By MIKE CORWIN, Sports Information
ST LOUIS, Mo. - ST LOUIS, Mo.- Oregon State 125-pound sophomore Nathan Navarro came up one match short of the All-America round losing his third match of Friday's action, 11-2, to Cal State Bakersfield's Ruben DeLeon at the NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships at the Kiel Center in St. Louis.
Four other OSU wrestlers were eliminated in their Friday morning matches. Oregon State's six wrestlers earned 11 total team points. At the conclusion of the heavyweight semi-finals Friday night, Iowa State led the team competition with 98 points. They are followed by defending champion Iowa with 80.5 points and last year's runner-up Minnesota with 65.
Attendance will set a new record by the end of the six sessions as over 90,000 tickets have already been sold.
Navarro advanced in consolations with victories over Jose Leon of Boston University, 9-6, and Michigan's A.J. Grant, 8-5. Navarro led most of the way in both matches, He had a takedown in each of the three rounds in both contests and collected an extra point in each with riding time totaling almost five minutes. DeLeon, however, handled Navarro with a takedown in each period earning near fall points and riding time in the final minute. His season record was 22-14 overall, 3-2 at nationals.
At 133 pounds, Ben Richards was eliminated by Brad Wright of Ohio University in Friday's opening action. Richards had the better of the first two rounds, but led only 1-0 going into the third period. Wright maintained the up position to open the third and collected six near fall points in the last two minutes to win, 9-2. Richards ends his year at 17-13 overall.
141-pound freshman Shane Cunanan dropped his consolation match to Arizona State's David Douglas, 13-1. Douglas was in control throughout the rubber match of the year between the two. Douglas won during the regular season, but Cunanan had won the matchup at the Pac-10 Tournament two weeks ago. Cunanan finishes his first year at 15-16.
The Beavers' 174-pound sophomore Nathan Coy lost a narrow 3-0 decision to the 12th-seed, Nick Mengerink of Pittsburgh. Mengerink was warned for stalling late in the second period, but there was little action from that point on as he earned a takedown of Coy in the final three seconds when the Beaver sophomore missed on his final shot at a go-ahead takedown of his own. Coy completes his year at 21-13.
Sophomore heavyweight Jason Cooley, the seventh-seed, lost a heartbreaker to Josh Pearce of Edinboro, 6-4. Cooley was ahead, 4-3, with only two seconds left when he yielded a takedown. Riding time provided Pearce with the final point of the match as he rode Cooley the entire second period. Cooley ends his sophomore season with a 25-8 won-loss record.
Wells said, "Both Nathan Coy and Jason (Cooley) had close matches. They just didn't take control when they had the opportunity. You have to be disciplined enough to make someone wrestle and when you don't you run the risk of making it close and it could go either way. They're young, it's their first time here and they'll be back."
Wells summed up the year in the same way.
"They all come back next year and we're having a great recruiting year. We were a young team this year. We'll take these lessons and put them to good use this spring. We take a little time off, but not much. Then we'll get ready for next year."
TEAM LEADERS
1. Iowa State 98.00
OREGON STATE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
NATHAN NAVARRO (22-14), 125, lost to top-seed Jody Strittmatter of Iowa,
10-1; major decision over Alexis Rivera of Northern Illinois, 12-3; defeated
Jose Leon, Boston University, 9-6; defeated A.J. Grant of Michigan, 8-5; lost to
Ruben DeLeon of Cal State Bakersfield, 11-2. Navarro eliminated.
BEN RICHARDS (17-13), 133, lost to fifth-seeded Roman Fleszar of
Hofstra, 6-1; win by fall over Livio DiRubbo of Brown at 6:10; lost to Brad
Wright, Ohio University, 9-2. Richards eliminated.
SHANE CUNANAN (15-16), 141, lost to seventh-seeded Chris Marshall of
Central Michigan, 19-8; defeated Ralph Lopez of Fresno State, 6-4, at :47
seconds in overtime; lost to David Douglas, Arizona State, 13-1. Cunanan
eliminated.
ERIC JORGENSEN (29-6), 157, sixth-seeded, lost to Dennis Papadatos of
Hofstra, 8-6, at :34 in overtime; defeated Neil Posmer of Marquette, by
technical fall, 17-1, at 4:12; lost to Griff Powell, Illinois, 6-3. Jorgensen
eliminated.
NATHAN COY (21-13), 174, lost by fall to Joseph Tucceri of Cornell at
4:57; major decision over Nathan Rickman of James Madison, 13-4; lost to 12th
seeded Nick Mengerink of Pittsburgh, 3-0. Coy eliminated.
JASON COOLEY (25-8), HWT, seventh-seeded, lost by fall to Dave Anderton
of Oklahoma State at :28; defeated tenth-seeded Sean Hage of West Virginia, 6-0;
lost to Josh Pearce of Edinboro, 6-4. Cooley eliminated.
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2. Iowa 80.50
3. Minnesota 65.00
4. Oklahoma State 63.50
5. Illinois 54.50
(Records in parenthesis)