Michigan State University Athletics
McNamara Wins 133-Pound Big Ten Title, Team Finishes Eighth
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 7, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State wrestling team finished eighth at the Big Ten Championships Sunday at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, with 53.5 points, while sophomore Pat McNamara (Jordan, Minn.) captured the Big Ten title at 133 pounds. Minnesota brought an end to Iowa's string of 25-straight Big Ten championships, finishing first with 139 points, followed by the Hawkeyes (121) and Penn State (109).
McNamara captured the first conference crown of his career with a 12-10 win over third-seeded Joe Warren of Michigan. McNamara led 6-2 after two periods, but Warren came back to tie the score at 8-8 halfway through the third. McNamara then scored an escape and takedown to go ahead 11-8. Warren got a reversal with less than 10 seconds remaining to close the gap to 11-10, but McNamara held on and his advantage in riding time pushed the final score to 12-10.
The win marks the fifth straight season in which MSU has crowned at least one individual Big Ten champion.
"I was able to get some takedowns early and get him off his feet and that's what won me the match," said McNamara. "When I attacked and stayed on the offensive I was winning."
The win was the fourth of the season for McNamara over Warren.
"It makes things harder," said McNamara. "We both know what the other is going to do. But it's always nice to get a win in the rivalry with Michigan. It makes for a fun Big Ten Tournament."
"I'm real proud of Pat," said MSU Head Coach Tom Minkel. "He didn't get rattled and was very composed under pressure. He's a quality wrestler and a quality person."
Four other Spartans will join McNamara at the NCAA Championships, March 18-20 at Penn State University. Sophomore Matt Lamb (Pensacola, Fla) at heavyweight, juniors Will Hill (Indianapolis, Ind.) at 174 and Nick Muzashvili (Unadilla, NY) at 197, and senior Issac Miller (Flint, Mich.) at 141 each earned a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Muzashvili, the fourth seed, earned his second straight NCAA berth and a third-place finish with a 7-3 win over fifth-seeded Pat Quirk of Illinois. The sixth-seeded Lamb was defeated 8-4 by seventh seed Mark Janus of Penn State, but his fourth-place finish will send him to his first NCAA bid.
Hill also qualified for his second straight NCAA Championship on the strength of a 10-2 major decision over Delaney Berger of Minnesota in the fifth-place match, while Miller will advance to the NCAA's for the second year in a row after defeating Minnesota's Chad Erikson, 7-6, in the seventh-place bout.
"The tournament went well for us," said Minkel. "It's nice to see Muzashvili move up to third place and Lamb had a great tournament. Hill came through a very tough weight class and Miller came through for us, so we've got five quality guys going to the NCAA Championships and we're pretty pleased about that. Overall we're happy with where we are."
Final Team Standings (pts.) Individual Champions 1. Minnesota 139.0 125 lbs. - Jeremy Hunter, Penn State 2. Iowa 121.0 133 - Pat McNamara, Michigan State 3. Penn State 109.0 141 - Doug Schwab, Iowa 4. Illinois 82.5 149 - T.J. Williams, Iowa 5. Michigan 76.5 157 - Jamie Heidt, Iowa 6. Wisconsin 59.5 165 - Don Pritzlaff, Penn State 7. Northwestern 56.5 174 - Glenn Pritzlaff, Wisconsin 8. Michigan State 53.5 184 - Brandon Eggum, Minnesota 9. Indiana 48.0 197 - Tim Hartung, Minnesota 10. Purdue 31.5 HWT - Brock Lesnar, Minnesota 11. Ohio State 30.0
Outstanding Wrestler of the Championship Outstanding Freshman of the Year Jamie Heidt, Iowa Viktor Sveda, Indiana
Big Ten Wrestler of the Year Big Ten Coach of the Year Tim Hartung, Minnesota J Robinson, Minnesota
