Karl Nadolsky Claims 149-Pound Individual Championship At MSU Open

Nov. 10, 2002

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Senior Karl Nadolsky (Holland) claimed the 149-pound individual championship as the No. 16 Michigan State wrestling team wrapped up action Sunday afternoon (Nov. 10) at the two-day MSU Open at Jenison Field House. Eight Spartans placed in the event, which featured 18 schools and nearly 400 wrestlers. No team scores were kept and all wrestlers competed unattached. Tommy Rowlands, a heavyweight from Ohio State, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler, while Eastern Michigan's J.J. Holmes earned the Most Falls Award with three in a time of 6:33.

Nadolsky, the No. 1 seed at 149 pounds, made his last MSU Open a memorable one as he defeated Justin Giovinco of Pittsburgh, 3-1, in the championship match. Nadolsky recorded the lone takedown in the match late in the first period. He held onto the lead the entire match, recording an escape point at the beginning of the third to seal the 3-1 win. Nadolsky beat Findlay's Waylon Lowe, 3-0, earlier in the day in the semifinal round.

In a heartbreaker, top-seed Nik Fekete (Sr., Cranford, N.J.) lost to second-seeded Anton Talamantes of Ohio State, 2-1, in the 197-pound championship match. Fekete was up 1-0 when Talamantes recorded a takedown with only 10 seconds remaining in the third period.

For the second consecutive year, Nick Simmons (Fr., Williamston) came up short in the 125-pound final as he fell to top-seeded A.J. Grant of Michigan, 6-1. Simmons advanced to the championship match by pinning Matt Valenti of Penn at the 4:50 mark in the semifinals.

Rashad Evans (Sr., Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and John Wechter (Sr., Saginaw), both of whom reached the semifinals, each took sixth place at 184 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Evans lost to second-seeded Ben Hiezer of Northern Illinois 5-2 in the semi's, while Wechter fell to defending national champion Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State at heavyweight, 7-3.

Three other Spartans placed in the open. In the 141 division, Darren McKnight (Fr., Hixson, Tenn.) dominated his seventh-place bout, topping Kris Harrington of SUNY-Brockport, 9-4. Craig Trombly (Fr., Anchor Bay) dropped his seventh-place match at 125 pounds to No. 2 seed Jared Opher (Kent State), 6-4, on a late takedown by Opher in the third period. Trombley finished the tournament with a 5-3 record and an eighth-place finish. At 174 pounds, Anton Hall (Jr., Ada) also took home eighth place. Hall fell to R.J. Boudro of Michigan in the seventh-place contest, 3-1.

"This is a very high level tournament, particularly this year," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "Overall, I was pleased with our effort.The attitude of this team is very solid. They have a very mature approach in getting better. I'm sure the whole team will come out of this better than when they went in."

Michigan State returns to action for its first dual meet of the season Nov. 23 when it travels to Hempstead, N.Y., to face Hofstra.

For a complete look at how the Spartans fared in the MSU Open, click here:

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