InterMat: Inside info from the N.W.C.A

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SIU-Edwardsville Hosts Marines All-Star Classic

 

 

 

The 2004-05 wrestling season officially got into high gear with its version of a kick off classic with the Marines (NWCA) All-Star Classic presented by Real Pro Wrestling. Twenty of the nation’s top collegiate wrestlers took to the mats on November 22 at SIU-Edwardsville in front of a capacity crowd of 3500 people.

 

The All-Star Classic, which was contested for the 39th year, saw two new changes for the year. The event, which is normally wrestled in February, was changed to a November date to try to attract the best wrestlers. This move clearly worked as seven NCAA Champions took to the mat.

 

This year’s event also marked the first time the event was held on the campus of a Division II institution. The NWCA awarded the All-Star Classic to SIU-Edwarsville due to the relentless efforts that the alumni and friends of the program gave in saving the program from being discontinued in 2002 .

 

The wrestling was great from the start of the 125lbs match where top ranked Sam Hazwinkel of Oklahoma came away with a 2-0 deciscion over third ranked Nick Simmons of Michigan State. Hazwinkel won the bout on the strength of a first period takedown which became the only scoring in the match. Hazwinkel and Simmons each rode the other out in the second and third periods.

 

At 133lbs, Sam Hiatt of Northern Illinois became a late replacement of number one ranked Travis Lee of Cornell, who got injured the day before the meet. Hiatt engaged in a tight battle with fourth ranked Mark Jayne of Illinois before falling 3-1. Jayne scored the winning points with a takedown in the final :30 of the third period and then rode Hiatt out the remainder of the match.

 

In a highly entertaining match, 2003 NCAA Champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma went to double overtime before defeating fourth ranked Cory Cooperman of Lehigh 2-1ot at 141lbs. Ware was the aggressor of much of the match but Cooperman wowed the crowd with an uncanny ability to scramble out of numerous Ware shots. Ware got the go ahead points with an escape :14 seconds into rideout and then was able to ride Cooperman out for his :30 period.

 

At 149lbs Zak Esposito of Oklahoma State solidified his number one rankings with a solid 8-3 win over Cornell’s second ranked Dustin Manotti. Esposito dominated the match from his feet with three takedowns. This match was a rematch of the NCAA semifinals, which Esposito also won.

 

While many fans in the wrestling community know NCAA runner-up, Jake Percival is one the toughest wrestlers in the country on top, they saw how dominant he could be on his feet in his 11-7 victory over 2003 NCAA Champion Ryan Bertin of Michigan at 157lbs. Percival scored four takedowns in the match to build a 11-4 lead before Bertin closed the gap with a very late escape and takedown.

 

2004 NCAA Champion Troy Letters of Lehigh needed a riding time point to edge second ranked David Bolyard of Central Michigan at 165lbs. Bolyard opened the match with a quick takedown on Letters. Letters was able to tie the match in the second period with escapes in the first and second periods. Letters garnered the win by riding Bolyard out the third period.

 

In a rematch of the 2004 NCAA Finals, NCAA Champion, Chris Pendleton of Oklahoma State defeated NCAA Runner-up Ben Askren of Missouri 6-3. Pendleton opened up the 0-0 match with a big second period that included an escape, takedown and nearfall points. Pendleton then tacked on a riding time point for the win. While the hometown favorite Askren did not win the match, his style of wrestling made the match the most entertaining of the evening. Askren’s defended off many Pendleton’s scoring chances with unbelievable scrambling technique.

 

2004 NCAA Champion, Greg Jones of West Virginia improved to a perfect 3-0 in All-Star Classics with a 3-2 win over second ranked Paul Bradley of Iowa. The difference in the match was a second period takedown by Jones off a double.

 

2003 NCAA runner-up Scott Barker of Oregon was an extremely late replacement for Jon Trenge of Lehigh. Barker got into St. Louis at 1am the night before the meet after getting a call to compete at 1pm on the day before. Barker’s cross country journey ended on the wrong side of the match as he fell 8-3 to JD Bergman of Ohio State. After giving up the initial takedown Bergman hits an amazing lateral off a bear hug to Barkers back to jump out to a 6-2 lead. Bergram adds a second takedown off a bad shot by Barker in the second period to close out the scoring off the match.

 

At 285lbs, 2003 NCAA Champion Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State made is return from his Olympic Redshirt year with a 2-1ot win over second ranked Kole Konrad of Minnesota. Many wrestling fans were surprised by the close score of the match. Neither wrestler came close to scoring a takedown in regulation or in the sudden victory period. After an escape in the first rideout by Mocco, Konrad was unable to escape in his :30 period down which gave Mocco the victory.

 

" On behalf of our Board of Directors we are very thankful to the coaches and athletes who put on an unbelievable display of wrestling for the 3500 people in attendance at the event. We also want to thank all of the athletes who took time after the match and sat and did autographs for the people in attendance. In addtion, We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the treffic job that the Friends of SIU-Wrestling and the athletic department at SIU-Edwardsville did in putting on a first class show.”, stated Ron Beaschler, President of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

The event, which was sponsored by the United States Marines Corps and Real Pro Wrestling was preceeded by a high school dual meet between Oak Park North High School and Granite City High School, which Oak Park North won. The crowd at the Vadalabene Center was treated to a 20-minute motivational talk on the state of wrestling by Legend Dan Gable.

 

Following the meet the wrestlers made themselves readily available to all in attendance for a 45-minute autograph session. The wrestlers that evening clearly displayed that they are true heroes and champions of our great sport.

 

 

 

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