Big 12 Wrestling Championships
3/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 6, 2004
CONSOLATIONS
Opening the first round of consolations at 4 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum, sophomore Austin DeVoe and freshman Brett Watkins found themselves wrestling once again simultaneously on opposite mats. Sadly, both wrestlers dropped their bouts, as did J.P. Reese at 141 pounds, Jeremy Spates at 149,Tyron Woodley at 165 and Mike Whitehead at heavyweight. All six wrestlers will compete once again in a fight four fourth place.
With no points scored in the first period, 19th-ranked Stites took an early escape and takedown in the second period bringing three points to the board. DeVoe was able to score one point through riding time, making the final total to 3-1.
In his first appearance at a Big 12 Championship, Watkins (133) suffered his second loss of the day in the form of a 12-9 major decision to Nebraska's eighth-ranked Matt Keller.
What looked like a Missouri/Oklahoma dual in Hilton Coliseum was actually 16th-ranked Reese wrestling third-ranked Teyon Ware at 141 pounds on mat one, and third-ranked Spates paired with ninth-ranked Jeff Ecklof on mat two. Taking the 141 pound match into overtime, Reese and Ware entered tied at three with both taking reversals and escapes. In the end, Ware proved too much, landing a takedown as Reese dropped out of bounds.
In the 149 pound bout, both competitors went through the first period scoreless, with Spates taking the early one point lead in the second period through an escape. Although Spates managed a second escape in the third period, Ecklof scored a reversal followed by a takedown. The final score closed at 4-2 in favor of Oklahoma.
Tenth-ranked Woodley and eighth-ranked Nick Pasolano battled it out at 165 pounds for the second time of the season. Pasolano opened up in the first period with a takedown and followed through the next four minutes of competition with two reversals and a takedown. Woodley escaped Pasolano's grip in the second period and the third, and took a reversal of his own in the third period, but it still wasn't enough to hold off the Iowa State hometown favorite.
Whitehead closed out Missouri's first round of consolation matches dropping 8-2 to 12th-ranked Scott Coleman of Iowa State. Scoreless through five minutes of action, Coleman outpowered Whitehead with three reversals, an escape and over a minute of riding time. Whitehead found two escpaes of his own in the third period, but left the mat now in search of a fifth place victory.
125 Cody Stites (OSU) dec Austin DeVoe (MU): 3-1 133 Matt Keller (NU) major dec Brett Watkins (MU): 12-3 141 Teyon Ware (OU) dec J.P. Reese (MU): 5-3 149 Jeff Ecklof (OU) dec Jeremy Spates (MU): 4-2 165 Nick Pasolano (ISU) dec Tyron Woodley (MU): 8-3 HWT Scott Coleman (ISU) major dec Mike Whitehead (MU): 8-2
SEMI-FINALS
Tied for second place closing out the semi-final round of the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championships, Missouri found four consecutive wins to send Kenny Burleson, Ben Askren, Matt Pell and Jeff Foust to the championship round of matches at 7 p.m. tonight. Oklahoma State currently leads in team points with 67 followed by Missouri and Nebraska tied at second with 34 points. The consolation round matches will compete next, starting at 4 p.m.
Taking the first of four Missouri wins, senior captain Kenny Burleson (No. 6) stepped onto the mat and wrestled against Nebraska's Travis Paulson (No. 7) at 157 pounds. One of the day's longest matches, it extended into two overtimes, with Burleson taking the eventual 3-1 win. Both wrestlers managed escapes in regulation time, with Paulson taking the first in the second period, and Burleson taking his early in the third. After the first overtime (one minute plus two 30 second rounds), Burleson landed a takedown in 45 seconds to win his 10 minute match. Burleson will advance to the championship round of the finals and pair with Oklahoma State's fourth-ranked Johny Hendricks.
Wrestling at 174 pounds, redshirt freshman Ben Askren (No. 5) scored Missouri's biggest team points of the day with a fall on Oklahoma's E.K. Waldhaus (No. 11). In a time of 1:46, Askren found exactly what he needed to put Waldhaus on his back and keep him there. The fall was Askren's 16th of the season, and leaves him only three falls shy of the season-high MU record set by former heavyweight Kevin Herron. Askren will meet with familiar Big 12 competitor No. 1 ranked Chris Pendelton of Oklahoma State in the final round of matches tonight at 7 p.m.
Back on the mat, redshirt freshman Matt Pell (No. 7) found his stride and took a 3-2 win over Oklahoma's Justin Dyer (No. 9). A familiar matchup to many fans in the stands, it was the second time that Pell defeated Dyer. With no action in the first period, Pell started the second period down and managed an escape in 1:57 to take the one point lead. Dyer took an escape in the third period, but with a takedown in 1:19, Pell put himself on top, allowing Dyer only one more point for an escape. The third Missouri wrestler to advance to the championship round, Pell will square off with Oklahoma State's Jake Rosholt (No. 3) for the second time of the season.
In Missouri's final semi-final match (197), sophomore Jeff Foust (No. 16) held onto a 6-3 decision over Iowa State's Trevor Smith (No. 20). In their last meeting, Smith was able to take the win. Today, Foust put a three point spread between himself and Smith. With two late takedowns in the third period, Foust was able to secure his win, with Smith only managing three escapes. Foust and Oklahoma State wrestler Rusty Blackmon will battle at 197 pounds in the championship match.
Missouri's only loss in the semi-final round came by Nebraska's sixth-ranked Travis Shufelt over third-ranked senior Jeremy Spates at 149 pounds. In their third meeting of the season, Shufelt was able to take his second win over Spates, and second pin of the season over the Norman, Okla., native. The fall came in the second period at 4:34. Spates will wrestle again in the consolation rounds set to begin at 4 p.m.
Opening the first round of duals at 11 a.m., the fifth-ranked Missouri wrestling team went 0-5 at the Big 12 Championships, dropping battles at 125, 133, 141,165 pounds and heavyweight in the Hilton Coliseum of Ames, Iowa. Semifinals will begin at 12:15 p.m., with five Missouri wrestlers attempting to advance to the championship round.
Semi-finals (MU Wrestlers Only) 149 Travis Shufelt (NU) fall Jeremy Soates (MU): 4:34 157 Kenny Burleson (MU) dec Travis Paulson (ISU): 3-1 174 Ben Askren (MU) fall E.K. Waldhaus (OU): 1:46 184 Matt Pell (MU) dec Justin Dyer (OU): 3-2 197 Jeff Foust dec Trevor Smith (ISU): 6-3
FIRST ROUND
Wrestling on two mats simultaneously, sophomore Austin DeVoe (125) met with eighth-ranked Grant Nakamura of Iowa State, while freshman Brett Watkins (133) paired with Oklahoma's 13th-ranked Mimi Miller.
Scoreless in the first period of the 125 pound dual, Nakamura took an early escape from DeVoe in the second period, bringing the score to 1-0. With one point awarded for riding time, Nakamura was able to hold DeVoe scoreless (2-0) and advance to the semifinals.
Watkins fought hard at 133 pounds, holding Miller to only five points in the dual. Both wrestlers only managed escapes in the second period before Miller landed a takedown with three seconds left in the final period. Miller scored his fifth and final point with riding time.
Next up for Missouri was senior J.P. Reese, ranked 15th at 141 pounds. Wrestling against Ronnie Delk, the dual was decided by one point with Delk taking a 6-5 win. In a match that saw five reversals, Reese took two to Delk's three, scoring an escape in the third period to bring his point total to five.
In a rematch from two weeks ago, MU junior Tyron Woodley shook hands with OU's Charles Jones at center circle. In the end, Jones was able to avenge his loss from the last pairing, taking a 3-2 win with a takedown and escape. Woodley managed an escape in the second period, plus one point in the third period for a stalling call on Jones.
Closing out the first round, senior Mike Whitehead and Nebraska's senior Nathan McClain made their way to the blue mats of the Hilton Coliseum. In the first overtime dual of the morning, McClain walked away with a 7-2 victory, scoring his winning points with a reversal and stalling call against Whitehead in the first 30 second overtime, and an escape and reversal in the second 30 second overtime.
First Round: (Missouri wrestlers only) 125 Grant Nakamura (ISU) dec Austin DeVoe (MU): 2-0 133 Mimi Miller (OU) dec Brett Watkins (MU): 5-2 141 Ronnie Delk (OSU) dec J.P. Reese (MU): 6-5 165 Charles Jones (OU) dec Tyron Woodley (MU): 3-2 HWT Nathan McClain (NU) dec Mike Whitehead (MU):7-2
