Wrestling: Brenner One Win Away
March 21, 2008 03:35 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
March 21, 2008
UPDATED NCAA BRACKETS
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| Kurt Brenner |
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Junior Kurt Brenner remains the only Mountaineer left through three sessions of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 21, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Brenner (184) is only one win shy of becoming WVU’s first All-American at 184 pounds since Greg Jones in 2005, who went on to win the national title. Brenner won two matches in the third session, including a pin fall in 6:53 over Stanford’s Zack Giesen in his second match. Leading 9-4 with time winding down in the third period, Brenner turned Griesen over off his initial takedown and left him flat on his back to advance against No. 7 Philip Keddy of Iowa tonight for a possible All-American bid.
Brenner avenged an early-season loss to Purdue’s A.J. Kissel with a 7-4 decision in his first match. The junior was more aggressive from the start and picked up two points in the first period. Leading 4-2 in the third, Brenner scored the match-clinching takedown with 25 seconds left and added 2:42 riding time.
David Jauregui (149) fell two wins shy of becoming an All-American after losing to Oklahoma’s William Rowe, 13-7. In the beginning of the third session he defeated Edinboro’s Daryl Cocozzo in his third try this season. The junior downed the Fighting Scot in a 7-3 decision after losing to him once in a dual meet and also in the Eastern Wrestling League championship bout. Jauregui picked up an initial takedown in the first period, then scored on another with 21 seconds left in the second period to take a 4-2 advantage. With 1:11 left in the final period he got two more points and managed to keep his opponent inbounds, all while garnering 2:04 riding time throughout the match.
Zac Fryling (157) lost in the third session to Pitt’s Matt Kocher in a 3-1 decision to end his illustrious career as a Mountaineer. He kept his season alive in his first match of the day with an impressive 9-4 decision over Steve Brown of Central Michigan. Tied 2-2 through two periods, an eventful final period saw Brown score two points to take the lead at 4-3 with just over a minute left. But Fryling managed an escape and scored a takedown of his own with only 27 seconds left and followed with three near fall points.
Dustin Rogers (HWT) dropped out of the field after getting pinned by Bloomsburg’s Mike Spaid, who is seeded No.11. Rogers defeated Ben Berhow of Minnesota in a 7-4 decision in his first bout. In the first period he immediately took Berhow down by both legs and added another two-pointer to jump out to a 4-2 lead. A final takedown in the second period was all he needed to advance to the next round.
Sophomore Donnie Jones (165) concluded his season with a 4-0 loss to Luke Manuel of Purdue. Manuel rode Jones for 1:50 during the second period and scored two points in the waning moments of the final period to end Jones’ first NCAA Tournament run. He finished 1-2 in the championships.
Chance Litton (174) lost a tight 2-1 decision to Lehigh’s Alex Caruso to get knocked out of the field. He fell behind after giving up an escape in the second period, and then was penalized after excessively throwing his opponent down on a takedown attempt. Although he escaped in the third period, he could not muster another point as he ends his run with a 1-2 record.
WVU remains in 28th place with 12.5 team points.
Brenner’s run at an All-American bid continues during the fourth session tonight starting at 6 p.m. Live match scoring can be seen by logging on to intermatwrestle.com or ncaa.com.
Tonight’s semifinal matches in the championship bracket will be televised by ESPNU and can be seen by accessing ESPN 360.
Third Session Matches
149: David Jauregui (WVU) DEC Daryl Cocozzo (ED), 7-3
149: William Rowe (OK) DEC David Jauregui (WVU), 13-7
157: Zac Fryling (WVU) DEC Steve Brown (CM), 9-4
157: Matt Kocher (PITT) DEC Zac Fryling (WVU), 3-1
165: Luke Manuel (PURD) DEC Donnie Jones (WVU), 4-0
174: Alex Caruso (LEH) DEC Chance Litton (WVU), 2-1
184: Kurt Brenner (WVU) DEC A.J. Kissel (PURD), 7-4
184: Kurt Brenner (WVU) FALL Zack Giesen (STANF), 6:53
HWT: Dustin Rogers (WVU) DEC Ben Berhow (MINN), 7-4
HWT: Mike Spaid (BLOOM) FALL Dustin Rogers (WVU), 0:45
