Wrestling Finishes First Day of NCAA Championships In 20th Place
3/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 15, 2001
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Michigan State wrestling team completed the first round Thursday (March 15) of the 2001 NCAA Wrestling Championships, hosted by the University of Iowa. The Spartans feature six wrestlers currently competing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in this year's event. After the conclusion of one day, Michigan State sits in 20th place overall with 11.5 points while the University of Minnesota is first with 41.5 points.
Michigan State's best performance came from senior Pat McNamara, who entered the championships as the fourth seed, at 133 pounds. McNamara began the day with a first round 5-2 decision over Harvard's Matt Picarsic. Next, McNamara faced Matt Hunkler of George Mason University. McNamara, once again, was victorious as he scored a 5-2 decision over Hunkler in the second round. McNamara advances to the quarterfinals where he will face Roman Flesza of Hofstra University on Friday.
Junior Chris Williams who entered as a seventh seed, lost his opening round match to Kent State's Brent Thompson by a 5-4 count. Williams, however, remained poised as he went on to defeat Greg Schaeffer of Indiana in a 6-2 decision in the wrestle-back. Williams then scored a 15-5 major decision over Cleveland State's Rocco Mansuetto and moves on to face Tommy Hoang of Duke.
Spartan senior Mike Castillo began the day with a strong start as he defeated Andrew Gharst of Cal Poly at 141 pounds. In the second round, Virginia's Sean Grey defeated Castillo, an 11-8 decision. Friday, Castillo will take on Corey Williams of UNC- Greensboro in a wrestle-back match.
Sophomore Gray Maynard pinned Lock Haven's Jason Gilligan at 5:48 in his round match at 157 pounds. Maynard's fortune was reversed in the second round as he fell victim to a pin at 6:42 by Bryan Snyder, the No. 2 seed, of Nebraska. Maynard will face Timothy Huxel of Air Force in a wrestle-back match on Friday.
Michigan State sophomore Nik Fekete suffered a first round defeat at 197 pounds to No. 1 seed Mark Munoz of Oklahoma. Munoz scored a 14-6 major decision. In the wrestle-backs, Fekete managed a 6-3 decision over Drexel's Chris Jones and faces Craig Rumsey of Wyoming on Friday.
In the 149-pound bracket, sophomore Karl Nadolsky fell short to Edinboro's Ryan Shaper in a 3-2 decision. Nadolsky defeated VMI's Adam Britt in a 9-3 decision in a wrestle-back match. Friday, Nadolsky will challenge Colin Robertson of Boise State University.
Action at the 2001 NCAA Wrestling Championships will continue through Saturday, March 17 in Iowa City.
Top 10 Team Scores - Through Session 1
1. Minnesota, 41.5 points2. Iowa, 36.5 points Oklahoma State, 36.5 points4. Oklahoma, 28 points5. Iowa State, 26.5 points6. Illinois, 25 points7. Michigan, 19 points Nebraska, 19 points9. Arizona State, 18 points10. Edinboro, 17.5 points20. Michigan State, 11.5 points Lock Haven, 11.5 points