Wrestling: Jones Advances To Quarterfinals
March 19, 2004 10:05 AM | General
March 18, 2004
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| Jones |
ST. LOUIS – West Virginia University’s Greg Jones went 2-0 on day one to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2004 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO.
Jones, the 2002 NCAA champion, earned a 3-1 decision over Minnesota’s Josh McLay. An aggressive Jones tried several scoring attempts as the two wrestled to a scoreless first period. Both wrestlers scored escapes to open the second and third periods making it 1-1. A persistent Jones tallied a takedown with under :30 seconds remaining for the win.
“He stuck to his game plan the entire match,” says Jones. “I struggled a little bit to find my rhythm. I knew I had to stay patient and a takedown would come at some point.”
“Greg wrestled well against a guy who had little to no strategy,” says WVU head coach Craig Turnbull. “He found a way to win and that is what’s important. Greg is advancing and he should feel confident about how he is wrestling.”
Mountaineers Joe Clarke (141), Mike Torriero (149), Matt Lebe (157), Zac Fryling (165) and Matt Daddino (197) all posted 1-1 records on Thursday in advancing to day two. All five grapplers will compete in wrestle backs in hopes of earning All-America status.
“The first round was very good with some upsets of seeded opponents,” adds Turnbull. “We had two matches this afternoon at 149 and 157 that were very tough. I thought we had a chance to send two more to the quarterfinals with those matches. But having six guys still wrestling is a positive thing.”
At 141-pounds, Clark dropped an 8-4 decision to No. 8 seed Coyte Cooper of Indiana. Trailing 2-1, Clark scored a three point near fall from the opening whistle of the middle period for a 4-3 advantage. Cooper notched two takedowns in the second lead 7-4. Clarke started the final two minutes in the defensive position and was unable to score.
Torriero raced out to a 4-0 lead through one period of action against No. 12 seed Mike Maney of Lock Haven. Torriero used a double-leg takedown to start the second to go up 6-0. Maney opened the third period with an escape to cut the deficit to 6-2. A takedown and near fall then put Maney ahead 8-6 for the victory.
No. 9 seed Lebe faced No. 8 seed B.J. Wright of Nebraska in Session II. Lebe opened the match with a takedown to lead 2-0. Wright answered with a reversal to knot the score at 2-2. Lebe escaped to lead 3-2 before a pinfall by Wright at 2:44. The higher seed won each bout in this weight class.
Junior Mountaineer Daddino wrestled No. 3 seed Sean Stender of Northern Iowa. Stender took a 6-2 lead after one period. Stender opened the second with an escape before taking a 17-4 major decision.
Fryling won his wrestle back match in taking a 10-6 decision over Nick Hayes of Northwestern. The true freshman Mountaineer scored three takedowns in posting a 6-3 lead after one period. Fryling’s fifth takedown in the third increased his lead to 10-5 to seal the win.
Casey Brewster (125) dropped a 13-6 decision to Clarion’s Peter Derstine to close his collegiate career. The senior finished with a 16-13 overall record.
“Casey is a transfer who worked his way into our lineup this year,” says Turnbull. “He loves the sport of wrestling and works extremely hard. Becoming a national qualifier this year is something he should be proud of. He has made a strong contribution to the program.”
West Virginia stands in a tie for 19th place with 11.0 team points while Oklahoma State leads with 30.0 points.
Session III is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. (CST) Friday morning.
Complete results and brackets for all ten weight classes can be found on the NCAA championships website by CLICKING HERE.
Individual Match-By-Match Results
125: No. 5 Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma) Fall Casey Brewster (WVU) 4:18
125: Peter Derstine (Clarion) Dec Casey Brewster (WVU) 13-6
141: Joe Clarke (WVU) Dec Michael Martin (Illinois) 7-6
141: Coyte Cooper (Indiana) Dec Joe Clarke (WVU) 8-4
149: Mike Torriero (WVU) Dec No. 5 Trent Paulson (Iowa State) 7-6
149: No. 12 Mike Maney (Lock Haven) Dec Mike Torriero (WVU) 8-6
157: No. 9 Matt Lebe (WVU) Dec Joe Johnston (Iowa) 10-7
157: No. 8 B.J. Wright (Nebraska) Fall No. 9 Matt Lebe (WVU) 2:44
165: No. 4 Jacob Volkmann (Minnesota) Fall Zac Fryling (WVU) 4:17
165: Zac Fryling (WVU) Dec Nick Hayes (Northwestern) 10-6
184: No. 1 Greg Jones (WVU) Tech Frank Cornely (Duke) 22-7, 6:50
184: No. 1 Greg Jones (WVU) Dec Josh McLay (Minnesota) 3-1
197: Matt Daddino (WVU) Dec Zach Garren (NC State) 8-3
197: No. 3 Sean Stender (Northern Iowa) Major Matt Daddino (WVU) 17-4
