Completed Event: Wrestling versus Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on January 18, 2026 , , One Champ
Final
Wrestling
Harold Nichols Cyclone Open
One Champ
Iowa State University Athletics
ISU Second; Paulson Finishes Fifth
03.17.2007 | Wrestling
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. ? Iowa State will have an uphill climb to win its first NCAA wrestling title in 20 years. Head coach Cael Sanderson describes it as a “half court shot” chance. But ultimately, the Cyclones control their own destiny heading into Saturday's championship bouts at the NCAA meet in the Palace at Auburn Hills. Minnesota, which had four wrestlers in the consolation round Saturday morning, leads the team race with 92 points. The Gophers' only finalist is prohibitive heavyweight favorite Cole Konrad. Iowa State, second with 84.5 points, has favored Trent Paulson at 157 pounds and underdogs Jake Varner at 184 pounds and Kurt Backes at 197 pounds in tonight's title matches. A winner of a championship match secures four team points. Thus, if two Cyclones win national titles with no bonus points, Iowa State would lead Minnesota by 1/2 point when Konrad stepped on to the mat. All of this has come together in a year when top-rated Minnesota was expected to run away with the team title.
Tonight's finals will be televised live on ESPN and espn360.com. Check out cyclones.com for updated results.
“We still have a chance, it's a last-second half-court kind of chance but the door is still open,” head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson said. “We feel real good about our chances tonight.”
Missouri is a distant third with 76 points and a single wrestler, Ben Askren (174), remaining in the championships. Oklahoma State has 69 points and is in fourth place with two wrestlers in the title hunt. In fifth place with 67.5 points is Northwestern. The Wildcats have two in title bouts.
Senior Trent Paulson, the top seed at 157, will meet seventh seed Craig Henning of Wisconsin. Varner, the sixth seed at 184 pounds, will face off against unbeaten (31-0) top seed Jake Herbert of Northwestern. Backes, who came into the round as the ninth seed, will battle second-seeded Josh Glenn of American.
Travis Paulson picked up fifth-place points Saturday, closing out his career as one of 41 three-time All-American Cyclone grapplers in school history, with a dramatic come from behind 5-4 165-pound victory over Hofstra's Mike Patrovich. Paulson closes out his senior campaign with a 28-7 mark.
The opening three minutes of the bout were scoreless as Paulson fought off Patrovich's shots, but was unable to get one of his own. Patrovich deferred to Paulson to start from the down position to begin the second period. Paulson could not free himself from Patrovich and was rolled into a two-point nearfall and fell behind 2-0. With under a minute to go, Paulson scored an escape, putting the match at 2-1. During the second period, Patrovich was able to earn 1:08 worth of riding time, giving him the upper hand in the match.
The final period was a different story. Paulson started on top and erased the riding time advantage held by the Hofstra wrestler. Patrovich escaped from Paulson to take a 3-1 lead. Although time was ticking away, Paulson maintained his focus and tied the match at 3-3 with a takedown on the far edge of the mat at the 39-second mark. Immediately Paulson cut Patrovich loose, taking the risk of falling behind 4-3, to go for the winning takedown. He got it, on a single leg shot of Patrovich with 14 seconds left.
“The coaches were telling me to ride him out (to send the match into overtime), but I was confident that I could get another takedown,” Paulson said. “I had ridden him in the match and probably could have done it that way to go into overtime, but I wanted to do this. It feels good to go out this way and contribute to the team effort.”
Paulson finishes his collegiate career as one of 33 Cyclones with at least 100 career wins with a four-year record of 106-32.
“Your last match, no matter when or where it is will stay with you the rest of your life,” ISU head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson said. “That is why it was so great to see Travis win his match and do it in the way he did. He made his own destiny there.”
Paulson was defeated by Michigan's third-seeded, Eric Tannenbaum 6-2 in his first medal round match.
Tonight's finals will be televised live on ESPN and espn360.com. Check out cyclones.com for updated results.
“We still have a chance, it's a last-second half-court kind of chance but the door is still open,” head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson said. “We feel real good about our chances tonight.”
Missouri is a distant third with 76 points and a single wrestler, Ben Askren (174), remaining in the championships. Oklahoma State has 69 points and is in fourth place with two wrestlers in the title hunt. In fifth place with 67.5 points is Northwestern. The Wildcats have two in title bouts.
Senior Trent Paulson, the top seed at 157, will meet seventh seed Craig Henning of Wisconsin. Varner, the sixth seed at 184 pounds, will face off against unbeaten (31-0) top seed Jake Herbert of Northwestern. Backes, who came into the round as the ninth seed, will battle second-seeded Josh Glenn of American.
Travis Paulson picked up fifth-place points Saturday, closing out his career as one of 41 three-time All-American Cyclone grapplers in school history, with a dramatic come from behind 5-4 165-pound victory over Hofstra's Mike Patrovich. Paulson closes out his senior campaign with a 28-7 mark.
The opening three minutes of the bout were scoreless as Paulson fought off Patrovich's shots, but was unable to get one of his own. Patrovich deferred to Paulson to start from the down position to begin the second period. Paulson could not free himself from Patrovich and was rolled into a two-point nearfall and fell behind 2-0. With under a minute to go, Paulson scored an escape, putting the match at 2-1. During the second period, Patrovich was able to earn 1:08 worth of riding time, giving him the upper hand in the match.
The final period was a different story. Paulson started on top and erased the riding time advantage held by the Hofstra wrestler. Patrovich escaped from Paulson to take a 3-1 lead. Although time was ticking away, Paulson maintained his focus and tied the match at 3-3 with a takedown on the far edge of the mat at the 39-second mark. Immediately Paulson cut Patrovich loose, taking the risk of falling behind 4-3, to go for the winning takedown. He got it, on a single leg shot of Patrovich with 14 seconds left.
“The coaches were telling me to ride him out (to send the match into overtime), but I was confident that I could get another takedown,” Paulson said. “I had ridden him in the match and probably could have done it that way to go into overtime, but I wanted to do this. It feels good to go out this way and contribute to the team effort.”
Paulson finishes his collegiate career as one of 33 Cyclones with at least 100 career wins with a four-year record of 106-32.
“Your last match, no matter when or where it is will stay with you the rest of your life,” ISU head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson said. “That is why it was so great to see Travis win his match and do it in the way he did. He made his own destiny there.”
Paulson was defeated by Michigan's third-seeded, Eric Tannenbaum 6-2 in his first medal round match.
Players Mentioned
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