March 4, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Despite sitting in seventh place after one session, the Purdue Boilermakers were not happy with the results at the 2006 Big Ten Championships at Assemby Hall in Bloomington on Saturday afternoon.
Chris Fleeger, Ben Wissel and Nathan Moore advanced to their weight's semifinal round, but Doug Withstandley, seeded fifth at 149, slipped in his first round match with Ohio State's J Jaggers.
The Boilermakers have 27 team points, good for seventh place through the opening session. Illinois leads the team standings with 62 points, while host Indiana trails the rest of the Big Ten in 11th with 15 points.
Fleeger, the second seed at 133, advanced without breaking a sweat, receiving a free pass to the semis when Illinois' Gabe Flores bowed from their match with a medical forfeit. Flores had injured his knee in a pigtail match vs. Michigan State's Jeff Wimberley and chose not to face Fleeger.
Wissel, seeded No. 2 at 184, escaped from a near upset with a takedown in the final 15 seconds to defeat Alex Picazo of Ohio State 11-10. Picazo gave Wissel about all the Boilermaker could handle in the first round match, scoring four takedowns and keeping the pressure up for the entire match. After a Picazo takedown in the third period put the Buckeye up 10-8, Wissel worked for an escape with 28 seconds remaining and then got in on Picazo with a double-leg takedown with the clock reading 0:14. Wissel rode Picazo for the final 14 ticks for the one-point win.
Moore, seeded fifth at 197, blasted in on a single leg in the opening of the match vs. fourth-seed Brady Richardson of Indiana, getting the takedown just 16 seconds into the match. Moore then turned the Hoosier to his back, narrowly missing the pin as Richardson kept his right shoulder off the mat for just over two minutes. Leading 5-0 after three minutes, Moore needed nothing more than to exchange escapes and get a riding time bonus for a 7-1 win.
Withstandley was not so fortunate, as the ninth-ranked wrestler fell to Jaggers by a single point, 6-5. Trailing 5-2 entering the final period, Withstandley reversed Jaggers to make the score 5-4. The Buckeye escape to go up by two, but was forced to take a second injury timeout, giving Withstandley the option of starting on bottom, looking for an escape or reversal. Jaggers was hit for stalling with 29 seconds left, pulling the Boilermaker to within one, but Withstandley was unable to get away for the tying score.
Withstandley will now face Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan, an upset loser to Illinois' Troy Tirapelle, for the right to continue in the Big Ten Championships. Tannenbaum is ranked fourth in the nation, and is the No. 3 seed at the tournament. Withstandley, the fifth seed, is ranked ninth in the nation. The winner of this match advances deeper into the tournament's consolation bracket, while the loser's season comes to an end.
Dan Bedoy had the upset of the Boilermakers' tournament to this point, knocking off 17th-ranked Jake Donar of Wisconsin, the No. 6 seed, with a 5-3 decision. Bedoy struck first with a takedown two minutes into the match, and then scored the decisive blow with a takedown 25 seconds into the final period. However, Bedoy was unable to carry that momentum into his next match, losing by technical fall to third-seed Matt Nagel of Minnesota 16-0.
Jason Cook (141), Jake Murphy (157), Nick Corpe (174) and Aaron Keough (285) each faltered in their opening match of the tournament, forcing them to win two in the consolation bracket in order to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships.
Session II of the 2006 Big Ten Championships begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
#3 Chris Fleeger (2 seed), 133 Pounds
Round 1: #19 Gabe Flores, Illinois (7) ... won by medical forfeit
Semifinal: #6 Tom Clum, Wisconsin (3)
Jason Cook, 141 Pounds
Pigtails: #6 Alex Tsirtsis, Iowa (3) ... lost by major decision, 9-1
Cons. R1: #11 DeWitt Driscoll, Penn State (4)
#9 Doug Withstandley (5 seed), 149 Pounds
Round 1: #10 J Jaggers, Ohio State (4) ... lost by decision, 6-5
Cons. R1: #4 Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan (3)
Jake Murphy, 157 Pounds
Pigtails: #7 Joe Johnston, Iowa (4) ... lost by major decision, 19-6
Cons. R1: #12 Steve Luke, Michigan (6)
Dan Bedoy, 165 Pounds
Pigtails: #17 Jake Donar, Wisconsin (6) ... won by decision, 5-3
Round 1: #9 Matt Nagel, Minnesota (3) ... lost by technical fall, 16-0 (6:34)
Cons. R1: Bryan Harney, Michigan State
Nick Corpe, 174 Pounds
Pigtails: #2 Jake Herbert, Northwestern (1) ... lost by fall (4:08)
Cons. R1: #11 Nick Roy, Michigan (7)
#3 Ben Wissel (2 seed), 184 Pounds
Round 1: #20 Alex Picazo, Ohio State (7) ... won by decision, 11-10
Semifinal: #9 Roger Kish, Minnesota (3)
#17 Nathan Moore (5 seed), 197 Pounds
Round 1: #12 Brady Richardson, Indiana (4) ... won by decision, 7-1
Semifinal: #8 Tyrone Byrd, Illinois (1)
Aaron Keough, 285 Pounds
Round 1: Dave Herman, Indiana (7) ... lost by decision, 2-1
Cons. R1: Matt Weight, Illinois (8)