March 17, 2006
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Purdue Boilermakers broke into the top 20 in the team standings after Session III of the 2006 NCAA Championships with a team score of 22.5 points. However, the climb in the team standing came at a price, as senior Ben Wissel suffered a defeat and fell into the consolation bracket.
Chris Fleeger remains in the upper bracket and will wrestle in the semifinals on Friday evening. Fleeger is guaranteed a place on the All-America podium based on his place in the bracket at this point. Ben Wissel and Nathan Moore each need to win one more match to secure All-America honors.
Through three sessions, defending national champion Oklahoma State leads the team standings by an amazing 28.5 points. The Cowboys have 76.0 points, while second place Iowa follows with 47.5. To put the OSU dominance into perspective, only 12 of the 68 teams participating have scored at least 28.5 points, the same amount by which the Pokes lead the second-place Hawkeyes.
Session IV begins at 6:00 PM Eastern.
Chris Fleeger, Purdue / Big Ten / Sr. / Trout Run, Pa. / 12-2
vs.
Mack Reiter, Minnesota / Big Ten / So. / Gilbertville, Iowa / 29-4
Chris Fleeger moved into the semifinals after winning by injury default over Mack Reiter of Minnesota in the first period. Reiter was called for an illegal slam, a move which injured Fleeger and prevented him from continuing.
Fleeger and Reiter exchanged half-shots for much of the opening period until the Boilermaker 133-pounder picked Reiter's ankle and scored a takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the first.
In the closing seconds, Reiter came to his feet with Fleeger draped high over his back, then slammed Fleeger on his back. Reiter was called for an illegal move, and Fleeger was injured on the move.
After time elapsed on Fleeger's injury and recovery time, the Boilermaker was unable to continue. The Boilermaker was deemed the winner of the match since his match-ending injury came by an illegal move by the Reiter.
Fleeger advances to the semifinals against top-seeded Shawn Bunch of Edinboro, the 2005 NCAA runner-up at 133, if injury permits. Fleeger and bunch have met once before in a collegiate meet, Fleeger defeating the Scot 7-5 in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Championships.
Ben Wissel, Purdue / Big Ten / Sr. / Richmond, Ind. / 36-4
vs.
Pete Friedl, Illinois / Big Ten / Sr. / Orland Park, Ill. / 26-4
In a match similar to that wrestled in the finals at the Midlands Championships in December, Ben Wissel fell to Illinois' Pete Friedl in sudden victory 3-1.
Wissel and Friedl wrestled evenly through seven minutes of regulation, each scoring a takedown during the match. Frield took a 1-0 lead with an escape to start the second period, and Wissel matched the Illini escape in the third period.
In the overtime period, Friedl ducked under Wissel and got a hold of a leg, taking the Boilermaker down 33 seconds into the extra time for the win.
Wissel and Friedl have wrestled four times this season, each grappler winning twice. Both of Friedl's victories came in a sudden victory period.
Wissel slips into the consolation bracket and will wrestle on Friday evening. His opponent will be
Nathan Moore, Purdue / Big Ten / Jr. / Indianapolis, Ind. / 32-14
vs.
Jared Villers, West Virginia / EWL / Jr. / Akron, Ohio / 21-11
Nathan Moore posted his second NCAA Championships win with a 3-1 decision over Jared Villers of West Virginia in the second round of consolation action.
Moore scored in the opening 30 seconds of the match with an ankle pick, and used that lone takedown as the difference in the match. Villers got the escape 55 seconds later, ans the score was 2-1 after the first period.
Villers chose to start in the neutral position in the second period, and neither wrestler was able to score during the two minutes. Moore scored a third point with an escape in the third period and successfully defended a few Mountaineer shots to hold on for the win.
Nathan Moore, Purdue / Big Ten / Jr. / Indianapolis, Ind. / 33-14
vs.
Jeff Foust, Missouri / Big 12 / Sr. / Blue Springs, Mo. / 17-6
Moore's second match of the third session was as low scoring as a match could be, as the Boilermaker won a 1-0 decision over Missouri's Jeff Foust.
Moore got in on Foust's legs several times during the match but was unable to finish, and fought off a few shots by the Tiger, keeping the match scoreless. The difference in the match came in the second period when Foust chose to start the stanza on bottom and Moore rode the MU wrestling for the full two minutes.
With a two minute riding time advantage, Moore chose the neutral position in the third period and the match remained 0-0 until the final buzzer. The riding time advantage gave Moore one point, and that was all he needed for the win and advancement.
Moore will face Ryan Bader of Arizona State, the tournament's eight seed at 197, in a consolation bracket matchup.
Chris Fleeger (5 seed), 133 Pounds
Round 1: Zachary Cunliffe, Rider ... won by medical forfeit (3:22)
Round 2: Chris Helgeson, Northern Iowa ... won by major decision, 16-3
Quarters: #4 Mack Reiter, Minnesota ... won by injury default (2:58)
Semifinals: #1 Shawn Bunch, Edinboro
Dan Bedoy, 165 Pounds
Round 1: Christopher Vondruska, Hofstra ... lost by decision, 9-3
Cons. Rd. 1: Justin Nestor, Pittsburgh ... lost by fall (2:27)
Ben Wissel (3 seed), 184 Pounds
Round 1: Joseph Maroney, Rider ... won by technical fall, 20-5 (7:00)
Round 2: Greg Gifford, Fresno State ... won by major decision, 14-6
Quarters: #6 Pete Friedl, Illinois ... lost by decision, 3-1 in sudden victory
Cons. Rd. 4: Alex Clemson, Edinboro
Nathan Moore, 197 Pounds
Round 1: #5 Joel Flaggert, Oklahoma ... lost by decision, 9-2
Cons. Rd. 1: Joe Fendone, Edinboro ... won by decision, 10-4
Cons. Rd. 2: Jared Villers, West Virginia ... won by decision, 3-1
Cons. Rd. 3: Jeff Foust, Missouri ... won by decision, 1-0
Cons. Rd. 4: #8 Ryan Bader, Arizona State