Northwestern In Eighth Place After Session One of NCAA Championships
March 17, 2005
ST. LOUIS, MO> - Six victories in six matches, two pins, one major and three decisions add up to Northwestern sitting in eighth place at the conclusion of session one of the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo. The Wildcats totaled 13.0 points, while Oklahoma State leads the way with 23.5. Minnesota is second, followed by Cornell in third and Oklahoma in fourth. There is a three-way tie for fifth between Iowa, Iowa State and Illinois. Freshman Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) led the `Cats in session one with a pair of victories. He earned a close, 5-3 decision to open the day and a quick pin at 1:01 in his second match. Freshmen Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edwards) recorded the `Cats other pin at 2:21. Junior Matt Delguyd (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) posted a 11-2 major decision, while freshman Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and junior John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) each notched decision victories. In Northwestern's first match of the day, Fox, seeded 12th at heavyweight, shook off a slow start against Fresno State's unseeded Clint Walbeck. Walbeck earned a takedown at the midway point of round one, but Fox got a point back with an escape at the 30-second mark. He then tied it up at 2-2 with an escape to start the second round, and the two stayed at that same score heading into the final frame. There, Walbeck earned an escape, but Fox later scored two points to take a 4-3 lead with 1:15 to go. He closed out the win 5-3.
Fox bookended that win three and a half hours later with his pin of Pittsburgh's Zach Sheaffer at 1:01. He will battle fifth-seeded Greg Wagner of Michigan in session two tonight. Wagner defeated Fox most recently at the Big Ten Championships, 14-1.
At 125 lbs., the 11th-seeded Velez took on unseeded Matt Pitts of Chattanooga. Pitts took a 2-0 lead off a takedown with less than 15 seconds to go in the first round. But Velez scrambled to earn an escape before the end of the round, cutting Pitts' lead to 2-1. Velez quickly knotted the score at 2-2 with an escape in second round, but Pitts got back on top, 4-2, with another takedown. Yet another escape by Velez pulled him to within one, before he took a 5-4 lead with a leg-sweeping takedown. After riding Pitts for a solid minute to begin the third round, Velez tacked on three more points for a near fall, extending his lead to 8-4. Pitts would earn an escape point, but it was too little, too late. Velez earned another takedown for good measure and a bonus point for riding time to claim the 11-5 decision. Velez will battle sixth-seeded Efren Ceballos of Cal-State Bakersfield in the second round tonight. At 141 lbs., Lang went to work early in his opening bout against Roberto Vargas of Cal-State Bakersfield, earning a takedown about halfway through the first round. It did not take him much longer to earn his team-leading seventh pin of the year at 2:21. Next up for Lang is the nation's top 141-pounder - Nate Gallick of Iowa State. Gallick is 26-0 this year, but barely skated by the unseeded Jordan Leen of Cornell in his opening match, 2-0. Northwestern's next action came at 174 lbs, as Herbert locked horns with Jeremy Larson of Oregon State. Herbert recorded sporadic takedowns, but it was his riding time that ultimately told the story of the match. With a bonus point for 3:06 of riding time, Herbert had himself a 11-5 decision. Coming off a Big Ten Championship at 197 lbs., Delguyd showed no signs of rust against Joe Phillips of Cleveland State. He held a 2-1 lead after first round. In the second round though, Delguyd took Phillips to `Takedown City,' recording a flurry of takedowns to mount a 8-1 lead by the midway point of the round. The two had a fairly uneventful round three, and Delguyd finished with the 11-2 major decision. For complete results of the NCAA Championships, go to 2005 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Wildcats' Session 1 Results
Wildcats' Session 2 Matchups
Television Coverage |
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