No. 3 Cyclones grab early lead with No. 1 Iowa close behind
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by Craig Sesker
ST. LOUIS - The Iowa State Cyclones are letting their actions do the talking.
And so far they've sent a resounding message that they're serious about contending for an NCAA team title.
The third-ranked Cyclones let their neighbors from the eastern side of the state know they may have a challenge on their hands with a strong performance during Thursday's first session of the NCAA Championships.
Iowa State has the early lead with 25 points. ISU went 9-1 in the first session. Returning champion and top-ranked Iowa went 7-2 and had 22 points. Sixth-ranked Ohio State is third with 17.5 points and six wrestlers in the second round. Fourth-ranked Nebraska and No. 9 Boise State are tied for fourth with 15 points.
It was a session filled with upsets as wrestlers seeded first through fifth each were knocked into the consolation bracket during a wild first session before 15,226 fans at the Scottrade Center.
Iowa's early charge was led by Hodge Trophy winner and returning champion Brent Metcalf, who won by fall in the first round at 149 pounds.
"It was OK. What are we, 7 for 9?" Iowa coach Tom Brands said of the first round. "It was OK. Not good, not great, but OK. The guys that lost need to do what champions do. They've won a lot of matches in their career and they need to dig down deep.
"You want to win 50 matches in a row in this tournament - that's the way you want to wrestle. We are not really where we need to be. You've got to scrap. There are a lot of rounds left, a lot of matches left and a lot of wrestling left."
Iowa State avoided a major upset at the end of the session when top-seeded heavyweight David Zabriskie won in overtime at heavyweight. Cyclone coach Cael Sanderson declined comment after the first session. Sanderson did not appear at the coaches' press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Nebraska coach Mark Manning's team advanced five wrestlers into the second round, including No. 1 seeds Jordan Burroughs (149 pounds) and Craig Brester (197).
"It was a pretty good session for us," Manning said. "We got some bonus points and that's what it's going to take. We need a great effort and we need to make sure guys wrestle to their potential. A lot of guys in this tournament are tight first round and you could tell. There were a lot of upsets and a lot of that was because of nerves. I'm just glad our guys got through that phase of the tournament."
The biggest shocker of the first session came when No. 1 seed Mack Lewnes of Cornell was beaten 5-3 by Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich at 165 pounds. Lewnes, wrestling with his right leg heavily taped, was unable to get out from underneath as Patrovich rode him out in the win. Lewnes was fourth in the NCAAs in 2008.
Iowa suffered an early setback when No. 4 seed Alex Tsirtsis suffered a 5-4 first-round loss to Maryland's Alex Krom at 141 pounds. Tsirtsis is a past All-American.
Another big upset came at 149 when No. 2 seed and returning NCAA runner-up Bubba Jenkins of Penn State fell 12-6 to Lock Haven's Matthew Fittery. Jenkins was down 8-6 and tried a Granby roll, but was caught on his back for a three-point near fall as the match ended.
The day's first big upset occurred at 133 pounds when No. 3 seed Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois suffered a 7-5 overtime loss to Bucknell's David Marble. Kennedy was fourth in this event last year.
Past Nebraska NCAA champion Paul Donahoe won his first match at 125 pounds. The top-seeded Donahoe, now at Edinboro, edged past All-American Obe Blanc of Oklahoma State 4-2 in the first round. Donahoe, a senior, was dismissed from the NU team this past offseason for an off-the-mat incident.
Donahoe was a 2007 NCAA champion before placing third in this tournament last year for Nebraska.
"It doesn't matter who I wrestle and it doesn't matter what I'm seeded," Donahoe said during a brief interview. "I'm healthy, I'm ready and I want this."
Fifth-seeded Nick Marable of Missouri fell 5-2 to Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui in the first round at 165. Marable placed third in the 2008 NCAA meet.
Harvard's Corey Jantzen, a No. 9 seed, was pinned in the first round by North Carolina State's Joe Caramanica. Jantzen suffered an apparent knee injury in the match. Jantzen was ranked No. 1 earlier this season at 141.
Session 2 of the three-day, six-session tournament is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
And so far they've sent a resounding message that they're serious about contending for an NCAA team title.
The third-ranked Cyclones let their neighbors from the eastern side of the state know they may have a challenge on their hands with a strong performance during Thursday's first session of the NCAA Championships.
Iowa State has the early lead with 25 points. ISU went 9-1 in the first session. Returning champion and top-ranked Iowa went 7-2 and had 22 points. Sixth-ranked Ohio State is third with 17.5 points and six wrestlers in the second round. Fourth-ranked Nebraska and No. 9 Boise State are tied for fourth with 15 points.
It was a session filled with upsets as wrestlers seeded first through fifth each were knocked into the consolation bracket during a wild first session before 15,226 fans at the Scottrade Center.
Iowa's early charge was led by Hodge Trophy winner and returning champion Brent Metcalf, who won by fall in the first round at 149 pounds.
"It was OK. What are we, 7 for 9?" Iowa coach Tom Brands said of the first round. "It was OK. Not good, not great, but OK. The guys that lost need to do what champions do. They've won a lot of matches in their career and they need to dig down deep.
"You want to win 50 matches in a row in this tournament - that's the way you want to wrestle. We are not really where we need to be. You've got to scrap. There are a lot of rounds left, a lot of matches left and a lot of wrestling left."
Iowa State avoided a major upset at the end of the session when top-seeded heavyweight David Zabriskie won in overtime at heavyweight. Cyclone coach Cael Sanderson declined comment after the first session. Sanderson did not appear at the coaches' press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Nebraska coach Mark Manning's team advanced five wrestlers into the second round, including No. 1 seeds Jordan Burroughs (149 pounds) and Craig Brester (197).
"It was a pretty good session for us," Manning said. "We got some bonus points and that's what it's going to take. We need a great effort and we need to make sure guys wrestle to their potential. A lot of guys in this tournament are tight first round and you could tell. There were a lot of upsets and a lot of that was because of nerves. I'm just glad our guys got through that phase of the tournament."
The biggest shocker of the first session came when No. 1 seed Mack Lewnes of Cornell was beaten 5-3 by Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich at 165 pounds. Lewnes, wrestling with his right leg heavily taped, was unable to get out from underneath as Patrovich rode him out in the win. Lewnes was fourth in the NCAAs in 2008.
Iowa suffered an early setback when No. 4 seed Alex Tsirtsis suffered a 5-4 first-round loss to Maryland's Alex Krom at 141 pounds. Tsirtsis is a past All-American.
Another big upset came at 149 when No. 2 seed and returning NCAA runner-up Bubba Jenkins of Penn State fell 12-6 to Lock Haven's Matthew Fittery. Jenkins was down 8-6 and tried a Granby roll, but was caught on his back for a three-point near fall as the match ended.
The day's first big upset occurred at 133 pounds when No. 3 seed Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois suffered a 7-5 overtime loss to Bucknell's David Marble. Kennedy was fourth in this event last year.
Past Nebraska NCAA champion Paul Donahoe won his first match at 125 pounds. The top-seeded Donahoe, now at Edinboro, edged past All-American Obe Blanc of Oklahoma State 4-2 in the first round. Donahoe, a senior, was dismissed from the NU team this past offseason for an off-the-mat incident.
Donahoe was a 2007 NCAA champion before placing third in this tournament last year for Nebraska.
"It doesn't matter who I wrestle and it doesn't matter what I'm seeded," Donahoe said during a brief interview. "I'm healthy, I'm ready and I want this."
Fifth-seeded Nick Marable of Missouri fell 5-2 to Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui in the first round at 165. Marable placed third in the 2008 NCAA meet.
Harvard's Corey Jantzen, a No. 9 seed, was pinned in the first round by North Carolina State's Joe Caramanica. Jantzen suffered an apparent knee injury in the match. Jantzen was ranked No. 1 earlier this season at 141.
Session 2 of the three-day, six-session tournament is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
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