Michigan State University
Big Ten Championships
Wrestling Finishes Seventh At Big Ten Championships
3/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 4, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Michigan State's Chris Williams and Pat McNamara claimed third place at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively, and Gray Maynard claimed fourth in the 157-pound weight class following an injury default on the final day (March 4) of competition at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Northwestern University. Mike Castillo captured fifth place at 141 pounds, Karl Nadolsky took sixth at 149, while John Wechter (184) and Nik Fekete (197) each finished in eighth place.
"Chris (Williams) is outstanding," said Michigan State head coach Tom Minkel. "The surprise of the tournament...for the sixth seed to finish third at that weight is outstanding." Williams defeated No. 7 seed Ryan Escobar of Illinois 3-0 in the third-place match. He advanced to the consolation championship with a 4-4 overtime tiebreak decision over Kore Shipley of Ohio State.
McNamara defeated Marat Tomaev of Penn State 5-3 in the consolation semifinals and pinned Purdue's Evan Robinson at the 4:03 mark to finish third in the 133-pound competition. "Pat had an excellent tournament," said coach Minkel. "His comeback after yesterday's (championship semifinal) loss, and to get a pin, is super."
Gray Maynard defaulted the third-place match at 157 pounds after re-injuring the knee he'd had operated on just over three weeks ago. "He tweaked it during the (consolation) semis and we didn't want to risk him," said Minkel. "We were happy to get him that far." Maynard scored a pinfall over No. 8 seed Clovis Crane of Purdue in the consolation semifinal match in which he was injured before defaulting in the final, giving Griff Powell of Illinois third place.
Of Mike Castillo's performance at 141 pounds coach Minkel commented: "We're extraordinarily pleased with his performance...the way he came back to qualify for the NCAA Championship is outstanding." Castillo lost to Grant Hoerr via pinfall in the consolation semifinals then defeated Indiana's Coyte Cooper 6-4 for fifth place.
"It's one of the toughest weight classes here" coach Minkel said of the 149-pound class, where Karl Nadolsky finished sixth. "One of the toughest anyplace. For Karl to get his second trip to NCAA Championship as a sophomore is terrific."
John Wechter and Nik Fekete both turned in eighth-place finishes. "It's disappointing (for Nik)" coach Minkel stated. "I don't know what happened...he's beaten everybody (in other meets) who beat him here."
Williams, McNamara, Castillo, Nadolsky, and Maynard all qualified for the NCAA Championships with their finishes at the Big Ten meet. Fekete became the sixth Michigan State qualifier with one of the Big Ten's two at-large berths to the NCAA Championship. (more) Michigan State finished in seventh place in the team competition with 65 points. Minnesota is the Big Ten champion with 154 points.
"You're not happy when you are not at the top," said Minkel of the Spartans' finish: two individual third-place finishes, one fourth, one fifth, one sixth and two eighth. "We wrestled hard everywhere."
MSU Individual Results From Sunday (March 4)
Consolation Semifinals
125 - Chris Williams def. Kore Sharpley (OSU) 4-4 (OT tiebreak decision)133 - Pat McNamara def. Marat Tomaev (Penn St) 5-3141 - Clark Forward (Minn) def. Mike Castillo 6-4149 - Mike Kulczycki (Mich) def. Karl Nadolsky 7-4157 - Gray Maynard def. Clovis Crane (Purdue) FALL, 2:48
Seventh-Place Matches184 - Ralph Denisco (UW) def. John Wechter 9-6197 - Pete Mielnik (Penn St) def. Nik Fekete FALL, 0:59
Fifth-Place Matches141 - Mike Castillo def. Coyte Cooper (IN) 6-4149 - Mike Zadick (Iowa) def. Karl Nadolsky 7-3
Third-Place Matches125 - Chris Williams def. Ryan Escobar (IL) 3-0133 - Pat McNamara def. Evan Robinson (Purdue) FALL, 4:03157 - Griff Powell (IL) over Gray Maynard, Medical Default
2001 Big Ten Wrestling Championships Final Team Standings1. Minnesota, 154.0 points2. Illinois, 130.5 points3. Iowa, 129.5 points4. Michigan, 109.0 points5. Ohio State, 104.5 points6. Wisconsin, 75.0 points7. Michigan State, 65.9 points8. Indiana, 59.5 points9. Purdue, 50.0 points10. Penn State, 35.0 points11. Northwestern, 6.0 points
2001 Big Ten Wrestling Championships Individual Champions125 - Jody Strittmatter, Iowa133 - Eric Juergens, Iowa141 - Doug Schwab, Iowa149 - Jared Lawrence, Minnesota157 - T.J. Williams, Iowa165 - Don Pritzlaff, Wisconsin174 - Otto Olson, Michigan184 - Nate Patrick, Illinois
