Also, coming later this week will be results of the picks game and the d3wrestle.com awards for Wrestler of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Freshman of the Year.
125 – Clayton Rush (Coe) major decision Tyler Erdman (Elizabethtown) 14-3
For starters, Rush seemed to be significantly bigger than Erdman, and that may have been a factor in the match. After wrestling last year’s tournament with a shoulder injury that required off-season surgery, Rush was healthy this year and dominant. He scored a quick takedown and just kept at it the rest of the match. Erdman was in on his leg a few times, but Rush was quick to dive through his legs and go for a funk roll. Rush was able to neutralize Erdman’s effective tilt series and stay out of trouble, adding a takedown and some back points right at the end to secure the major.
133 – Bebeto Yewah (UW-La Crosse) decision Paul Bjorkstrand (Augsburg) 14-9
Both guys came out swinging in one of the night’s most exciting matches. Each wrestler secured two first period takedowns, with Yewah taking the advantage by riding Bjorkstrand out after his second score. Bjorkstrand was able to add a few more takedowns, but he was only able to trade them with Yewah, so he didn’t make much headway. Yewah finished the second period on top as well to deny Bjorkstrand another point. A highlight came late in the match when Bjorkstrand escaped to cut the lead to 11-9, but Yewah, not content to sit on the lead, immediately attacked again to put the match away and give La Crosse the first of three champions.
141 – Minga Batsukh (St. John’s) decision Jeremy Stierly (Ithaca) 10-4
Back in the finals for a second year in a row Batsukh was not expecting to see the unseeded Stierly on the other side of the mat, but Stierly had the talent and grit to come out of the bottom half. Much of the beginning of the match featured Stierly on the offense, but Batsukh was able to catch him on his knees and score defensively. He also picked up some backpoints with an unusual hold where he just had Stierly’s legs. Batsukh was able to neutralize Stierly’s scrambling ability and top wrestling to win going away.
149 – Isaac Dukes (Case) decision Tony Valek (Augsburg) 8-4
Dukes came from behind to win in the semifinals, but left no doubt here. After a scoreless first period featuring shots by both wrestler’s, Valek chose bottom for the second period. Dukes was able to lock up a near side cradle and take Valek over opposite the conventional way most wrestlers go with the cradle to secure three back points. It was a precarious position relying on a strong grip from Dukes. As the match wore on, Dukes’s outstanding speed and athleticism was too much for Valek. Dukes scored with a pair of blinding double legs that Valek had no chance to stop, giving him a cushion to ride out the last few seconds and win the title.
157 – Luke Miller (Ohio Northern) decision Zach Mizer (Heidelberg) 4-2
This was the fourth meeting of the year for these two, and it was the first ever meeting of Ohio Athletic Conference wrestlers in the NCAA finals. Miller won the first three coming in, but Mizer was quick to score the first takedown in this match. After the 149 match, this was a bit of a slow down, as Miller relied on the superior riding and scrambling ability that got him this far to secure a win over a familiar opponent.
165 – Vincent Renaut (Merchant Marine) decision Orlando Ponce (Augsburg) 7-3
It was a matchup between the unseeded Renaut and 7th seeded Ponce in the biggest surprise matchup of the night. Ponce knocked Renaut out of the tournament last year, so they had seen each other before. A wild scramble at the end of the first period almost leave Renaut on his back, but he recovers to just give up the takedown and finishes the period trailing 2-0. Renaut returns the favor, after dislocating his finger midway through the period, and secures a takedown of his own at the end of the third. A quick escape sets up a 3-3 tie as the third period wound down. As Ponce tries to fend off a takedown attempt, Renaut gets 2 and 2 to win 7-3 and become the first ever champ from his conference, picking up the Outstanding Wrestler award as well.
174 – Michael Schmitz (UW-La Crosse) decision Evan Brown (Dubuque) 5-2
Brown won last year’s championship by avoiding risk and punishing his opponents on top, and the same strategy got him to the final against the athletic Schmitz. Schmitz kept his distance to avoid getting tied up, and then he used his superior speed to secure an early takedown. Suprising some, he chose down in the third, going into Brown’s wheelhouse, but he scored a fairly quick escape. Brown was able to fend off other takedown attempts, and the score was 3-2 as time ticked away. Brown attempted an arm spin that Schmitz countered for a takedown to provide the final margin of victory.
184 – Phil Moenkedick (Concordia Moorhead) decision Brennan Ward (Johnson & Wales) 7-4
Ward reached the finals by headlocking the #1 seed in the quarters and hitting a cement mixer on the #4 seed in the semifinals, proving he is never out of a match. Moenkedick respected this big move ability, and he was able to use his size and length to keep Ward at bay, scoring with some low singles and keeping Ward down with tough riding. Things got exciting late in the match as Ward caught Moenkedick on his back briefly to tie up the match, but the Concordia wrestler was able to fight off his back and get the reversal for his fifth and sixth points. After losing big in the finals last year, Moenkedick was on the right side of the result this year as the riding point gave the final margin.
197 – Byron Tate (Wartburg) decision Ryan Malo (Williams)
Tate’s win over the defending champion was a surprise in the semifinals, but his opponent was not, as Malo made his second straight finals appearance. Tate, however, wrestled a great tournament to get the win. He physically overpowered the very talented Malo, scoring with some nice double leg takedowns and weathering the storm on top. Malo was able to get his legs in and work his power half, but Tate had enough strength to avoid the turn and build back to his base. The first time starter became a first time NCAA champ.
285 – Dan Laurent (UW-La Crosse) decision John Helgerson (Wartburg) 2-0
Winning a third title is exciting enough, and that is a good thing since the match itself did not have a ton of action in it. A scoreless first period led to Laurent taking a 1-0 lead after the second period. Helgerson hoped to tie it up with an escape, but Laurent was able to keep him down the whole two minutes, denying the point and picking up one of his own for riding time. He won his third title without ever coming in as a the top seed. Not bad for a guy who showed up in Coach Dave Malecek’s office one day and said he wanted to wrestle.
