Finals Wrap Up

125 Kenneth Anderson (Wartburg) dec. Nathan Fitzenreider (North Central) 6-2
Anderson scored quickly and rode hard. A late first period escape and a penalty point for Fitzenreider locked the match up at 2-2. In what turned out to be a critical choice, Fitzenreider chose down in the 2nd and Anderson rode him out. A set of back points that period proved the difference, as neither wrestler made it to his feet in periods 2 or 3. Anderson reversed a 10-1 loss to Fitzenreider from earlier in the season to win his title.

133 Seth Ecker (Ithaca) major decision Jordan Westfall (Coe) 8-0
The defending champ Ecker dominated this match from the opening whistle. He secured an early takedown and tilt to build up a lead that just kept growing. Westfall wrestled a great tournament to get to this match with wins over the #2 and #3 seeds, but he had no answers for Ecker.

141 Kodie Silvestri (Wartburg) dec. Bebeto Yewah (UW-La Crosse) 11-9
In the upset of the night, Silvestri was able to match Yewah’s pace long enough to build a lead he could not lose. Yewah came out a little reckless with his shots, and Silvestri was able to secure a couple of go behind takedowns that shocked the home crowd. Later in the match, as Yewah tried to make his comeback, the official curiously did not award escapes to Silvestri even though Yewah was facing him and had completely broken contact.  Ultimately, Yewah ran out of time to come back, and Silvestri stopped Yewah from winning his third consecutive title.

149 Jeremy Stierly (Ithaca) dec. Anthony Dattolo (Wilkes) 3-1
Stierly wrestles a slow and deliberate style that sucks time off the clock and gives opponents fits as they try to mount a comeback. A late takedown and rideout gave Stierly a 2-0 lead heading into the 2nd period. They traded escapes as Stierly constantly slid sideways to the edge, giving Dattolo no room to work for a tying takedown. Dattolo seemed to lack either a sense of urgency or an attack other than his arm drag as time ran out and Stierly finally won after losing in his two previous trips to the finals.

157 Nazar Kulchytskyy (UW-Oshkosh) dec. Orlando Ponce (Augsburg) 10-9
Ponce was a second consecutive finalist who was looking for a title after two runner-up finishes, but Kulchytskyy followed a similar gameplan that he had in the semifinals. Nazar scored with a first period double leg to Ponce’s back that nearly ended the match, and he was able to hang onto the lead. Kulchytskyy does not attack constantly, but he stays in great position and when he does attack, he almost always scores. Ponce mounted a late comeback, but Kulchytskyy was able to do just enough to stave off one last takedown attempt and turn the tables on Ponce after suffering a 9-4 defeat earlier in the season.

165 Landon Williams (Warburg) dec. Nick LeClere (Coe) 7-4
LeClere struck first with a takedown in a rematch of the IIAC final and rode Williams tough. He gave up a late reversal. It became a tight match dominated mostly by Williams demonstrating the hard riding that gave him an advantage in earlier matches in the tournament. LeClere had a chance to get the tying takedown as the clock wound down, but an underhook throwby attempt became a Williams bodylock that secured the win. Wartburg was penalized a team point for excessive celebration by Williams, but it didn’t stop the Knights from having the 4th highest point total ever.

174 Kyle Kwiat (Ohio Northern) dec. Bradley Banks (Wartburg) 7-4
It was a contrast in styles as Banks is dynamic on his feet and Kwiat was the DIII tech falls leader this season. Banks scored immediately with a low single off the whistle and built up some riding time. Kwiat never panicked, even when Banks started to build up some riding time, and he fought his way back into the match. Banks nearly got another takedown on the edge, but Kwiat was able to use his own skills on top plus some end of period takedowns to come out on top and become a three time All-American with one more year to go.

184 Mike Denver (TCNJ) fall Mike Reilly (King’s) 3:55
In a rematch of the Metro finals, Reilly struck first with an early takedown and went to work on top. Denver was ready for him and earned an escape. A takedown from Denver later in the period resulted in a leg injury for Reilly that seriously hampered his ability to compete. Reilly was not really able to stop Denver at this point, and Denver was able to score in all three positions, eventually earning a second period fall. Denver was awarded the first ever Most Dominant award from the NCAA for season-long dominance.

197 Byron Tate (Warburg) dec. Dustin Baxter (St. John’s) 7-2
After a scare and some friendly officiating in the semifinals, Tate did not leave anything to chance in the finals. He put together another workman-like performance, dominating on his feet and scoring three nice takedowns to secure his third title. Baxter, like most of Tate’s opponents the past two years, was unable to get anything going, and the match had an air of foregone conclusion after the first Tate double leg.

285 Chad Johnson (Augsburg) dec. Corey Anderson (UW-Whitewater) 6-1
It was a battle of two very athletic heavyweights who both have good leg attacks. Anderson kept attacking the whole time with his nice head outside attacks, but it doesn’t take very many steps to get out of bounds when the wrestlers are this big. Johnson countered with his own attacks and really made escaping from bottom difficult for Anderson. With the sophomore Johnson winning this title, he could end up as the next of several recent 3x NCAA DIII heavyweight champions.