Michigan State University Athletics
Four Wrestlers Set To Compete At NCAA Championships
3/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 15, 2006
A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD - The same foursome that represented the Spartans at the 2005 NCAA Championships will head to this season's national tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla. Nick Simmons, the lone undefeated wrestler in the nation at 125 pounds, undoubtedly will be the top-seeded wrestler in his weight class, while Andy Simmons and R.J. Boudro also are likely to get seeded in the top eight at 141 and 174 pounds, respectively. Darren McKnight (149 pounds) will wind down his wrestling career at nationals as well, qualifying for the third straight season.
NICK AND Andy Simmons CROWNED BIG TEN CHAMPIONS, BOUDRO AND MCKNIGHT QUALIFY TOO - Nick Simmons won his second consecutive Big Ten Championships and his younger sibling Andy won his first as the brother combination became the first at MSU since Pat and Tom Milkovich in 1972 to win conference titles in the same season at the 2006 Big Ten Championships, hosted by Indiana. R.J. Boudro claimed third in exhilarating fashion at 174 pounds, while Darren McKnight also qualified for the NCAA Championships as he earned one of two wild-card selections. Overall, the Michigan State wrestling team took eighth at the Big Ten Championships with 68 points.
In a rematch of the 2005 finals at 125 pounds, Nick Simmons dominated Illinois' Kyle Ott, claiming a 7-0 decision to become the first Spartan wrestler since David Morgan in 1996 to win back-to-back conference titles. Simmons split postseason matches with Ott last season, winning in the conference finals before falling to the two-time NCAA finalist in the national semifinals two weeks later. This season, Simmons has outscored Ott, 21-0, in two matches. He enters the NCAAs 32-0.
Andy Simmons duplicated his brother's act two matches later with an 8-2 decision over Northwestern's Ryan Lang at 141 pounds. After giving up the first takedown of the match, the younger Simmons nearly pinned Lang in the second frame, but settled for the six-point decision. It marked the second time in a month that Simmons has defeated Lang, avenging a loss in the MSU Open finals last November.
R.J. Boudro battled through adversity to claim third, winning four consecutive matches following a heavily-disputed loss in the opening round. The MSU 174-pounder narrowly fell, 9-8, in a protested bout to Illinois' Donny Reynolds, but fought through the consolation bracket, dropping Indiana's Marc Bennett, Purdue's Nick Corpe and Penn State's James Yonushonis before edging Gabriel Dretsch, 3-1, in the consolation finals.
THE LAST TIME STATE HAD TWO BIG TEN CHAMPIONS IN THE SAME YEAR - 1996 marked the last time Michigan State boasted two Big Ten champions as David Morgan won his second of three straight conference titles at 118 pounds, while junior Brian Picklo joined him at the top of the podium, winning the 190-pound title. Two weeks later at the 1996 NCAA Championships, Morgan took third and Picklo claimed fifth as five Spartans earned All-America honors, leading the team to a seventh-place finish.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2005 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS - Nick Simmons claimed All-America status for the second time in as many tries and Andy Simmons earned the distinction for the first time in his career as the Spartans took 20th at the 75th anniversary of the NCAA Championships, held at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo. R.J. Boudro and Darren McKnight also competed for State, both completing their junior seasons with 1-2 records in the tournament.
Nick Simmons tore through his first three opponents, defeating Buffalo's Mark McKnight in the first round, then registering technical falls against both Hofstra's Dave Tomasette and Boise State's Andrew Hochstrasser to reach the final four. In the semifinals, Simmons dropped a controversial, 3-1 sudden-victory decision to Illinois' Kyle Ott, but rebounded with an 8-0 shut out of Cal Poly's Vic Moreno to reach the consolation finals. In his final match of the season, the Williamston, Mich., native fell to Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel, 6-3, and finished fourth.
Andy Simmons won his first three matches as well, persevering through a knee injury to defeat Delaware State's Myron Drayton and Pennsylvania's Doug McGraw to reach the quarterfinals. He then claimed an emotional pin against Cornell's Cory Cooperman, to reach the final four at 141 pounds, where he fell to Iowa State's Nate Gallick, 2-0. He was forced to injury default his final two matches, ultimately claiming sixth.
Boudro faced a tough draw in his first appearance at the national tournament, losing to two wrestlers ranked in the Top 10. He fell to Central Michigan's Mitch Hancock in the first round of tiebreakers, 4-3, but bounced back to defeat Edinboro's Eric Ring in his second match. His season ended prematurely at the hands of Hofstra's Paul Simeon, who claimed a 5-1 decision. McKnight suffered a similar fate, as he won his first match against Edinboro's Ron Doppelheuer, before falling to Michigan All-American Eric Tannenbaum and Lock Haven's Josh Medina to be eliminated.
MICHIGAN STATE'S HISTORY AT THE NATIONAL TOURNEY - The Spartans have finished in the Top 10 twice at the NCAA Championships since Tom Minkel arrived in East Lansing for the 1991-92 season. State took third in 1995, its best finish since a runner-up performance in 1972, and seventh the following season. Over the past 15 years, MSU has averaged a 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Spartans have recorded 25 Top 10 finishes in the NCAA Championships, winning their only national championship in 1967.
NICK AND Andy Simmons IN THE RECORD BOOKS - Junior captains Nick and Andy Simmons continue their ascent up several lists in the Spartan record books. Nick currently ranks sixth all-time in falls with 32, three away from fifth-place Erich Harvey (1992-97). The Williamston, Mich., natives each have 93 career wins, tying them for 17th with Tom Milkovich and just two behind Stacey Richmond (1986-89) for 16th on the all-time list. Nick is tied for eighth on the single-season chart with 13 falls, one behind Harvey for seventh and two behind Jim Mason (1982-83) for sixth. Two victories will move both Nick and Andy into the Top 20 for wins in a season as they enter the NCAAs with 32 each. If Nick can run the table en route to the national championship, it would mark just the seventh time, and the first since 1967, that an MSU wrestler has finished with a perfect record.
