Finals Recap

Here are some comments on each of the finals matches from this past weekend.

125 Jake Oster (Elmhurst) dec Mike McInally (RIT) 8-7
A scary moment at the beginning when McInally brought Oster to mat after lifting him up in a single leg.  Oster landed flat on his back, making a resounding thud on the elevated platform.  McInally was penalized, and Oster was ok.  After that, it was vintage Oster, as he scored on some step overs while giving up points of his own, but never enough to cough up the lead.  He’s just a really tough matchup who is now a three time All-American with a year left to go.

133 Zac Bartlett (Luther) dec Nichalos Nothern (Cornell) 6-0
Nothern was on the offensive most of the match, but couldn’t convert any of his leg attacks into points.  The battle of IIAC foes was scoreless until Nothern got in on another leg attack, but Bartlett stepped over the ankle and scored five with the rarely seen leg cradle.  Nothern fought off his back, but there wasn’t enough time to do anything, and Bartlett became one of this weekend’s more unlikely champs.

141 Minga Batsukh (St. John’s) dec Zach McKray (Wartburg) 5-2
Batsukh took out the #1 seed in the semifinals and kept the momentum going in the finals against #2 McKray.  He was able to turn McKray’s pressure against him and score with some nice slidebys.  They spent a lot of time on their feet going back and forth, but McKray couldn’t penetrate Batsukh’s defense.

149 Matt Mauseth (UW-Lax) dec Paul LeBlanc (Cortland) 6-3
No one predicted this final, but Mauseth upset Holst and LeBlanc stopped Naig.  Mauseth was in control most of the way, mostly shutting down anything LeBlanc tried to get going.  His head started bleeding again from a wound sustained that morning, but he was able to stay focused and finish out a championship as a sophomore.

157 Aaron Wernimont (Wartburg) dec Jason Brew (Olivet) 2-1
It was a rematch of last year, but this time it was a closer fight.  Wernimont set the pace from the beginning and was constantly attacking, but he couldn’t finish any of his attempts.  He did, however, get the stalling point that proved the difference.  Later in the match, Brew opened up, but Wernimont did enough to fight him off while still continuing to attack at a slower pace.  He finished out the match to earn his second title and hsi 80th straight win.

165 Justin Hanson (Wartburg) dec Ben Youel (North Central) 7-3
These guys knew each other well, having wrestled twice this year and at least once last season.  Hanson was able to avenge his only loss of the year with a controlling victory.  It was a very tough weight class featuring last year’s champ and runner up, though neither made it to the finals.

174 Evan Brown (Dubuque) dec Rocky Mantella (Delaware Valley) 1-0
Mantella was favored, but he could not get anything going.  Brown’s extreme right footed stance made it impossible for Mantella to hit his left handed high crotch, so he had to shoot low sweeps to the other side, and he was not as adept at finishing.  Brown did almost nothing on his feet, but did enough to avoid the stalling call.  On the mat, Mantella never seemed to make a real attempt to get up and spent the whole second period on the mat.  He never got the takedown he needed, and Brown won on riding time.

184 Mike Wilcox (Delaware Valley) maj dec Phil Moenkedick (Concordia) 15-1
A couple of undefeated wrestlers went at it, but it didn’t take long for Wilcox to assert his control.  He scored with a few huge double legs, but also was able to score on the mat, which is his specialty.  Near the end Moenkedick was going for some big moves to try to get back into it, but Wilcox just took him straight to his back.  It had been a long year for Wilcox after a runner-up finish last year, but he made it count with a performance that earned him the OW award.

197 Jared Massey (Augsburg) maj dec Ryan Malo (Williams) 11-2
Massey wrestled a great tournament, and he was able to keep the momentum going against Malo in a matchup of D1 transfers.  Malo couldn’t get anything going against the aggressive Massey.  Massey rolled to a regional title and kept it going at the NCAA tournament, winning every match he wrestled against a DIII opponent.

285 Dan Laurent (UW-Lax) dec Mark Corsello (Elmhurst) 6-3
Laurent successfully defended his title after dropping a few DIII matches this season.  He scored his first takedown on a questionable call near the edge, but he thankfully got a few more to make that call moot.  He’s an aggressive heavyweight who uses his athleticism to keep the attack going, and he put it all together when it mattered most.