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Iowa State University Athletics
2008 NCAA Championships: A Look Back
04.16.2008 | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa ? Individual efforts by the Big 12 Champion Iowa State wrestlers set a new high at the NCAA Championships March 20-22 in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Although six seconds separated the Cyclones from back-to-back runner-up finishes, ISU maintained dominance among the national ranks as a team and individually. With seven of Iowa State's qualifiers earning a spot on the podium in their respective weight classes as All-Americans, the Cyclones declared to the collegiate wrestling world that they are back and will continue to contend for a national championship for years to come. As a team, Cael Sanderson's squad tied for fifth with Big 12 Conference foe Oklahoma State with 72 points.
Sanderson's squads have touched upon and made history in their own right at the NCAA Championships. In only his second year at the helm, the 2008 national tournament was no exception. Six Cyclones earned a seed in their respective weight classes with five foreseen to finish as All-Americans.
Thursday's first session saw nine of 10 Cyclone qualifiers advance in the championship bracket, two, Mitch Mueller (149) and David Bertolino (197), provided ISU with bonus points. Six grapplers advanced on to the quarterfinals after Thursday night's action and after the first day of competition, ISU sat in third place.
Friday morning was a rough one for Iowa State with only one of the quarterfinalists, Jake Varner, moving forward into the semifinals. The Cyclones slipped from third in the team race to 10th.
A never-die mentality propelled six wrestlers through the wrestlebacks Friday night and proved to be one of the best single-session rounds in Iowa State history as seven Cyclone wrestlers earned All-America honors and Varner advanced to the 184-pound championship match. ISU rebounded from Friday's morning session by moving back into third place.
Cyclones were all over the place in Saturday morning's medal round. Nick Gallick lead the charge with a fifth-place finish at 141 pounds and heavyweight David Zabriskie placed sixth. A trio of ISU wrestlers placed seventh: Nick Fanthorpe (133), Cyler Sanderson (157) and Jon Reader (165). Senior David Bertolino finished eighth at 197 pounds.
Varner closed out the tournament for ISU with a runner-up finish at 184 pounds.
Individual Recaps
125 pounds ? Tyler Clark
True freshman Tyler Clark, who did not enter the starting lineup until mid-January, earned a wild card bid to the national tournament after a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship. He entered the tournament unseeded and drew four-time NCAA qualifier Luke Smith of Central Michigan in the first round. Although the Cyclone rookie upended Smith at the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals in his first weekend of action 6-2, Smith avenged his loss with a 4-3 victory over Clark in a match that was pushed to a tie-breaker. Dropping into the wrestlebacks, Clark faced UC Davis' Marcos Orozco and suffered a 4-2 loss and bowed out of his first NCAA Championships.
133 pounds ? Nick Fanthorpe
The aggressive sophomore lightweight entered the national tournament fresh off an individual title at the Big 12 Championship and received the fifth-seed at 133 pounds. Nick Fanthorpe opened competition against Maryland's Steve Bell and advanced on an 8-2 decision. He was the first of eight Cyclones to advance to the quarterfinals by picking up a 3-1 win over Boise State's Cory Fish. In the quarterfinals, Fanthorpe was pitted against Iowa's fourth-seeded Joe Slaton and for the second time in the season, Slaton edged Fanthorpe by a single point, 3-2. Pushed into a tie-breaker, Fanthorpe intentionally released the Hawkeye and the escape point decided the match. Entering the wrestlebacks, Fanthorpe avenged a national duals loss to Hofstra's sixth-seeded Lou Ruggirello via a 5-1 decision. With the win, Fanthorpe became an All-American for the first time in his career. He suffered a 4-2 loss in the wrestleback quarterfinals to three-time All-American and eighth-seeded Mack Reiter of Minnesota. Fanthorpe's final match of the tournament and his sophomore campaign were wrestling for seventh place against Navy's 11th-seeded Joe Baker. An early head-on-head collision delayed much of the match for blood time on behalf of both wrestlers, but did not stop the ISU grappler from registering a 7-6 decision to finish seventh in his weight class. The injury ultimately resulted in six stitches for Fanthorpe.
141 pounds ? Nick Gallick
One of four Iowa State wrestlers to come into the NCAA Championships as a Big 12 champ, Nick Gallick was dubbed the ninth-seed in the 141-pound bracket. He opened by blanking Chris Drouin of Arizona State 3-0 and followed with a 10-7 win over Big 12 foe Zach Bailey of Oklahoma. Facing top-seeded and undefeated Chad Mendes of Cal Poly in the quarterfinals, Gallick was dealt a 5-0 loss and was sent to battle in the wrestlebacks. He became an All-American by surpassing Pittsburgh's Drew Headlee early by notching a pair of two-point nearfalls and rolled to a 9-3 victory. He picked up his second win in the fourth session by avenging an early-December loss to Manuel Rivera of Minnesota on an 8-2 decision. Wrestling in the consolation semifinals, Gallick was tripped up by second-seeded Charles Griffin of Hostra, 3-2. The loss did not set the Cyclone back as he rebounded for a 3-2 win of his own in the fifth-place match over Army's Matthew Kyler. Combined with older brother and former ISU NCAA champ Nate, the Gallick name has earned All-American status four times and has four individual Big 12 titles to its credit.
149 pounds ? Mitch Mueller
Even though he finished as the Big 12 149-pound runner-up, Mitch Mueller did not receive a seed for the national tournament. Wrestling in arguably the toughest weight class this season, the sophomore grappler won two matches in the first session of competition. In a pigtail match, Mueller first knocked off Binghamton's Kyle Fried 7-3. He then scored a 12-3 major decision, his seventh of the season, over Columbia's Anthony Constantino. In the second round, Mueller suffered a 6-2 loss to three-time All-American and second-seeded Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota. Dropping into the rigorous battle of wrestlebacks, he met Missouri's Josh Wagner for the third time this season and was unable to advance, falling to the Tiger 2-1. A two-time NCAA qualifier, the sophomore Cyclone exited the tournament with a 2-2 mark.
157 pounds ? Cyler Sanderson
Cyler Sanderson, the league's 157-pound champ, embarked upon his second national tournament as the seventh seed. Sanderson surged past Bloomsburg's Matt Moley in the first round with an 11-6 decision, but was halted by Missouri's 10th-seeded Michael Chandler. Meeting for the second time in as many weeks, Chandler sought revenge against Sanderson from the Big 12 Championship bout and got it with a three-point nearfall in the third period to deny the Cyclone 5-3 in the championship bracket. Despite the loss, Sanderson rattled off three-straight wins in wrestleback action to garner All-American accolades for the first time in his career. He handed Ryan Hluschak of Drexel a 7-3 decision before meeting Oklahoma State's Newly McSpadden. Sanderson scored a takedown in the first period and added an escape in the third en route to a 3-2 win over the Cowboy. He clinched All-American honors with 15 seconds left on the clock against Jonny Bonilla-Bowman of Hofstra for a 7-6 victory. In the wrestleback quarterfinals Sanderson was pinned by Edinboro's top-seeded Gregor Gillespie. The loss put Sanderson in the seventh-place match where he wrestled true to his seed by handing Moley of Bloomsburg a 7-5 decision. The youngest of the Sanderson legacy at Iowa State, the family name has combined for seven All-American finishes (Cael ? 4, Cody ? 2, Cyler ? 1).
165 pounds ? Jon Reader
The only redshirt freshman in the ISU lineup, Jon Reader entered his first NCAA Championships as the sixth-seeded grappler at 165 pounds. He raced out to a 7-1 lead in the second period with a reversal and a three-point nearfall en route to an 8-2 first-round victory over Bucknell's Andrew Rendos. Reader tallied his seventh major decision of the season with a 15-2 second-round win over No. 11 Kurt Gross of Kent State. As in his first-round match, Reader jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and a pair of three-point nearfalls. He continued to build his advantage throughout the bout on a pair of takedowns and registered over three minutes of riding time. Reader collided with third-seeded Nick Marable of Missouri in the quarterfinals, suffering a 5-3 loss and dropped into the wrestlebacks. He needed to win his first consolation match in order to garner All-American honors and that he did with a 5-1 decision over Central Michigan's Trevor Stewert. The win advanced him into the consolation quarterfinals to face 10th-seeded Michael Cannon of American, but lost a close 7-6 decision. His final match in the tournament was against Big 12 foe and fifth-seeded Stephen Dwyer of Nebraska for seventh place with Reader avenging his dual loss to the Husker with a 10-7 win.
174 pounds ? Aron Scott
Bumping up three weight classes from 149 to 174 pounds, senior Aron Scott found his niche and qualified for his first NCAA Championships with a third-place showing at the Big 12 Championship. Scott won his first-round tilt by blanking Randy Oates of George Mason 2-0 on an escape and 1:39 worth of riding time. Advancing, he then squared off against third-seeded Brandon Browne of Nebraska with upset on his mind by striking early. The Husker tied the bout at 3-3 and secured the win in the third period with an escape and a takedown to defeat Scott 8-5. Scott embarked upon the wrestlebacks with optimism, but was denied 8-2 by Lloyd Rogers of UT-Chattanooga. Scott bowed out of the tournament with a 1-2 mark.
184 pounds ? Jake Varner
Jake Varner entered his second NCAA Championships sporting a record of 25-0 and was the top-seeded wrestler at 184 pounds. The sophomore cruised to a 6-0 blanking of Penn's Lior Zamir in the first round. He then picked up his seventh pin of the season with a 2:06 stick of Zack Giesen of Stanford. Varner's quarterfinal match pitted him against arch nemesis and eighth-seeded Roger Kish of Minnesota. For the third time this season, Varner shutout Kish by a score of 2-0 on a second period escape and an entire third-period ride of the Gopher. The win lifted the Cyclone into the semifinals where, for the third time this season, Varner faced Central Michigan's Christian Sinnott and struck in thel bout's opening period with a takedown for a 2-0 lead and added an escape early in the second period for a 3-0 advantage over Sinnott. The Chippewa opted to start the final period from neutral and while he scored only the second takedown of Varner this season, it was too little too late.
Wrestling in the championship match for the second time in as many trips to the national tournament, Varner faced second-seeded Mike Pucillo of Ohio State. Varner pursued Pucillo the entire first period, but could not get in for a takedown and the opening three minutes finished scoreless. The Cyclone deferred to begin the second period, with the sophomore Buckeye taking the down position and eluded the powerful grip of Varner in a quick seven seconds to go up 1-0. Varner evened the score with an escape in the third period and the match was pushed into a 60-second sudden victory. Both wrestlers were locked at the shoulders, unable to score, forcing the match into a pair of 30-second tiebreakers. Again, both wrestlers exchanged escapes to deadlock the score at 2-2 and move into a second edition of sudden victory. With neither wrestler able to change the score, riding time became critical and would ultimately determine the 184-pound champ. Pucillo started the first tiebreaker from the down position and Varner was able to accumulate 11 seconds of riding time before Pucillo escaped. Varner did escape in his turn from the down position, but it was too late. Pucuillo was able to maintain a strong hold and erase ISU's 11 seconds of riding time and get six seconds of his own. Those six seconds landed the Buckeye a top of the podium as the 184-pound national champion and pushed Ohio State up to second place as a team.
197 pounds ? David Bertolino
David Bertolino, a senior on the ISU squad, entered his first NCAA Championships unseeded but excelled throughout the tournament. Wrestling up two weight classes from the three previous seasons, Bertolino began his tournament trek with a dominating 10-0 major decision over Patrick Bradshaw of Edinboro. Bertolino reversed Bradshaw and scored backpoints in the second period to break open the score in favor for the Cyclone. He added to his lead in the final period with a two- and three-point nearfall. His second-round match up against third-seeded Mike Tamillow of Northwestern and provided one of the tournament's biggest upsets by knocking off All-American 6-4 in sudden victory. Bertolino scored first with a takedown in the opening period, but Tamillow evened the match with an escape in the first and second periods. Starting the final period from the down position, Bertolino moved ahead 3-2, but Tamillow responded with a takedown for a 4-3 edge. Relentless, the ISU senior escaped again to tie the bout at 4-4 and push it into sudden victory where he got the winning takedown with one second left in sudden victory. He advanced to the quarterfinals to face Wisconsin's Dallas Herbst and was edged 5-4. Bertolino rallied in the wrestlebacks to earn All-American honors with a 3-2 win over Daren Burns of UNC Greensboro. A 6-5 consolation quarterfinal loss to Maryland's seventh-seeded Hudson Taylor put Bertolino in the seventh-place match against Big 12 opponent and fifth-seeded Max Askren of Missouri. Bertolino again had upset on his mind by pushing the Tiger into sudden victory, but a counter by Askren resulted in a takedown and an 11-9 seventh-place match win for Mizzou grappler. Bertolino finished All-American accolades with an eighth-place finish in his only trip to the national tournament.
Heavyweight ? David Zabriskie
Sophomore heavyweight David Zabriskie entered his second NCAA Championships as the seventh-seeded big man after a runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championships. In the first round, Zabriskie scored a 10-3 decision over Cal State-Bakersfield's Mitchell Monterio on three takedowns and a two-point nearfall. He took on 10th-seeded Zach Sheaffer of Pittsburgh in the second round, dealing out a 3-2 decision to advance to the quarterfinals. The second-seeded J.D. Bergman of Ohio State proved to be too much for Zabriskie in the quarterfinals, winning via an 11-1 major decision. In the must-win wrestlebacks, Zabriskie defeated ninth-seeded Jermail Porter of Kent State 3-2. The win also clinched an All-American finish for the Iowa State heavyweight. Zabriskie's second consolation match of the session saw the Cyclone redeem himself against Wisconsin's sixth-seed Kyle Massey on a 7-2 decision. With the two wins, Zabriskie moved into the consolation semifinals against an familiar foe, Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt. Meeting for the third time this season and sixth time in their young careers, the Cowboy handed Zabriskie a 6-1 loss in a match in which Rosholt was not penalized for grabbing the mat. The Cyclone maintains a 3-2 edge in all-time meetings against Rosholt. The loss pitted Zabriskie against Iowa's fourth-seeded Matt Fields in a battle for fifth-place honors. It was the third meeting between Zabriskie and Fields, but the Hawkeye was able to avenge his Midlands loss in the second sudden victory to win 4-2. Zabriskie wrestled above his seed, finishing sixth.
Players Mentioned
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