Minnesota won the team title with 136.0 points, followed closely by Illinois with 125.0. Michigan was third with 115.0 followed by the Nittany Lions with 91.0. Northwestern was fifth with 87.5 and Iowa was sixth with 86.0.
The final session began with the consolation semifinals. While all the grapplers in the round had earned a spot at nationals, up for grabs was the chance to wrestle for third place and important team points.
The first of four Nittany Lions in the conso semis was freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) at 133. Strayer, the No. 5 seed, was to meet No. 2 seed Chris Fleeger of Purdue. But Fleeger was suffering from an injured toe and gave up a medical forfeit to Strayer, advancing the Nittany Lion freshman to the third place bout.
At 174, junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) faced off against No. 3 seed R.J. Boudro of Michigan State. Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, was taken down in the first period by Boudro and could never quite recover. Boudro did not allow Yonushonis to escape and led 2-0 after one period. Yonushonis chose down to begin the second and escaped to cut the lead to 2-1, but neither wrestler could score again in the middle period. Boudro would add another take down in the third and get off the mat with a hard earned 6-2 win. Yonushonis moved to the bout for fifth place with the loss.
Senior DeWitt Driscoll downed Illinois' Cassio Pero in the seventh place bout at 141 by a 10-4 score to earn an automatic trip to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City.
Senior All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.), coming off an upset loss in the semifinals at 184, met No. 6 seed Mike Tamillow of Northwestern. Bradley, the No. 1 seed entering the tournament, wrestled Tamillow to a 0-0 tie after one period. The senior co-captain chose down to begin the second and escaped to a 1-0 lead. With just four seconds left in the second, Bradley got a key takedown to carry a 3-0 lead into the third period. Tamillow chose down to begin the third period and escaped, but he could not break through Bradley's defense and the Nittany Lion All-American went on to post the 3-1 win. The victory earned Bradley a shot at third place alter in the session.
Senior heavyweight Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.), the No. 4 seed, met No. 3 seed Dustin Fox of Northwestern in the final conso semi for Penn State. The duo wrestled to a 0-0 tie through the first three minutes. Edwards chose down to begin the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. But midway through the period, the Nittany Lion got called for fleeing the mat, tying the score at 1-1. The second period ended knotted at that score and Fox chose down to begin the third. The Wildcat escaped to a 2-1 lead, forcing Edwards to go for the winning take down to earn a shot at third place. Taking a solid shot with :20 left, Edwards was countered by Fox, who got a take down of his own and grabbed a tough 4-2 win. The loss sent Edwards into a fifth place bout against Ohio State's Kirk Nail.
With the consolation semifinals complete, the bouts for places three through eight began on Assembly Hall's three mat set up for the final session. While the conso finals and fifth place bouts had important team points and placing riding on them, the bouts for seventh place had the added drama of a spot at nationals tacked on. The Big Ten qualifies 72 wrestlers for the NCAA Championship, the top seven at each weight class and two wildcards. Seventh place was a guarantee, eighth place was not.
Before the third and fifth place matches were wrestled, three Nittany Lion upperclassmen got their chances to qualify for the national championships and leave nothing to be decided in a wildcard meeting.
Senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) was the tournament's No. 4 seed but was coming off two upset losses that had dropped him into a battle for his NCAA life in the seventh place bout at 141. Driscoll met No. 6 seed Cassio Pero of Illinois, the same Cassio Pero that knocked him out of contention last year. Driscoll came out on fire, nailing Pero with a four-point move (take down and a two-point near fall) to lead 4-1 a minute in (after the Pero escape). Driscoll added yet another take down to post a solid 6-1 lead heading into the second. Perio chose neutral to begin the second and quickly took Driscoll down, but the Lion senior escaped to carry a 7-3 lead into the final period. Driscoll added another take down and rolled to an impressive 10-4 win, punching his ticket to nationals with a seventh place finish. Driscoll finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and heads to nationals with a 16-9 mark.
Senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.), the No. 7 seed, was also in a battle for a spot in the NCAA Championships, facing No. 8 seed Darren McKnight of Michigan State for seventh place at 149. Woodall got the first take down of the bout and took an 2-1 lead into the second after a McKnight escape. The second period began with Woodall choosing down and quickly escaping to a 3-1 lead. Each wrestler had his chances to score in the middle stanza, but neither could finish and the bout entered the final two minutes with Woodall holding a 3-1 lead. McKnight chose down to begin the third and escaped, but not until Woodall had worked up over a minute's worth of riding time. With no one notching another take down, the riding time point cushioned Woodall's final victory score, giving the Lion senior a 4-2 win and a trip to nationals. The seventh place finisher went 3-2 over the weekend and heads to Oklahoma City with a 10-7 mark.
Senior Nathan Galloway bested Ohio State's Steve Sommer 5-1 in the seventh place bout at 157 to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships, giving Penn State eight national qualifiers in the process.
Junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.), the No. 8 seed at 157, looked to earn a trip to Oklahoma City by placing higher than his seed in the seventh place bout against No. 7 seed Steve Sommer of Ohio State. Sommer, who downed Galloway earlier this year in a dual, and the Nittany Lion junior battled to a 0-0 tie after the first period. Galloway chose down to begin the second period but was muscled from up top by Sommer, who rode him for most of the period. But with just under :30 left, Galloway worked out of his bottom position to score a crucial reverse and, just as importantly, maintained his hold on Sommer until the period's end. With Galloway up 2-0 entering the final period, Sommer chose down. Not to be denied a return to the national championships, Galloway promptly turned Sommer to get two back points and ice the win. Galloway closed Sommer out with a 5-1 victory, earning the seventh place spot at 157 and a spot on the plane to Oklahoma City. Galloway went 2-2 in the tournament and heads to nationals with a 13-14 record.
With three more Lions qualified for nationals, bringing the team total to eight, it was time for the placing bouts with important team points on the line. Penn State entered the final rounds in fourth place with 79.5 points, just ahead of Northwestern (79.0) and just behind third place Iowa (84.0). With the immediate goal of trying to catch the Hawkeyes, Penn State began its final five bouts of the Big Ten tourney.
Strayer was up first in the placing bouts, meeting Michigan's Mark Moos in the battle for third place at 133. Moos, who downed Strayer 7-5 in sudden victory in the quarters, was the No. 4 seed while Strayer was seeded No. 5. Moos got the scoring going with two early take downs in the first period. But each time, Strayer quickly escaped and, with seconds remaining in the opening stanza, the Nittany Lion freshman took Moos down and held him for the final moments to send the bout to the second tied 4-4. Strayer chose down to begin the second period and, after a bit of work, reversed Moos to go up 6-4. Moos would escape before the period ended to cut the Strayer lead to 6-5 entering the final three minutes. Moos chose down and did escape to tie the score at 6-6, but not before Strayer had worked up over a minute's worth of riding time. Strayer added another take down late in the bout and went on to post an impressive 9-6 win. The victory gave Strayer third place in his first Big Ten Tournament. He went 4-1 on the weekend and heads to NCAAs with a 23-4 overall record.
At 174, Yonushonis picked up fifth place and team bonus points by getting a medical forfeit win over Illinois' Donny Reynolds. Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, went 2-2 during the tournament and heads to nationals with a 20-6 record. His win also inched Penn State closer to Iowa in the battle for fourth place in the team race.
Bradley got his shot at third place against No. 2 seed Ben Wissel of Purdue. Wissel go the first take down of the bout :20 in and proceeded to ride Bradley out for the last 2:40 of the first period. The Boilermaker chose down to begin the second and was cut by Bradley to a 3-0 lead. Bradley then went on a take down flurry, getting two before the period's end, tying the bout at 4-4. Bradley chose down to begin the third and escaped in due time, but after the escape, Wissel quickly got in on a single leg to score the bout's critical take down. While getting hit for a stall, Wissel still held on for a hard-fought 7-6 win. The loss gave Bradley the fourth place spot. The senior went 2-2 and heads to nationals with an 11-3 record.
The finals and bouts for third through sixth were wrestled concurrently on the three-mat set-up in Assembly Hall. Given that, it was late in the afternoon when Nittany Lion sophomore Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) took to the center mat and got his shot at 197 crown against top-seeded Tyrone Byrd of Illinois. Davis, the No. 2 seed, and Byrd battled through an even first period, with neither wrestler scoring. Byrd chose neutral to begin the second period. Davis was the aggressor in the period, but none of his offensive efforts was rewarded with any points and the title bout entered the final two minutes still scoreless. Davis chose down to begin the final period. Byrd rode him for over a minute before Davis reversed the Illini and got to back points to go up 4-0. He would maintain his top position to close out the bout and grabbed the 2006 Big Ten Championship with a 4-0 decision. The sophomore All-American went 4-0 over two days and heads to nationals with a 21-3 record.
Senior James Woodall defeated Michigan State's Darren McKnight 4-2 in the seventh place bout at 149 to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Edwards, wrestling in the final bout for Penn State in the tournament, got a medical forfeit at heavyweight, good enough for three team points, which cemented fourth place in the team race. Edwards, the No. 4 seed, earned fifth place with a 3-2 record. He heads to Oklahoma City with a 17-6 overall mark.
"Last year, I came here and while I didn't doubt myself, I wasn't as confident in what I could get done," Davis said after claiming the title and referring to his 4th place finish as a freshman. "This year, I knew coming in that no matter who I faced, I would give them a tough effort. I put myself in a position to win the title and took advantage of the opportunity."
Penn State went 9-3 in the final session and 22-17 overall in the tournament, highlighted by Davis' 4-0 mark. The rest of the Lion records were as follows: Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) 0-2 at 125; Strayer 4-1 and 3rd at 133; Driscoll 2-2 and 7th place at 141; Woodall 3-2 and 7th place at 149; Galloway 2-2 and 7th place at 157; David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) 0-2 at 165; Yonushonis 2-2 and 5th at 174; Bradley 2-2 and 4th at 184; and Edwards 3-2 and 5th at HWT.
"I'm very pleased that we crowned a Big Ten Champion and have eight guys going to nationals," Sunderland said. "The guys we had wrestling for seventh place set the tone for us today and did a great job. They wanted to earn their spots in the national championships instead of leaning on a wildcard. I'm proud of the way we came back as a team today after a tough round last night."
Sunderland will now take his eight Nittany Lions to Oklahoma City and the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Action at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City commences on Thursday, March 16, and runs through Saturday, March 18.
The entire 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be recapped in a two hour show, which will include the finals, by national cable network CSTV. The tournament show will run numerous times next week, please check your local listings for broadcast times or go to www.GoPSUsports.com for a listing of airtimes.
The following is a breakdown of the complete championship finals (tournament seed in parenthesis):
125: (2) Nick Simmons MSU dec. (4) Kyle Ott ILL, 7-0
133: (3) Todd Clum WISC dec. (1) Mack Reiter MINN, 6-4 SV3
141: (2) Andy Simmons MSU dec. (5) Ryan Lang NU, 8-2
149: (1) Dustin Schlatter MINN maj. dec. Troy Tirapelle ILL, 13-0
157: (3) C.P. Schlatter MINN dec. (1) Alex Tirapelle ILL, 5-2
165: (1) Ryan Churella MICH dec. (3) Matt Nagel MINN, 7-0
174: (1) Jake Herbert NU WBF (2) Mark Perry IOWA, 4:02
184: (3) Roger Kish MINN dec. (4) Pete Friedl ILL, 3-1
197: (2) Phil Davis PSU dec. (1) Tyrone Byrd ILL, 4-0
HWT: (1) Cole Konrad MINN dec. (2) Greg Wagner MICH, 6-1 SV
The following is the final team standings for the 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships:
1: Minnesota 136.0
2: Illinois 125.0
3: Michigan 115.0
4: PENN STATE 91.0
5: Northwestern 87.5
6: Iowa 86.0
7: Wisconsin 76.5
8: Michigan State 68.0
9: Purdue 45.5
10: Indiana 43.5
11: Ohio State 40.0
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