March 5, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, IN – The University of Iowa wrestling team finished in sixth place with 86 points Sunday at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. Iowa qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships to be held in Oklahoma City, March 16-18.
Minnesota won the team title with 138 points.
Mark Perry was the runner-up at 174 pounds after being pinned by top-ranked Jake Herbert in 4:02 of the championship bout.
Seniors Ty Eustice (3rd – 149 lbs.), Joe Johnston (6th – 157 lbs.) and Paul Bradley (7th – 184 lbs.); juniors Lucas Magnani (6th – 125 lbs.) and Eric Luedke (4th – 165 lbs.); sophomore Alex Tsirtsis (3rd – 141 lbs.) and freshman Dan Erekson (6th – 197 lbs.) also qualified for nationals.
Tsirtsis took third place with a pair of wins Sunday, topping Wisconsin’s eighth-seeded Ed Gutnik 11-4, then defeating top-seeded Josh Churella of Michigan 3-2. Against Churella, Tsirtsis took a 2-1 lead with a second-period takedown, but was penalized a point for locked hands as the period came to a close. With the scored tied 2-2 and Churella closing in on a minute of riding time, Tsirtsis escaped with just 34 seconds left in the match to take a 3-2 lead. He fended Churella off the rest of the way to take the win.
Eustice defeated third-seeded Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan, 3-2 in sudden victory to reach the third-place match. The senior then earned his third-career third-place finish with a 3-2 win over No. 6 Tyler Turner.
Johnston dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 6 Steve Luke of Michigan, then was forced to forfeit his fifth-place match due to an injury.
Luedke reached the third-place match with a thrilling last second victory over Purdue’s Dan Bedoy in the consolations. With the scored tied 2-2, Luedke nailed a takedown in the final second of overtime. The match officials were forced to go to instant replay before determining Luedke the winner. In the third place match, Luedke fell to No. 2 Mike Poeta of Illinois, 6-2.
Magnani was defeated by Northwestern’s third-seeded John Velez in the consolations, then was pinned by Wisconsin’s Colin Cudd in the fifth place match.
Bradley took seventh place at 184 pounds with a 5-4 decision win over Michigan State’s Joe Williams. Bradley scored on a pair of first-period takedowns, then added an escape in the second frame for the win.
Erekson fell to No. 3 Matt Delguyd of Northwestern 8-3, then lost to No. 5 Nathan Moore in the fifth-place match 9-6.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS1. Minnesota - 1382. Illinois - 1253. Michigan - 1154. Penn State - 915. Northwestern - 87.56. IOWA - 867. Wisconsin - 76.58. Michigan State - 689. Purdue - 45.510. Indiana - 43.511. Ohio State - 40
SESSION III RESULTS
CONSOLATION BRACKET125 - No. 3 John Velez (NU) dec. No. 5 Lucas Magnani (IA), 8-3141 - No. 3 Alex Tsirtsis (IA) dec. No. 8 Ed Gutnik (WI), 11-4149 - No. 2 Ty Eustice dec. No. 3 Eric Tannenbaum (MI), 3-1 (OT)157 - No. 6 Steve Luke (MI) dec. No. 4 Joe Johnston (IA), 3-1165 - No. 5 Eric Luedke (IA) dec. Dan Bedoy (PUR), 4-2 (OT)197 - No. 3 Matt Delguyd (NU) dec. No. 6 Dan Erekson (IA), 8-3
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT174 - No. 1 Jake Herbert pinned No. 2 Mark Perry (IA), 4:02
THIRD PLACE141 - Tsirtsis (IA) dec. No. 1 Josh Churella (MI), 3-2149 - Eustice (IA) dec. No. 6 Tyler Turner (WI), 3-2165 - No. 2 Mike Poeta (IL) dec. Luedke (IA), 6-2
FIFTH PLACE125 - Collin Cudd (WI) pinned Magnani (IA), 2:59157 - No. 2 Craig Henning (WI) win by medical forfeit Johnston (IA)197 - No. 5 Nathan Moore (PUR) dec. Erekson (IA) 9-6
SEVENTH PLACE184 - No. 5 Paul Bradley (IA) dec. Joe Williams (MSU), 5-4
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