournament semifinals after losing to him twice in the 2006-07 regular season. The Cyclone owns two victories over Kish this season. Kish has been struggling with a shoulder injury in the last two months of the season.
197 pounds - David Bertolino (24-11)
Bertolino matched the biggest upset of the tournament biggest upset of the tournament to date, knocking off third-seeded Mike Tamillow of Northwestern, 6-4, in sudden victory. The unseeded senior Cyclones hit a low reshot on the Wildcat in overtime and drove through to finish. Bertolino is in his first NCAA Tournament. Tamillow beat Bertolino, 10-4, in the mid-January NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals
Quarterfinal opponent: Wisconsin's Dallas Herbst, who pinned Bertolino in the second period of a January dual.
Heavyweight - David Zabriskie (27-5)
Never stop wrestling. Coaches yell it, but Zabriskie takes it to heart. It paid off, as Zabriskie beat 10th-seeded Zach Sheaffer of Pittsburgh in possibly the oddest finish of the tournament. With the scored tied at one in the third period, the two wrestlers battled in the tieup but separated briefly on the edge of the mat. Sheaffer relaxed, expecting the seemingly imminent whistle. Zabriskie then charged and pushed Sheaffer, knocking him off balance and onto the mat. With less than 10 seconds remaining, the Cyclone then dove and covered, keeping his toes in bounds like a wide receiver. A takedown was awarded, putting Zabriskie ahead 3-1. He let Sheaffer up for an escape, and held him off for the 3-2 victory.
Quarterfinal opponent: 2nd-seeded J.D. Bergman, Ohio State. The Buckeye junior moved up to heavyweight after two seasons at 197-pounds.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Iowa State wrestling team worked itself into third place after the first two rounds of the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Tournament here Thursday.
Six Cyclone wrestlers advanced to quarterfinals, and three wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket.
Iowa State had just four wrestlers reach the quarterfinals in last year's NCAA runner-up performance, but three of those were finalists. Head coach Cael Sanderson thought Thursday was "a good day," but said the Cyclones need to continue their winning ways on Friday.
"I like what I'm seeing right now; we've just got to keep rolling," said head coach Cael Sanderson. "We've got to have a better day tomorrow."
Iowa State won 10 of their 11 matches in the first session and six of 10 in the second.
Nick Fanthorpe (133), Nick Gallick (141), Jon Reader (165), Jake Varner (184), David Bertolino (197) and David Zabriskie (HWT) won their first two matches of the tournament.
Mitch Mueller (149), Cyler Sanderson (157) and Aron Scott (174) lost in the second round, while Tyler Clark (125) exited the tournament after two losses.
Here are the results:
Championship second round
133 - No. 5 Nick Fanthorpe dec. Cory Fish, Boise State, 3-1
141 - No. 9 Nick Gallick dec. Zach Bailey, Oklahoma, 10-7
149 - No. 2 Dustin Schatter, Minnesota dec. Mitch Mueller, 6-2
157 - No. 10 Michael Chandler, Missouri dec. Cyler Sanderson, 5-3
165 - No. 6 Jon Reader maj. dec. No. 11 Kurt Gross, 15-2
174 - No. 3 Brandon Browne, Nebraska dec. Aron Scott, 8-5
184 - No. 1 Jake Varner pin Zack Giesen, Stanford, 2:06
197 - David Bertolino dec. No. 3 Mike Tamillow, Northwestern, 6-4 (SV)
HWT - No. 7 David Zabriskie dec. No. 10 Zach Sheaffer, Pittsburgh, 3-2
Consolation
125 - Marcis Orozco, UC-Davis dec. Clark, 4-1
Team Standings
1. Iowa 29.5
2. Nebraska 26.5
3. Iowa State 25
Tie-4. Central Michigan, Minnesota 24
Match-by-match results
125 pounds - Tyler Clark (19-11)
The true freshman gave up a first period takedown and had trouble escaping UC Davis' Marcos Orozco, losing his first wrestleback match and dropping out of the tournament.
133 pounds - Nick Fanthorpe (30-4)
Fanthorpe took down Boise State's Cory Fish with 45 seconds left in the first period. The Cyclone sophomore would add an escape in the second period, but would score no more in a 3-1 decision. Fanthorpe controlled the match, but needed to twist out of a low single by Fish in the third period.
Quarterfinal opponent: 4th-seeded sophomore Joey Slaton (34-4), Iowa, who beat Fanthorpe, 6-5, in the rivalry dual in December.
141 pounds - Nick Gallick (25-11)
Gallick took Oklahoma freshman Zach Bailey down eight seconds into the match and steadily built a lead thereafter. Gallick scored another takedown in the first, two more in the second, and another in the third. Bailey scored five escapes and a takedown to keep the match close, but Gallick was the aggressor throughout a 10-7 victory. The sophomore beat Bailey, 10-3, earlier this season.
Quarterfinal opponent:Cal Poly's No. 1 seeded senior Chad Mendes (28-0). Mendes is one of five undefeated wrestlers in the tournament. He is known for his ability to hit the cement mixer - a dynamic pinning move.
149 pounds - Mitch Mueller (22-12)
The sophomore faced the consequences of being a low seed, facing Minnesota's second-seeded Dustin Schlatter in the second round. Schlatter controlled tie-up and scored takedowns in the first and third periods to win a 6-2 decision.
Quarterfinal opponent: Josh Wagner, Missouri, who Mueller beat in the Big 12 semifinals, 9-5. Wagner won the first meeting against Mueller, 5-4.
157 pounds - Cyler Sanderson(29-5)
Sanderson lost his third battle with Missouri's Michael Chandler, 5-3. With the score tied, 2-2, to start the third period, the Tiger junior tilted Sanderson to score three near-fall points in the third period. Sanderson escaped, but was unable to score a takedown to tie the match and looked worn out, which was strange because of Sanderson's normally excellant conditioning. Head coach Cael Sanderson explained the occurance by saying that Cyler often gets too worked up before matches.
Quarterfinal opponent: Ryan Hluschak, Drexel. The burly senior challenged graduated Cyclone 2007 NCAA Champion Trent Paulson in last year's NCAA quarterfinals.
165 pounds - Jon Reader (28-7)
Reader scored a takedown and two three-point near-falls in a 15-2 major decision win against Kent State senior Kurt Gross. The freshman added two more takedowns and built up over three minutes of riding time in the remainder of the victory.
Quarterfinal opponent:3rd-seeded sophomore Nick Marable, Missouri, who beat Reader, 4-3, in late February. Marable won a scramble and scored a takedown with 32 seconds left in the third period of the two's first meeting. Marable won a 3-1 decision over Arizona State's Pat Pitsch to advance.
174 pounds - Aron Scott (13-12)
Scott scored the first takedown against Nebraska's Brandon Browne, but the Cornhusker overcame the early deficit to win an 8-5 decision.
Quarterfinal opponent:Lloyd Rogers, Tennessee-Chatanooga.
184 pounds - Jake Varner (27-0)
Varner wasted no time, throwing Stanford's Zack Giesen to the mat and twisting his shoulders to the mat for a fall in 2:06.
Quarterfinal opponent:8th-seeded Minnesota senior Roger Kish, who placed third last season. Varner beat Kish in last year's NCAA Tournament semifinals after losing to him twice in the 2006-07 regular season. The Cyclone owns two victories over Kish this season. Kish has been struggling with a shoulder injury in the last two months of the season.
197 pounds - David Bertolino (24-11)
Bertolino matched the biggest upset of the tournament biggest upset of the tournament to date, knocking off third-seeded Mike Tamillow of Northwestern, 6-4, in sudden victory. The unseeded senior Cyclones hit a low reshot on the Wildcat in overtime and drove through to finish. Bertolino is in his first NCAA Tournament. Tamillow beat Bertolino, 10-4, in the mid-January NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals
Quarterfinal opponent: Wisconsin's Dallas Herbst, who pinned Bertolino in the second period of a January dual.
Heavyweight - David Zabriskie (27-5)
Never stop wrestling. Coaches yell it, but Zabriskie takes it to heart. It paid off, as Zabriskie beat 10th-seeded Zach Sheaffer of Pittsburgh in possibly the oddest finish of the tournament. With the scored tied at one in the third period, the two wrestlers battled in the tieup but separated briefly on the edge of the mat. Sheaffer relaxed, expecting the seemingly imminent whistle. Zabriskie then charged and pushed Sheaffer, knocking him off balance and onto the mat. With less than 10 seconds remaining, the Cyclone then dove and covered, keeping his toes in bounds like a wide receiver. A takedown was awarded, putting Zabriskie ahead 3-1. He let Sheaffer up for an escape, and held him off for the 3-2 victory.
Quarterfinal opponent: 2nd-seeded J.D. Bergman, Ohio State. The Buckeye junior moved up to heavyweight after two seasons at 197-pounds.
Nine of 10 advance to second round
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Iowa State wrestling team came within a second of a perfect first round here Thursday morning.
True freshman Tyler Clark (125) couldn't hold onto Central Michigan's Luke Smith in the first tiebreaker of overtime, giving up an escape as time expired in a 4-3 loss.
The loss dampened a nearly flawless session for the Cyclones. Iowa State won 10 of 11 matches in the first session and trailed Iowa by two points in the team standings. Here are the results:
Pigtails
Mitch Mueller, Iowa State, dec. Kyle Fried, Binghamton, 7-3
First round
125 - Luke Smith, Central Michigan, dec. Tyler Clark, Iowa State, 4-3 (SV1)
133 - Nick Fanthorpe, Iowa State, dec. Steve Bell, Maryland, 8-2
141 - Nick Gallick, Iowa State, dec. Chris Drouin, Arizona State, 3-0
149 - Mitch Mueller, Iowa State, maj. dec. Anthony Constantino, Columbia, 12-3
157 - Cyler Sanderson, Iowa State dec. Matt Moley, Bloomsburg, 11-6
165 - Jon Reader, Iowa State dec. Andrew Rendos, Bucknell, 8-2
174 - Aron Scott, Iowa State, dec. Randy Oates, George Mason, 2-0
184 - Jake Varner, Iowa State, dec. Lion Zamir, Penn, 6-0
197 - David Bertolino, Iowa State, maj. dec. Patrick Bradshaw, Edinboro, 10-0
HWT - David Zabriskie, Iowa State, dec. Mitch Monteiro, Cal-State Bakersfield, 9-3
Match-by-Match breakdown
125 pounds - Tyler Clark (19-10)
Head coach Cael Sanderson made his argument, but Clark's first round match was a loss nonetheless.
The true freshman was unable to break free from Smith before time expired in the first 30 second-tiebreaker. After working for a reversal, Clark tried to kick his foot free of Smith's grasp. The Chippewa senior maintained his grasp for the several seconds but did not receive his second stalling warning - which would have awarded the Cyclone a point. Sanderson argued the call, but nothing was changed.
Smith escaped as time expired in the next tiebreaker - a call Sanderson did not appear to argue. Clark beat Smith, 6-2, at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in mid-January. He (19-10) will begin his quest for third-place in the consolation bracket this evening.
Next opponent: The winner of senior Brandon Kinney [Columbia] and sophomore Marcos Orozco [UC Davis].
133 pounds - Nick Fanthorpe (29-4)
Fanthorpe settled into an 8-2 victory over Maryland sophomore Steve Bell.
After a Bell shot, the Cyclone sophomore finished a boot-to-boot scramble with Bell two minutes into the first period. In the second, Fanthorpe escaped, scored a takedown, and rode the Terapin for over a minute to build a 5-1 advantage, and then scored in the closing seconds of the match.
Bell only scored on escapes but landed several deep leg attacks in the match. He circled behind Fanthorpe twice and held the Cyclone from behind in a standing position.
Fanthorpe lost in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament to Bloomsburg's Michael Sees. He then won three matches before losing to Stanford's Tanner Gardner, falling one match short of placing.
Second-round opponent: Boise State junior Cory Fish (22-6). Fish knocked off Indiana's 12th-seeded Andrae Hernandez in the first round, 4-3.
141 pounds - Nick Gallick (24-11)
Gallick won a rematch with Arizona State's freshman Chris Drouin with an escape and a late takedown.
Drouin honored the Cyclone sophomore's riding ability by choosing the neutral position in the second period. Gallick escaped 31 seconds into the third period to go ahead, 1-0, but secured the victory with a takedown off a low single with 25 seconds left. Gallick beat the short-and-stock Sun Devil by the same score in early February.
Second-round opponent: Oklahoma freshman Zach Bailey [28-11], who upset Iowa's eighth-seeded Dan LeClere in the first round. Gallick beat Bailey, 10-3, in late January off two takedowns, two escapes, a three-point near-fall and a riding time advantage.
149 pounds - Mitch Mueller (22-11)
Mueller quickly built a lead against Binghamton senior Kyle Fried, scoring two takedowns in the first minute of 7-3 pigtail round win.
Fried beat Mueller, 6-4, in sudden victory in late November. Fried scored two escapes in the first period and another in the third period, but didn't threaten the Cyclone on his feet. Mueller scored a takedown in the final seconds for the final margin of victory.
Mueller then beat Columbia senior Anthony Constantino, 12-3, again starting strong and scoring quickly. Twenty seconds into the match, Mueller secured a takedown, pulling Constantino by his foot off the edge of the mat before covering his hips.
Mueller scored another takedown in the first period. He added another in the second and two in the third period to earn Iowa State's first bonus points of the tournament.
Second-round opponent: 2006 NCAA Champion Dustin Schlatter. Mueller lost an 8-1 decision to the second-seeded Minnesota junior in early December.
157 pounds - Cyler Sanderson (29-4)
Sanderson topped Bloomsburg sophomore Matt Moley, 11-6, after jumping out to an early lead.
The Cyclone sophomore scored a takedown 35 seconds into the match. After an escape by Moley, Sanderson lifted the Huskie, adjusted his hold and brought Moley down to his back, scoring a takedown and a near-fall to build a 6-1 advantage.
Moley scored two near-fall points in the second and a takedown in the third period. Sanderson's other five points came off two escapes, a second-period takedown and a riding time advantage.
Second-round opponent: Missouri junior Michael Chandler (16-3). A rematch of the Big 12 finals will take place as seeded. Chandler beat Sanderson, 11-5, in a February dual, but Sanderson scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the Big 12 final to win a 6-5 decision. The Tiger is seeded 10th and edged Lehigh senior David Nakasone, 5-3, in the first round.
165 pounds - Jon Reader (27-7)
Reader showed his nerves early in his first-round match, taking off-balance shot and nearly giving up back points to Bucknell sophomore Andrew Rendos.
The Cyclone freshman scored a takedown later in the first period. Reader added a reversal and a three-point near-fall in the second period in an 8-2 win.
Second-round opponent: 11th-seeded Kent State senior Kurt Gross [29-5]. Gross knocked off Indiana sophomore Matt Caughlin, 6-3, in the first round.
174 pounds - Aron Scott (13-11)
Scott earned a trip to the second-round of the tournament with a 2-0 decision over George Mason's Randy Oates.
Scott rode the senior out in the second period and escape in the third for the victory. Oates picked up a single-leg shot late in the match and threatened to score, but Scott broke out of it an won the match.
This is the Cyclone senior's first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Second-round opponent: 3rd-seeded Nebraska junior Brandon Browne. The Cornhusker beat Scott, 7-3, in the final dual of the season.
184 pounds - Jake Varner (26-0)
Varner found himself on his butt early on in the match, as Penn junior Lion Zamir got in on a deep shot in the first period.
The No. 1 seeded Cyclone sophomore held on and a stalemate was called. Varner won, 6-0, in his typical, controlling fashion. He scored a takedown off a shuck-by in the first period. In the third, Zamir attempted a shot, but Varner just pushed him back, sending Zamir stumbling. Varner covered for a takedown and scoring a riding time point.
Zamir must be tired off the NCAA bracketologists: he lost to Varner in the first round last year too.
Second-round opponent: Stanford sophomore Zack Giesen (23-8). Giessen pinned Liberty's Chris Daggett in 6:27 to advance.
197 pounds - David Bertolino (23-11)
Bertolino broke open a close match in the second period, scoring a reversal and a two-point near-fall against Edinboro sophomore Patrick Bradshaw in a 10-0 major decision.
Bradshaw started down in the third period and tried to sit out for an escape. Bertolino caught him and pulled his shoulders to the mat for a two-point near-fall. The Cyclone senior used his signature ride, the bent-leg turk, to work Bradshaw for the rest of the period, scoring three more near-fall points.
Second-round opponent: 3rd-seeded Northwestern senior Mike Tamillow (31-3). Tamillow over-powered Bertolino in a 10-4 decision at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in mid-January. The Wildcat edged Arizona State senior Jason Trulson in the opening round.
Heavyweight - David Zabriskie (26-5)
Zabriskie scored two takedowns and a two-point near-fall in the third period to claim a 10-3 victory over Cal-State Bakersfield sophomore Mitch Monteiro.
Zabriskie broke a single-leg hold and circled Monteiro for a takedown in the second period. The Cyclone sophomore landed a shot late in the second period, but Monteiro countered with a throw, sending Zabriskie hurdling off the mat. With the match tied at two to start the third, Zabriskie had 57 seconds of riding time in his favor. He escaped three seconds into the frame.
Second-round opponent: 10th-seeded Pittsburgh junior Zach Sheaffer (30-7), who Zabriskie beat, 3-2, in the consolation bracket of the Midlands Championships in late December. Sheaffer pinned Boise State's Nick Smith in 4:11.
True freshman Tyler Clark (125) couldn't hold onto Central Michigan's Luke Smith in the first tiebreaker of overtime, giving up an escape as time expired in a 4-3 loss.
The loss dampened a nearly flawless session for the Cyclones. Iowa State won 10 of 11 matches in the first session and trailed Iowa by two points in the team standings. Here are the results:
Pigtails
Mitch Mueller, Iowa State, dec. Kyle Fried, Binghamton, 7-3
First round
125 - Luke Smith, Central Michigan, dec. Tyler Clark, Iowa State, 4-3 (SV1)
133 - Nick Fanthorpe, Iowa State, dec. Steve Bell, Maryland, 8-2
141 - Nick Gallick, Iowa State, dec. Chris Drouin, Arizona State, 3-0
149 - Mitch Mueller, Iowa State, maj. dec. Anthony Constantino, Columbia, 12-3
157 - Cyler Sanderson, Iowa State dec. Matt Moley, Bloomsburg, 11-6
165 - Jon Reader, Iowa State dec. Andrew Rendos, Bucknell, 8-2
174 - Aron Scott, Iowa State, dec. Randy Oates, George Mason, 2-0
184 - Jake Varner, Iowa State, dec. Lion Zamir, Penn, 6-0
197 - David Bertolino, Iowa State, maj. dec. Patrick Bradshaw, Edinboro, 10-0
HWT - David Zabriskie, Iowa State, dec. Mitch Monteiro, Cal-State Bakersfield, 9-3
Match-by-Match breakdown
125 pounds - Tyler Clark (19-10)
Head coach Cael Sanderson made his argument, but Clark's first round match was a loss nonetheless.
The true freshman was unable to break free from Smith before time expired in the first 30 second-tiebreaker. After working for a reversal, Clark tried to kick his foot free of Smith's grasp. The Chippewa senior maintained his grasp for the several seconds but did not receive his second stalling warning - which would have awarded the Cyclone a point. Sanderson argued the call, but nothing was changed.
Smith escaped as time expired in the next tiebreaker - a call Sanderson did not appear to argue. Clark beat Smith, 6-2, at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in mid-January. He (19-10) will begin his quest for third-place in the consolation bracket this evening.
Next opponent: The winner of senior Brandon Kinney [Columbia] and sophomore Marcos Orozco [UC Davis].
133 pounds - Nick Fanthorpe (29-4)
Fanthorpe settled into an 8-2 victory over Maryland sophomore Steve Bell.
After a Bell shot, the Cyclone sophomore finished a boot-to-boot scramble with Bell two minutes into the first period. In the second, Fanthorpe escaped, scored a takedown, and rode the Terapin for over a minute to build a 5-1 advantage, and then scored in the closing seconds of the match.
Bell only scored on escapes but landed several deep leg attacks in the match. He circled behind Fanthorpe twice and held the Cyclone from behind in a standing position.
Fanthorpe lost in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament to Bloomsburg's Michael Sees. He then won three matches before losing to Stanford's Tanner Gardner, falling one match short of placing.
Second-round opponent: Boise State junior Cory Fish (22-6). Fish knocked off Indiana's 12th-seeded Andrae Hernandez in the first round, 4-3.
141 pounds - Nick Gallick (24-11)
Gallick won a rematch with Arizona State's freshman Chris Drouin with an escape and a late takedown.
Drouin honored the Cyclone sophomore's riding ability by choosing the neutral position in the second period. Gallick escaped 31 seconds into the third period to go ahead, 1-0, but secured the victory with a takedown off a low single with 25 seconds left. Gallick beat the short-and-stock Sun Devil by the same score in early February.
Second-round opponent: Oklahoma freshman Zach Bailey [28-11], who upset Iowa's eighth-seeded Dan LeClere in the first round. Gallick beat Bailey, 10-3, in late January off two takedowns, two escapes, a three-point near-fall and a riding time advantage.
149 pounds - Mitch Mueller (22-11)
Mueller quickly built a lead against Binghamton senior Kyle Fried, scoring two takedowns in the first minute of 7-3 pigtail round win.
Fried beat Mueller, 6-4, in sudden victory in late November. Fried scored two escapes in the first period and another in the third period, but didn't threaten the Cyclone on his feet. Mueller scored a takedown in the final seconds for the final margin of victory.
Mueller then beat Columbia senior Anthony Constantino, 12-3, again starting strong and scoring quickly. Twenty seconds into the match, Mueller secured a takedown, pulling Constantino by his foot off the edge of the mat before covering his hips.
Mueller scored another takedown in the first period. He added another in the second and two in the third period to earn Iowa State's first bonus points of the tournament.
Second-round opponent: 2006 NCAA Champion Dustin Schlatter. Mueller lost an 8-1 decision to the second-seeded Minnesota junior in early December.
157 pounds - Cyler Sanderson (29-4)
Sanderson topped Bloomsburg sophomore Matt Moley, 11-6, after jumping out to an early lead.
The Cyclone sophomore scored a takedown 35 seconds into the match. After an escape by Moley, Sanderson lifted the Huskie, adjusted his hold and brought Moley down to his back, scoring a takedown and a near-fall to build a 6-1 advantage.
Moley scored two near-fall points in the second and a takedown in the third period. Sanderson's other five points came off two escapes, a second-period takedown and a riding time advantage.
Second-round opponent: Missouri junior Michael Chandler (16-3). A rematch of the Big 12 finals will take place as seeded. Chandler beat Sanderson, 11-5, in a February dual, but Sanderson scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the Big 12 final to win a 6-5 decision. The Tiger is seeded 10th and edged Lehigh senior David Nakasone, 5-3, in the first round.
165 pounds - Jon Reader (27-7)
Reader showed his nerves early in his first-round match, taking off-balance shot and nearly giving up back points to Bucknell sophomore Andrew Rendos.
The Cyclone freshman scored a takedown later in the first period. Reader added a reversal and a three-point near-fall in the second period in an 8-2 win.
Second-round opponent: 11th-seeded Kent State senior Kurt Gross [29-5]. Gross knocked off Indiana sophomore Matt Caughlin, 6-3, in the first round.
174 pounds - Aron Scott (13-11)
Scott earned a trip to the second-round of the tournament with a 2-0 decision over George Mason's Randy Oates.
Scott rode the senior out in the second period and escape in the third for the victory. Oates picked up a single-leg shot late in the match and threatened to score, but Scott broke out of it an won the match.
This is the Cyclone senior's first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Second-round opponent: 3rd-seeded Nebraska junior Brandon Browne. The Cornhusker beat Scott, 7-3, in the final dual of the season.
184 pounds - Jake Varner (26-0)
Varner found himself on his butt early on in the match, as Penn junior Lion Zamir got in on a deep shot in the first period.
The No. 1 seeded Cyclone sophomore held on and a stalemate was called. Varner won, 6-0, in his typical, controlling fashion. He scored a takedown off a shuck-by in the first period. In the third, Zamir attempted a shot, but Varner just pushed him back, sending Zamir stumbling. Varner covered for a takedown and scoring a riding time point.
Zamir must be tired off the NCAA bracketologists: he lost to Varner in the first round last year too.
Second-round opponent: Stanford sophomore Zack Giesen (23-8). Giessen pinned Liberty's Chris Daggett in 6:27 to advance.
197 pounds - David Bertolino (23-11)
Bertolino broke open a close match in the second period, scoring a reversal and a two-point near-fall against Edinboro sophomore Patrick Bradshaw in a 10-0 major decision.
Bradshaw started down in the third period and tried to sit out for an escape. Bertolino caught him and pulled his shoulders to the mat for a two-point near-fall. The Cyclone senior used his signature ride, the bent-leg turk, to work Bradshaw for the rest of the period, scoring three more near-fall points.
Second-round opponent: 3rd-seeded Northwestern senior Mike Tamillow (31-3). Tamillow over-powered Bertolino in a 10-4 decision at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in mid-January. The Wildcat edged Arizona State senior Jason Trulson in the opening round.
Heavyweight - David Zabriskie (26-5)
Zabriskie scored two takedowns and a two-point near-fall in the third period to claim a 10-3 victory over Cal-State Bakersfield sophomore Mitch Monteiro.
Zabriskie broke a single-leg hold and circled Monteiro for a takedown in the second period. The Cyclone sophomore landed a shot late in the second period, but Monteiro countered with a throw, sending Zabriskie hurdling off the mat. With the match tied at two to start the third, Zabriskie had 57 seconds of riding time in his favor. He escaped three seconds into the frame.
Second-round opponent: 10th-seeded Pittsburgh junior Zach Sheaffer (30-7), who Zabriskie beat, 3-2, in the consolation bracket of the Midlands Championships in late December. Sheaffer pinned Boise State's Nick Smith in 4:11.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Live from St. Louis
It's that time.
The NCAA Div. I Tournament kicks off Thursday morning at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. The first round starts at 11 a.m.
I'll be on the floor posting updates after each session. Check back for match scores, recaps and quotes from wrestlers and coaches.
ESPNU will air the quarterfinals live on Friday morning at 10 a.m. The channel will also air the semfinals at 6 p.m. ESPNU will also televise the medal round on Saturday at 10 a.m. ESPN will air the finals at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
-Luke Plansky
lplansky@iastate.edu
The NCAA Div. I Tournament kicks off Thursday morning at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. The first round starts at 11 a.m.
I'll be on the floor posting updates after each session. Check back for match scores, recaps and quotes from wrestlers and coaches.
ESPNU will air the quarterfinals live on Friday morning at 10 a.m. The channel will also air the semfinals at 6 p.m. ESPNU will also televise the medal round on Saturday at 10 a.m. ESPN will air the finals at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
-Luke Plansky
lplansky@iastate.edu
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