March 17, 2011
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PHILADELPHIA – The University of Iowa advanced five wrestlers into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center Thursday night. Iowa senior Luke Lofthouse (197), junior Montell Marion (141), sophomores Matt McDonough (125) and Grant Gambrall (184), and redshirt freshman Derek St. John will compete in the quarterfinals Friday morning. Four Hawkeyes remain alive in the wrestle backs.
After two sessions, the Hawkeye sit in third place in the team race with 25 points. Penn State leads with 30.5 points and Cornell sits in second with 29. The Nittany Lions have seven wrestlers remaining in the championship bracket and one wrestler in the consolation rounds. Cornell, like Iowa, has five in the championship round and four in the consolation bracket.
McDonough, the defending 125-pound NCAA champion, opened the second session with a 14-4 major decision over Michigan’s Sean Boyle. The second-seeded McDonough scored three takedowns in the opening frame to build a 6-2 lead and added a pair of takedowns in both the second and third periods to record the major.
The 12th-seeded Gambrall scored a Hawkeye upset with his 8-3 decision over fifth-seeded Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming at 184 pounds. Gambrall had a 3-1 lead in the third period when LeBlanc knotted the score with a takedown. Gambrall responded with an escape to reclaim the lead before turning a last-second scramble into a takedown and two nearfall points to grab the 8-3 decision.
Marion exploded for six points in the third period en route to a 10-3 victory in his 141-pound match. Leading Penn’s 12th-seeded Zack Kemmerer 4-3, the fifth-ranked Marion used a takedown and three nearfall points to extend his advantage to 9-3. He then secured the riding time point to make the final margin, 10-3.
St. John scored a takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second frame to build a 4-0 lead over Harvard’s Walter Peppelman in his 157-pound match. The Hawkeye redshirt freshman then traded two third-period takedowns for a pair of escapes to secure the 8-2 win over the 11th seeded Peppleman.
No. 5 Luke Lofthouse became the fifth Hawkeye to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round when he topped Stanford’s Zack Giesen 8-3. Lofthouse recorded a takedown in every period and added an escape and riding time point to defeat the 13th-seeded Giesen.
Hawkeye senior Aaron Janssen battled back from a 4-1 deficit against fifth-seed Dallas Bailey of Oklahoma State to remain alive in the consolation bracket. The 11th-seeded Janssen scored a first period takedown and an early second period escape to erase the three-point deficit. With the score tied 5-5, Janssen pulled away from Bailey with takedowns in both the second and third periods. He added a point for riding time to finish with a 10-6 win.
Redshirt freshmen Tony Ramos (133) and Ethen Lofthouse (174) and junior Blake Rasing (HWT) fell out of the championship bracket following second round losses. Rasing was defeated 3-1 in sudden victory. Lofthouse dropped an 8-3 decision and Ramos fell 2-0. All three wrestlers remain alive in the consolation bracket.
Hawkeye fans can follow competition throughout the NCAA Championships via radio, internet and television broadcasts. Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time All-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC and hawkeyesports.com. NCAA Sessions III, IV and V will be aired live on ESPNU HD, and the championship finals will be aired live on ESPN HD. Matches from Session III, and VI will be streamed live on ESPN3.com. Live results can be found on the wrestling schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
NCAA TEAM STANDINGS AFTER SESSION ONE (Top 10 Teams)
Place Team – Points
1. Penn State – 30.5
2. Cornell – 29
3. Iowa – 25
Oklahoma State – 25
5. American – 23.5
6. Arizona State – 21
7. Wisconsin – 20
8. Boise State – 19.5
9. Minnesota – 19
10. Nebraska – 18.5
IOWA’S SECOND ROUND NCAA RESULTS (Numbers indicate tournament seeds)
Championship Bracket
125 – #2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) major dec. Sean Boyle (Michigan), 14-4
133 – #11 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) dec. #6 Tony Ramos (Iowa), 2-0
141 – #5 Montell Marion (Iowa) dec. #12 Zack Kemmerer (Pennsylvania), 10-3
157 – #6 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. #11 Walter Peppelman (Harvard), 8-2
174 – vs. #8 Mike Letts (Maryland) dec. #9 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), 8-3
184 – #12 Grant Gambrall (Iowa) dec. #5 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming), 8-3
197 – #5 Luke Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. #13 Zack Giesen (Stanford), 8-3
Hwt. – #10 Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma) dec. #7 Blake Rasing, 3-1 SV
Consolation Bracket
165 – #11 Aaron Janssen (Iowa) dec. #6 Dallas Bailey (Oklahoma State), 10-6
QUARTERFINAL ROUND NCAA MATCH-UPS (Numbers indicate tournament seeds)
Championship Bracket
125 – #2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) vs. #7 Ryan Mango (Stanford)
141 – #5 Montell Marion (Iowa) vs. #4 James Kennedy (Ill)
157 – #6 Derek St. John (Iowa) vs. #3 David Taylor (PSU)
184 – #12 Grant Gambrall (Iowa) vs. #4 Travis Rutt (Wisc)
197 – #5 Luke Lofthouse (Iowa) vs. #4 Dustin Kilgore (Kent)