March 20, 2014
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Six University of Iowa wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2014 NCAA Championships following second round action Thursday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Iowa is one of two schools with six wrestlers still competing in the championship bracket. Minnesota is the other.
The Hawkeyes have four wrestlers alive in wrestle-backs, and are tied for fourth place in the team race with 20.5 points. Penn State is in first place with 26.5 points. Minnesota and Oklahoma State are tied for second with 21.5 points. Iowa is tied with Oklahoma.
Nathan Burak’s 4-3 win in the closing seconds highlighted a championship round that saw Iowa win six-of-seven matches. Burak, the No. 11 at 197, trailed sixth-seeded Richard Perry of Bloomsburg, 3-2, before exploding for a double-leg and putting two points on the board just before time expired.
“I knew there was 12 seconds left when we came back to the middle,” said Burak, who will face No. 14 Chris Penny of Virginia Tech in the 197-pound quarterfinals. “I went for a double, got in pretty deep and just tried to finish right away. I made sure my toe was in, heard everyone yell two, and saw the ref gave me two. It felt good.”
Senior Derek St. John advanced to the 157-pound quarterfinals for the fourth straight year. The defending national champion widened the gap after a 2-0 first period, recording seven takedowns in the final four minutes and totaling 3:45 of riding time en route to a 18-5 major decision over The Citadel’s Aaron Walker. St. John will face Cornell’s Brian Realbuto in the quarters. It will be the first career meeting between the two.
Tony Ramos used overtime to punch his third career ticket to the quarterfinals. Ramos, the No. 3 seed at 133, locked up a cradle in sudden victory to earn a 6-4 win over Illinois’ 14th-seeded Zain Richards. Ramos will face Lehigh’s sixth-seeded Mason Beckman in the quarters. Ramos defeated Beckman, 3-1, in a dual earlier this season.
Cory Clark erased a 2-0 deficit for the second time in the tournament, moving onto the quarters with an 8-5 win over Wyoming’s ninth-seeded Tyler Cox. Clark will face defending 125-pound champion Jesse Delgado (Illinois) in the quarters. Delgado defeated Clark, 4-3, two weeks ago at the Big Ten tournament.
Mike Evans will get a rematch of the Big Ten semifinals when he faces Penn State’s Matt Brown in the quarters. Evans used takedowns in the firsts and second period to build a 5-0 lead and eventually top Bloomsburg’s Mike Dessino, 7-3. Evans, the No. 4 seed, and Brown, the No. 5 seed, have split four career meetings.
Bobby Telford used a third-period takedown and 2:39 of riding time to defeat Maryland’s Spencer Myers, 3-0, and advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in his career. Telford, the No. 5 seed, will face Michigan’s fourth-seeded Adam Coon in the quarters. Coon won the previous two meetings this season.
Iowa scored bonus points in each of its three consolation matches. Josh Dziewa earned a 24-7 tech. fall over Buffalo’s Nick Flannery, and Nick Moore and Ethen Lofthouse each advanced with major decisions.
“We have to keep that going and that’s the key,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “It’s about one match at a time to get as high on the stand as you can. We’ll take those battles one at a time. We have a lot of work to do on both sides of the bracket.”
Brody Grothus suffered Iowa’s lone defeat of the second session. Grothus lost 13-5 to defending champion Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) and will compete tomorrow in the consolation bracket.
Action resumes Friday at 10 a.m. (CT). Session III will be televised on ESPNU and streamed online at ESPN3.
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER SESSION II
1. Penn State 26.5
2. Minnesota 21.5
Oklahoma St. 21.5
4. IOWA 20.5
Oklahoma 20.5
6. Ohio State 19.5
7. Edinboro 18
8. Wisconsin 15.5
9. Iowa State 15
10. Cornell 14
IOWA’S SECOND ROUND RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – #8 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #9 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) 8-5
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. #14 Zane Richards (Illinois) 6-4 (SV)
149 – #4 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) major dec. #13 Brody Grothus (Iowa) 13-5
157 – #2 Derek St. John (Iowa) major dec. Aaron Walker (Citadel) 18-5
174 – #4 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. Mike Dessino (Bloomsburg) 7-3
197 – #11 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. #6 Richard Perry (Bloomsburg) 4-3
285 – #5 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. #12 Spencer Myers (Maryland) 3-0
IOWA’S CONSOLATION RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
141 – Josh Dziewa (Iowa) tech. fall Nick Flannery (Buffalo), 24-7
165 – #5 Nick Moore (Iowa) major dec. #12 Jackson Morse (Illinois), 12-4
184 – #5 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) major dec. Zack Hernandez (Columbia), 10-2
IOWA’S QUARTERFINAL MATCHUPS
125 – #8 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. #1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois)
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. #6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh)
157 – #2 Derek St. John (Iowa) vs. #7 Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
174 – #4 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. #5 Matt Brown (Penn State)
197 – #11 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. #14 Chris Penny (Virginia Tech)
285 – #5 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs. #4 Adam Coon (Michigan)
IOWA’S CONSOLATION ROUND MATCHUPS
141 – Josh Dziewa (Iowa) vs. #14 Edgar Bright (Pitt)
149 – #13 Brody Grothus (Iowa) vs. Rylan Lubeck (Wisconsin)
165 – #5 Nick Moore (Iowa) vs. #6 Corey Mock (Chattanooga)
184 – #5 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) vs. #11 Lawrence Thomas (Penn)