Cyclones Set to Defend Big 12 Title

03.04.2008 | Men's Wrestling

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa -- No. 3/6 Iowa State will travel to Stillwater, Okla., Saturday to compete in the 2008 Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cyclones, along with sophomore heavyweight David Zabriskie, look to defend their title league title from 2007 and earn a berth to the NCAA Championships March 20-22 in St. Louis, Mo. Live stats will be available on cyclones.com throughout the tournament. FSN is scheduled to tape-delay the finals.

Cyclone Notebook
-Defending Big 12 Coach of the Year, Cael Sanderson, will lead the No. 3/6 Iowa State wrestlers to the 2008 conference championship in Stillwater, Okla., as the Cyclones look to defend their title from a year ago. The meet Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
-The Cyclones earned regular season honors with a 22-12 win over then-No. 2-ranked Nebraska. Highlighting the league victory was No. 13 David Bertolino's dramatic 7-6 tie-breaker win over No. 6 Craig Brester at 197 pounds. Nick Gallick registered a pin at 141 pounds and Cyler Sanderson (157) scored a major decision en route to ISU's 15th dual win.
-Heavyweight David Zabriskie is setting out to defend his conference title from a year ago. He is riding a six-match winning streak. Nick Fanthorpe and Nick Gallick have each won four straight matches at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively.
-Fanthorpe closed out the dual season as the leading scorer with 67 total dual points scored. He has registered 64 takedowns in his sophomore campaign.
-ISU's 10 starters have won a total of 210 bouts so far this season, 93 of which resulted in bonus points (44 major decisions, 20 technical falls, 29 pins). In dual action, the squad has tallied 352 takedowns and surrendered 109.
-Six wrestlers have 10 or more wins resulting in bonus points. Leading the way is redshirt freshman Jon Reader (165) with 15 bonus points wins on six major decisions, four technical falls and five pins. A trio of grapplers have won 13 matches on bonus points: Fanthorpe, Sanderson and Bertolino. Jake Varner (184) and Mitch Mueller (149) each have 10.

Iowa State at the Big 12 Championship
-Cyclone David Zabriskie's win over Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State at heavyweight at the 2007 Big 12 meet sealed Iowa State's first conference crown since the Cyclones tied OSU for the team title in 1987. First-place finishes from Zabriskie and 157-pounder Trent Paulson, helped ISU win the 2007 meet with 66.5 points, followed by Missouri (61.5), Oklahoma State (61.5), Nebraska (46.0) and Oklahoma (44.0). Iowa State sent three other wrestlers to title matches for runners-up finishes: Cyler Sanderson (149), Travis Paulson (165) and Jake Varner (184).
-Heavyweight David Zabriskie is on the verge of joining an elite group of ISU wrestlers that have earned multiple Big 12 Conference crowns. Iowa State has six grapplers that have accomplished the feat in: Cael Sanderson (4), Joe Heskett (3), Nate Gallick (3), Dwight Hinson (2), Trent Paulson (2) and Kurt Backes (2).
-Oklahoma State last hosted the Big 12 wrestling championship in Gallagher-Iba Arena in 2001. That year the Cyclones placed third as Joe Heskett (165) and Cael Sanderson (184) each earned a title.
-On four occasions, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2006, the Cyclones have had three wrestlers finish atop the podium in their respective weight classes.
-Since the first Big 12 Conference championship in 1997, there have been 22 individual Iowa State league champions.
-The Cyclones have won 12 conference titles. ISU took home the first-place trophy in 1933, 37, 41, 47, 58, 70, 76, 77, 79, 80, 87 and 2007.
-Iowa State has not won back-to-back league championships since 1979-80 when the Cyclones earned Big Eight honors.

Scouting the Big 12
-Five champs from a year ago return to the competition field to defend their title. A pair of big men return from Missouri in Raymond Jordan (184) and Max Askren (197), and Oklahoma State's one-two punch of Coleman Scott (133) and Nathan Morgan (141) return. Iowa State's heavyweight David Zabriskie rounds out the returning champs.
-As always, the wrestlers of the Big 12 Conference are among the best in the country with 40-ranked grapplers, 20 of which are rated among the top-10 in their respective weight classes. The wrestlers will compete and vye for one of 38 berths to St. Louis, Mo., and the NCAA Championships.
-To earn automatic qualification, a wrestler must finish in the top-two of his respective weight class. Eight wild-card qualifiers will be determined at the conclusion of the tournament.
-There will be two of the country's top-ranked wrestlers competing at the Big 12 Championships in Iowa State's Jake Varner (184) and Coleman Scott (133) from Oklahoma State.
-Missouri boasts seven-ranked wrestlers, including All-American Tyler McCormick at 133 pounds. Michael Chandler leads the Tiger squad with 22 wins and finished conference dual action unbeaten. Max Askren is the only other Missouri wrestler to go untouched in the league. The nation's second-ranked man at 165 pounds, sophomore Nick Marable has not dropped a match since being handed a 3-2 decision by then-ranked No. 2 Mark Perry of Iowa.
-Two Nebraska wrestlers hold perfect conference marks, Jordan Burroughs (149) and Brandon Browne (174). The Huskers also boast defending NCAA champion Paul Donahoe at 125 pounds. Donahoe is the highest of nine ranked Huskers at fourth nationally. Nebraska closed out the dual season winning 12 of its last 14 duals.
-Oklahoma broke through 13 years of Oklahoma State domination to defeat the Cowboys, 18-15, to close out its dual season. Josh Weitzel, an NCAA qualifer for Michigan in 2005, opened the dual with a pin of Jack Jensen at 184 pounds. The senior is one of five Sooners aspiring for back-to-back NCAA appearances.
-Oklahoma State trio of All-Americans, Coleman Scott (133), Nathan Morgan (141) and Brandon Mason (174), lead the way for the Cowboys on their home mat. All three wrestlers are ranked nationally among the top-10 of their respective weight classes with Scott and Morgan packing a one-two punch in the polls. Combined these men have earned All-America honors six times and have totalled a 71-8 record together. Four OSU wrestlers have won 20 or more matches this season: Morgan (28), heavyweight Jared Rosholt (27), Mason (25) and 197-pounder Clayton Foster (22).