No. 19/17 Wrestling Kicks-Off Season At EMU Open
11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 3, 2005
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A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD- MSU will once again kick off the season by competing in the Eastern Michigan Open in Ypsilanti, Mich. Most Spartans will compete unattatched. In past years, the EMU Open has consisted of nearly 300 wrestlers from 15 to 20 teams.
SPARTANS MAKE STRONG SHOWING IN PRESEASON RANKINGS- In the initial preseason rankings, Michigan State has made its debut as high as No. 17 in some polls. Individually the Green and White are well represented as well with five wrestlers in the top 20. All-Americans Nick Simmons debuts at No. 4 at 125 lbs. in most polls, while brother Andy is ranked as high as fourth at 141 lbs. by Intermat. Darren McKnight at 149 lbs. and R.J. Boudro at 165 lbs. are both ranked in the top 15 by Intermat as well, debuting at No. 13 and No. 11, respectively. Joe Williams isn't ranked by Intermat, but will start the season ranked No. 20 at 174 lbs. by W.I.N. Magazine.
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE- Michigan State will once again square off with some of the most formidable opponents in the nation during the 2005-06 campaign. MSU will wrestle six of the top seven finishers and 10 of the top 15 teams at the 2005 NCAA Championships. The ipreseason team rankings by W.I.N. Magazine have the Spartans wrestling all of the top six teams in the land, with 13 of their 14 opponents being ranked in the top 25.
HEADING BACK FOR A REMATCH- For the second consecutive year, Nick Simmons and Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel will clash in the prestigious Marines/NWCA All-Star Classic. Simmons hopes to change his fortune against Hazewinkel, who defeated Simmons 2-1 at last year's All-Star Classic, as well as two other times during the regular season. Hazewinkel topped Simmons at a dual meet on Feb. 25, 2-0, and in the consolation finals of the 2005 NCAA Championships, 6-3. This year, the event will be held at Gallagher-Iba Arena, on the campus of Oklahoma State University.
THE 2004 EMU OPEN- Five Michigan State wrestlers took home medals in the first tournament of the 2004 season, led by Nick Simmons who claimed first place at 125 pounds after not giving up a single point in his four matches. Simmons was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler, and was also the first Big Ten wrestler of the week of the 2004-05 season for his efforts. Tony Greathouse took second place at 141 lbs., while Jeff Clemens at 197 lbs. and Darren McKnight at 149 lbs. took fourth. Wrestling in his first collegiate tournament, John Murphy claimed fifth place at 184 lbs.
CAPTAINS SET FOR THE 2005-06 CAMPAIGN- Seniors Darren McKnight and R.J. Boudro, along with junior All-Americans Nick and Andy Simmons, will serve as team captains for the Michigan State wrestling team for the 2005-06 season. The four upperclassmen had a combined record of 114-32 in 2004-05. "Seldom has MSU had more leadership than it does this year," head coach Tom Minkel said. "These four men have not only had great success on the mat, but they have demonstrated outstanding leadership skills as well."
Nick Simmons COMPLETES A BUSY SUMMER OF WRESTLING IN TURKEY- Nick Simmons completed a busy summer of wrestling by taking fifth at the 2005 World University Games in Izmir, Turkey on Aug. 13. Simmons defeated Aliaksandr Lasitsa of Belarus, registered a fall against Nam Song of North Korea in 1:59 before falling to Simonyan Vahan of Armenia in the semifinals. He then lost a tight match to Hgyun-Jin Yoo of Korea in the bronze-medal match. Simmons advanced to the Games by winning the University World Team Trials in May, and winning the University National Championships in April, where he was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
FORMER SPARTAN ALL-AMERICAN Chris Williams NAMED ASSISTANT COACH- Former Spartan All-American Chris Williams was named the new second assistant wrestling coach on July 13, taking the place of David Dean. Williams wrestled at 125 lbs. for MSU from 1997-2002, and was an NCAA All-American in 2001. His 102 career wins place him 14th on the MSU career victories board.
THE CREDENTIALS KEEP COMING...- Nick Simmons earned a spot on the U.S. National Team by claiming third at the World Team Trials this past June in Ames, Iowa. Simmons went 3-1 for the tournament, defeating Jesse Zobeck of Colorado, former NCAA Champion Jason Powell of Nebraska and California's Matt Azevedo. His lone loss came to four-time All-American Eric Akin. Simmons advanced to the tournament by taking third at the 2005 U.S. Senior National Championships. At the National Championships, he compiled a 5-1 record, pinning three opponents.
MCKNIGHT NAMED NWCA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN- Boasting a 3.34 GPA in accounting, Darren McKnight was named to the 2005 National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-American Team. The two-time NCAA Qualifier and team captain did an internship in accounting at LaSalle Bank in Chicago this summer.
COME THE 2005 FRESHMAN CLASS- MSU welcomes highly touted recruits Franklin Gomez, Rocky Cozart and Nick Palmieri to the program for the 2005-06 season. Gomez won the "triple crown" of high school wrestling in 2005, claiming national championships at the High School Nationals, the U.S. Greco Roman Junior Nationals and the U.S. Freestyle Junior Nationals. He was the top rated senior at 119 lbs. by Wrestling News and Wrestling USA magazines. Gomez will wrestle at 125 lbs. for the Spartans.
Gomez's teammate at Brandon High School, Cozart, is a three-time Florida state champion and a three-time junior greco roman national champion. Cozart took second at the 2005 U.S. Greco Roman Junior Nationals and sixth at the High School National Championships. He will wrestling at 165 lbs. on the collegiate level. Brandon High School, coached by Cozart's father Russ, has the longest winning streak in high school wrestling dating back to 1973 and spanning more that 400 dual meets.
Palmieri took sixth at high school nationals as well, and claimed third at the Ohio State Championships as a senior. He also competed at the Fargo Nationals as a junior and went a combined 80-10 his junior and senior seasons.
Joining them will be Alan O'Donnell from Lakewood, Mich., who went 121-11 his sophomore through senior seasons, and Nick Shafer from St. Clair Shores, Mich., who was a state runner-up his senior year. O'Donnell will wrestling at 285 lbs. for the Green and White, while Shafer will compete at 157 lbs.
All four are expected to redshirt for the 2005-06 season.
Players Mentioned
