| 2006 NCAA TOURNAMENT |
| SEMIFINALS 125- Troy Nickerson (Cornell) d. Nick Simmons (Mich St) 2-1. - Joe Dubuque (Ind) d. Sam Hazewinkel (Okla) 2-1. 133- Matt Valenti (Penn) d. Nathan Morgan (Okla St) 7-3. - Chris Fleeger (Purdue) d. Shawn Bunch (Edin) 9-2. 141- Nate Gallick (Iowa St) d. Andy Simmons (Mich St) 4-2. - Teyon Ware (Okla) d. Cory Cooperman (Lehigh) 2-1. 149- Ty Eustice (Iowa) d. Zack Esposito (Okla St) 7-4. - Dustin Schlatter (Minn) d. Matt Storniolo (Okla) 5-1. 157- Brian Stith (Ariz St) d. Derek Zinck (Lehigh) 5-3. - Ben Cherrington (Boise St) d. Joe Johnston (Iowa) 8-3. 165- Ryan Churella (Mich) d. Joey Bracamonte (Oregon) 4-3. - Johny Hendricks (Okla St) d. Muzaffar Abdurakmanov (Amer) 4-3. 174- Jake Herbert (Northwestern) d. Mark Perry (Iowa) 9-3. - Ben Askren (Missouri) d. Mike Patrovich (Hofstra) 21-6. 184- Roger Kish (Minn) d. Pete Friedl (Illinois) 3-2. - Shane Webster (Oregon) d. Josh Glenn (Amer) 8-7. 197- Jake Rosholt (Okla St) p. Chris Weidman (Hofstra) 1:08. - Phillip Davis (Penn St) d. Jerry Rinaldi (Cornell) 7-4. 285- Steve Mocco (Okla St) d. Greg Wagner (Mich) 2-1. - Cole Konrad (Minn) d. Cain Vasquez (Ariz St) 2-2 OT tb. |
| MAT NOTES... New York State had 17 NCAA qualifiers and finished with eight All-Americans. Freshman standout Troy Nickerson (36-1) of Chenango Forks HS, now at Cornell, was the only Empire State grappler to advance to the championship finals. He will face defending champion Joe Dubuque ( 27-1) of Indiana for the 125-pound title. On facing Dubuque in the finals, Nickerson commented, " He is tough as nails. He proved that by getting to the finals again this year. I'm looking forward to the match. I just have to go out there and give it everything I got." Nickerson's last loss in high school was in his sophomore year to Mike Sees (PA , now Bloomsburg), Nickerson avenged that defeat by pinning Sees at the 3:27 mark in the quarterfinal round. There are only six undefeated wrestlers remaining in the NCAA Tournament, Nate Gallick (38-0) of Iowa State at 141, Ben Cherrington (20-0) of Boise State at 157, Ryan Churella (29-0) of Michigan at 165, Ben Askren (43-0) of Missouri at 174, Jake Herbert (37-0) of Northwestern, also at 174, and Cole Konrad (38-0) of Minnesota at heavyweight. Pennsylvania had 61 NCAA qualfiers, followed by California (27), Ohio (27) and New Jersey (26)...Hofstra, currently in eleventh place with 52.5 points, will finish with three All-Americans for the first time in the history of their program and Jon Masa (Long Beach HS) is their first three-time All-American, with finishes of 7-3-5. Other Pride All-Americans include Mike Patrovich (Islip HS, 4th at 174) and Chris Weidman (Baldwin HS, 6th at 197). Other New Yorkers who finished with All-American honors were freshman Gregor Gillespie (Webster-Schroeder HS, 7th at 149), of Edinboro, junior Matt Herrington (Troy-LaSalle HS, 5th at 174), of Penn, sophomore Josh Glenn (Johnson City HS, 4th at 184), of American Univerity, and two-time medallist Joe Mazzurco (Mahopac HS, 6th at 184), of Cornell. Cornell's Dustin Manotti (33-5) dropped his opening bout, to Oregon State's Tony Hook,13-5, and stormed back to win seven consecutive matches to finish in third place at 157 pounds. Also fiinishing as All-American for the Big Red, was Jerry Rinaldi (33-6) who finished fourth at 197 pounds. Rinaldi defeated former NYS wrestler and All-American, Kyle Cerminara (Buffalo), 3-1, in the quarterfinals, Cerminara didn't finish in the top eight this year. Defending NCAA campion Zack Esposito (27-4) of Oklahoma State finished third at 149 pounds and concluded his illustrious career as a three-time All-American. Former 2004 NCAA winner Troy Letters (Lehigh) was hampered with a neck injury throughout the season and failed to place at the 2006 meet... |