Michigan State University
Michigan State Open
Five Spartans Advance To Semifinals Of Michigan State Open
11/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 9, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 16 Michigan State wrestling team opened action at the two-day Michigan State Open Saturday (Nov. 9) at Jenison Field House. Five Spartans advanced to the semifinals tomorrow morning (Nov. 10) at 10 a.m. The tournament features 18 schools - including seven ranked teams - and approximately 400 wrestlers. The open concludes Sunday, with all medal matches beginning at 1 p.m. There is no team scoring at the event and all wrestlers are competing unattached.
Nick Simmons (Fr., Williamston), the third seed at 125 pounds, advanced to the semifinals by defeating Mark Moos of Michigan, 8-2, in the quarterfinals. Simmons also beat Ray Sabin 5-4 (Kent State) and pinned Jason Daviaux in 33 seconds (Ohio) in earlier action. Simmons advanced to the finals last year, but lost in the championship match to take second place. He will match up against No. 7 seed Matt Valenti of Penn in the semifinals.
At 149 pounds, top-seed Karl Nadolsky (Sr., Holland) cruised to the semifinals, where he will face Waylon Lowe of Findlay. Nadolsky, who won his first two matches by a combined scored of 28-10, pinned Tim Glover (Unattached) in the quarterfinals at the 5:42 mark.
In a hotly contested match, No. 3 seed Rashad Evans (Sr., Niagara Falls, N.Y.) defeated Adrian Ramadini of Kent State, 4-3 in overtime, in the 184-pound division. Evans, who received a bye in the first round, now advances to the semifinals. Evans is looking for his first MSU Open Championship after placing second to All-American Otto Olsen of Michigan in 2001.
Nik Fekete (Sr., Cranford, N.J.), in his first action of the season after sitting out a majority of last year with a shoulder injury, won both of his matches at 197 pounds to reach the semifinals. The top seed defeated eighth-seeded Michael Morin of Central Michigan, 7-1, in the quarterfinals.
John Wechter (Sr., Saginaw) became the fifth Spartan to qualify for the semifinals by holding off fifth-seeded Justin Staebler of Wisconsin, 3-1, in heavyweight action. Wechter recorded a takedown late in the third period for the victory. The heavyweight recorded two pins earlier in the day and is now a perfect 8-0 for the season.
Three other Spartans are still alive in the consolation rounds. Craig Trombly (Fr., Anchor Bay) and Anton Hall (Sr., Ada) each won five matches to remain in their respective weight class brackets (125 and 174). Darren McKnight (Fr., Hixson, Tenn) claimed four victories and is still wrestling at 141 pounds.
For full brackets, please refer to www.msuspartans.com.
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Players Mentioned
