2000 NWCA All-Star Wrestling Classic Results
2/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The meet started with a 174-pound exhibition bout pitting MSU's 16th-ranked senior Will Hill (Indianpolis, Ind.) against No. 9 Mike Feeny of Eastern Michigan. Feeny scored a takedown and near-fall to take a 5-1 lead after the first period, and allowed Hill only three escapes and a point for stalling en-route to a 7-4 win.
At 125 pounds, No. 3 Leroy Vega of Minnesota took on No. 7 Steve Garland of Virginia and came away with a 9-4 win. Vega led 2-1 after scoring a takedown and allowing a Garland escape in the first period, and then scored seven points in the second period (two takedowns and a three-point near-fall) to take a 9-3 lead. Garland got one escape point in the third period to make the final 9-4.
McNamara's victory at 133 proved to be the most exciting of the evening. Sanderson came into the match with a 23-1 overall record and appeared to be headed toward another win after scoring a takedown for a 2-0 lead after one period. Sanderson chose the down position to start the second period in hopes of a quick escape, but McNamara managed to ride him for the entire period to keep the score at 2-0. McNamara then chose the down position to begin the third period and escaped in 11 seconds to pull within 2-1. With just :45 seconds remaining in the match, McNamara grabbed a single-leg takedown and held on to Sanderson for the remainder of the period for the 3-2 victory.
"This match was a real confidence booster for me," said McNamara. "I knew once I got that last takedown that I could ride Sanderson for the next 45 seconds and get the win. I got beat by (No. 1) Eric Juergens (of Iowa) here last week and that really hurt my confidence, but to get a win tonight really helps me. I think I showed everyone that I'm back from the shoulder surgery and ready to wrestle."
"Pat just wrestled extremely hard and never quit," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "He did a great of of riding Sanderson in the second period, and also riding him out at the end of the third. This is a great win for him coming off that shoulder injury."
No. 3 Michael Lightner of Oklahoma got a 7-3 win against seventh-ranked Damion Logan of Michigan at 141 pounds. Lightner led 2-0 at the end of the first on a takedown and scored three points in the second period to go up 5-1, then got an additional takedown in the third period to push the final score to 7-3. All three of Logan's points came on escapes.
In the 149 pound weight class No. 2 Adam Tirapelle of Illinois took a 7-3 decision from No. 3 David Esposito of Lehigh. In a match that was almost a carbon copy of the 141-pound bout, Tirapelle led 2-0 after the first and 4-2 after two periods, then added three points in the final period for the 7-3 final.
The 157-pound bout was a nail-biter, however, as No. 3 Brian Snyder of Nebraska pulled out a 7-6 win over No. 4 Eric Jorgensen of Oregon State. Snyder led 4-2 at the end of the first period, but Jorgensen knotted the score at 6-6 after closing the second period with a three-point flurry. Snyder chose the down position to start the third, escpaed with 1:28 remaining and fought off Jorgensen for the balance of the match for the win.
At 165 pounds, No. 4 Steven Blackford of Arizona St. pulled off a minor upset with a decisive 9-1 win over third-ranked and defending national champion Kirk White of Boise St. Blackford jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after the first period and never looked back. White's only point of the match came on a false-start penalty against Blackford at the start of the second period.
The 174-pound weight class provided the only overtime bout of the evening, a 3-1 triumph for No. 3 Josh Koscheck of Edinboro over No. 2 Rick Springman of Pennsylvania. After a scoreless first period Koscheck chose the down position to start the second and escaped to lead 1-0 heading into the third period, where Springman started on the bottom and escaped to tie the score at 1-1 at the end of regulation. The two then fought to a stalemate until Koscheck notched a takedown to win 3-1 with :53 left in the overtime period.
Iowa State's No. 1-ranked 184-pounder Cael Sanderson, undefeated this season at 28-0 and a perfect 66-0 for his collegiate career, scored a 6-1 victory against No. 3 Brandon Eggum of Minnesota to remain unblemished. Sanderson grabbed two takedowns and an escape, coupled with a point for riding time, and didn't allow Eggum to score his only escape until 1:05 remained in the third period.
In the only No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup of the evening, second-ranked Brad Vering of Nebraska got a 17-4 major decision over MSU's top-ranked Nick Muzashvili (Unadilla, N.Y./Rep. of Georgia) at 197 pounds. Vering was ahead 4-1 after the first period, 9-2 after the second and finished the match with seven points in the third period to bump the final score to 17-4..
"Things just didn't go the way I wanted them to," said Muzashvili. "I was flat from the beginning. I just have to look at this as something that will help me be better prepared for the rest of the season."
In the final match of the evening No. 1 Brock Lesnar of Minnesota held on for a narrow 5-4 win over No. 6 Bandele Adeniyi-Bada of Penn. Lesnar got a takedown just :13 into the match to take a 2-0 lead, but Adeniyi-Bada reversed Lesnar less than :30 later and tied the score at 2-2. Lesnar started the second period in the top position and rode Adeniyi-Bada for the entire 2:00 to lead 3-2 after the second period. Lesnar opted for the bottom position to start the final period and escaped for a 4-2 lead. Adeniyi-Bada tied the score at 4-4 on a takedown with :03 remaining in the match, but Lesnar's 2:22 riding-time advantage provided the winning margin in a 5-4 victory.
The Big 12 and Big Ten Conferences each came away with four victories on the evening, but three of the four Big 12 victories came at the expense of Big Ten foes.
Minkel said the meet was a tremendous success for the MSU wrestling program.
"The fans got a little bit of everything tonight: close decisions, major decisions, and overtime," said Minkel. "I think it says alot about the direction our program is taking to have an event like this in our home arena. All of our guys didn't win, but the meet was still a success for us. It was just a great chance to get some recognition for our team and our University, and for our wrestlers to be rewarded for their hard work."
The Spartans return to action on Feb. 11, when they travel to Saline High School to host the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers at 7:30 p.m. MSU then returns to Jenison Wrestling Arena for a pair of dual meets on Feb. 13. The Green-and-White entertain the No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers at 1 p.m. and return later that afternoon to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 4 p.m.
NWCA ALL-STAR WINNER'S QUOTES
Leroy Vega (Minnesota, 125): "It's good for me (winning over Virginia's Steve Garland), because this past month I lost a match, so I was kind of down and I needed to get my confidence up. So it was real good for me to get another match before the Big Ten Championships come against another top-ranked guy. Basically I am just going to take it day by day, we have four more matches before Big Ten's, so I'm just going to get ready and go at it."
Pat McNamara (Michigan State, 133): "I knew once I got that takedown that I could ride him (Cody Sanderson) for the next 45 seconds and get the win."
"It (the match) was a real confidence booster. I was kind of down because I got beat by Eric Juergens - the No. 1-ranked guy - here last weekend and that really hurt my confidence, but for me to get a win here tonight really helps me. I think I showed everyone in the stands that I'm back (from a shoulder injury) and ready to wrestle."
Michael Lightner (Oklahoma, 141): "It is a great honor to be selected for this and I took it very seriously. I didn't want to just be a selection and go out and wrestle, I wanted to win. I'm happy that I went out there and not only won but controlled the match. So I am a lot more confident going into the last part of the season. It was a big step for me toward the NCAA Tournament."
Adam Tirapelle (Illinois, 149): "Well we don't see Lehigh much, so I knew it was a big match for me, wrestling against (David) Esposito. I really think he is going to be top five in the country. It was a big match. I knew that he was a fast starter, but if I could wear him down then I could score in the end, and that's what happened."
"I think I'm close (to where I want to be), but I need another push. Another hard two-a-day push before the Big Ten Championships to really get in the shape I want to be in."
Brian Snyder (Nebraska, 157): "I know I am not completely where I need to be, but I am pretty happy with where I am at right now. Tonight's match was a big win for me."
Steven Blackford (Arizona State, 165): "I know now that I can beat these guys. It is one thing to work hard enough to beat them, but it is another thing to go out there and beat them. It was just a real good win. Everything has just been clicking for me this week and it has really helped reinforce what I have already done. It (tonight's match) is definitely an accelerator as far as me knowing what I have done and what I have to keep doing."
Josh Koscheck (Edinboro, 174): "Being selected to this meet was a good honor because only the top athletes in wrestling are selected for this meet. I feel I did a pretty good job of representing Edinboro. I am gearing up for nationals, I just have to get in a little better shape and hopefully I will get one or two seed, and we'll just see where it goes from there."
"Just intensity in overtime will win the match. If you're down one bit and don't have enough intensity then you are going to get taken down. I just wanted to keep a good intensity into overtime."
Cael Sanderson (Iowa State, 184): "It is an honor to be chosen. It is a nice place, I have never been to Michigan before. It is a good opportunity to wrestle a top opponent, so it is hard to pass up an opportunity like this. I think I am getting close to where I need to be.
Nick Muzashvili (Michigan State, 197), lost 17-4: "It just didn't go the way I wanted it to go, but I have just got look at it as something which will help better prepare me for the rest of the season."
Brad Vering (Nebraska, 197), won 17-4: "I got picked last night at about 6:00 and I was a little bit scared because I had wrestled the No. 5 guy on Friday and I wrestled No. 3 yesterday, and now I had to come here and wrestle No. 1 - all in four days. But I talked to my coach and he told me it would be a good idea because it is kind of like wrestling at the national tournament. It was a perfect practice for me. I have wrestled some of my best matches away from Lincoln, Neb., and in situations exactly like this."
"The big thing is right now I am just going to work on getting a little bigger and a little bit stronger before nationals, just work on the little things that are going to win me a national championship. All the big things are set, but the guys that pay attention to detail and work on the little things from now until the national tournament are going to be the guys that are going to be in the finals."
Brock Lesnar (Minnesota, HWT): "It's a great honor to here. It is good intensity if you are up for it (NWCA Meet) at this time of the year. As far as my performance, I wasn't very happy with it, but you have some of those. It just goes to show that you have to be ready at all times of the match"
"I think is says a lot (having three representatives). I think Minnesota is one of the best, we are trying to become the best."
Match/Score
Exh. (174) - No. 9 Mike Feeny (E. Michigan) dec. No. 16 Will Hill (Michigan St.), 7-4125 - No. 3 Leroy Vega (Minnesota) dec. No 7 Steve Gardner (Virginia), 9-4133 - No. 3 Pat McNamara (Michigan St.) dec. No. 2 Cody Sanderson (Iowa St.), 3-2141 - No. 3 Michael Lightner (Oklahoma) dec. No. 7 Damion Logan (Michigan), 8-3149 - No. 2 Adam Tirapelle (Illinois) dec. No. 3 David Esposito (Lehigh), 7-3157 - No. 3 Brian Snyder (Nebraska) dec. No. 4 Eric Jorgensen (Oregon St.), 7-6165 - No. 4 Steven Blackford (Arizona St.) dec. No. 3 Kirk White (Boise St.), 13-1174 - No. 3 Josh Koscheck (Edinboro) dec. No. 2 Rick Springmen (Penn), 3-1 OT184 - No. 1 Cael Sanderson (Iowa St.) dec. No. 3 Brandon Eggum (Minnesota), 6-1197 - No. 2 Brad Vering (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 1 Nick Muzashvili (Mich. St), 17-4285 - No. 1 Brock Lesnar (Minnesota) dec. No. 6 Bandele Adeniyi-Bada (Penn), 5-4