Wrestling Takes Break For Exams, Holidays
12/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 13, 2006
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NEXT IN SPARTAN WRESTLING
No. 21 MICHIGAN STATE at Midlands Championships
WHEN: Friday-Saturday, Dec. 29-30
WHERE: Evanston, Ill. • Welsh-Ryan Arena • All Day
SPARTANS TAKE BREAK FOR EXAMS, HOLIDAYS
With final exams this week and holiday break on the horizon, the No. 21 Michigan State wrestling team will not see action until Dec. 29-30 at the 44th-annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. The Spartans are coming off a 29-14 loss to then-No. 2 Missouri on Sunday, Dec. 10. After their performance against the Spartans, the Tigers moved up to No. 1 in the latest NWCA/Intermat Top 25 Coaches' Poll. MSU's next dual meet will be Friday, Jan. 5 against No. 11 Central Michigan at Jenison Field House.
MSU WINS FIRST THREE MATCHES, BUT FALLS TO NO. 2 MISSOURI, 29-14
MSU got off to a promising start with three straight wins in its dual meet with No. 2 Missouri on Sunday, Dec. 10, thanks to a technical fall at 125 pounds by red-shirt freshman Franklin Gomez and a fall by the nation's top-ranked 133-pounder, Nick Simmons, but Missouri reeled off seven consecutive victories to clinch a 29-14 win at Jenison Field House.
Gomez jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first period en route to an 18-0 win over John Olanowski. Gomez scored a takedown early in the period and added two near-point falls before the end of the period, pacing the win. He added an escape and a takedown in the second period to garner a strong 9-0 lead heading into the final stanza, where he reversed Olanowski after starting in the down position and added two three-point near falls before time expired. A riding-time point helped round out the 18-0 win, and improved Gomez's record to 18-1 for the season.
Simmons dominated his match with No. 10 Tyler McCormick, who finished fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last week. Simmons (18-0) quickly took down McCormick, less than 30 seconds into the match, and proceeded to get the junior to his back for near-fall points. Never relinquishing his grip, Simmons rolled the grappler onto his back for the fall at 1:23 into the first period. With the pin, Simmons moved into a tie for fourth place in MSU history with 40 career falls. He also notched his 115th career win, which places him in a tie for sixth in the Spartan record books.
Sophomore Jeff Wimberley (16-4) filled in for injured All-American Andy Simmons for the second straight dual at 141 pounds, and again came away with a victory, building MSU's lead to 14-0 after the first three matches. He defeated true freshman Ashtin Primus, 7-2.
Missouri streaked from there, led by a fall from defending NCAA Champion Ben Askren at 174 pounds and a technical fall from his second-ranked brother, Maxwell, at 197. Three major decisions and two decisions rounded out the meet's scoring for the Tigers.
COACH MINKEL ON THE MISSOURI DUAL
Overall...
"Well, it was a great start. I don't know if we've ever started that strong against such a highly-ranked team. But Missouri is very good, particularly in the upper-weights. I definitely think we learned some things from the dual. We have to be more aggressive and do a better job of getting off the bottom. We also have to manage our matches a little better so they don't get away from us. But there's a lot of upside in wrestling the best teams, because you know what you have to do to get where you want to go."
On Nick Simmons...
"Nick is so unique in that he's always trying to pin you. His whole focus is not takedowns or riding time, it's all about getting the fall. It doesn't matter who he's wrestling or what the score is, he's always trying to pin you, and that approach makes him very dangerous."
On Jeff Wimberley...
"Jeff really made a breakthrough at the Penn State Open. He's starting to understand what it takes to be successful. He's real aggressive, he's athletic, and he's in great shape. For just his second year, we're really starting to see some good things from Jeff."
SPARTANS BOAST FOUR RANKED WRESTLERS
Four Michigan State wrestlers were ranked in the latest NWCA/InterMat rankings released Dec. 12, including Nick Simmons, who is No. 1 at 133 pounds. Simmons jumped to the top spot after beating previously ranked No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Matt Valenti of Penn in the 133 finals at the MSU Open on Nov. 12, and has been ranked No. 1 ever since.
Nick's brother, Andy, is ranked fourth at 141 pounds, while red-shirt freshman Franklin Gomez is also ranked fourth at 125. Junior Joe Williams is ranked 14th at 184 pounds.
QUICK GLANCE AT Nick Simmons
Senior Nick Simmons is off to a dominating start in his last season for the Green and White. A three-time All-American at 125 pounds, Simmons moved up to 133 pounds this season, and is the nation's consensus No. 1 wrestler in his new weight class.
Simmons is currently 18-0 and has won open titles at Eastern Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. He has staked his place at No. 1 by defeating eight ranked wrestlers, including previously ranked No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Matt Valenti of Penn in the 133 finals at the MSU Open. He has also defeated No. 4 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State), No. 7 Jake Strayer (Penn State), No. 10 Tyler McCormick (Missouri), No. 12 Joe Baker (Navy), No. 14 Ricky Deubel (Edinboro), No. 15 T.J. Enright (Ohio State) and No. 16 Cameron Doggett (Purdue).
Simmons is tied for sixth in the MSU record books in victories (115) and tied for fourth in falls (40).
SUCCESS AT 141
Sophomore Jeff Wimberley has filled in admirably during Andy Simmons' absence from the lineup at 141 pounds. Wimberley took third place at 133 pounds at the MSU Open, but was bumped up to 141 for the Edinboro dual when Simmons was unable to wrestle due to injury. Wimberley responded by winning a 7-5 decision over Daryl Cocozzo, and followed that effort with a third-place finish at the Penn State Open with a 5-1 record. He improved to 2-0 in duals this season with a 7-2 win over Missouri's Ashtin Primus on Dec. 10.
MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Red-shirt freshman Franklin Gomez is making an immediate impact in the lineup this year for the Spartans. During his red-shirt season, Gomez compiled a 23-3 record at 125 pounds and captured three first-place finishes (Cleveland State Open, Kent State Open, Edinboro Open) and three second-place finishes (EMU Open, MSU Open, Penn State Open). Two of his three losses last season came at the hands of Spartan All-American Nick Simmons.
Gomez has opened the season in dominating fashion, going 18-1, including open title wins at Eastern Michigan and Michigan State. He placed second at the Penn State Open for the second straight season. Gomez is currently ranked fourth by NWCA/InterMat.
Gomez outscored his opponents 52-3 in the EMU Open and took home the title with a 9-1 major decision over Alex Usztics of Navy.
At the MSU Open, Gomez was equally as dominant in winning his second title of the young season. He won the first round by a technical fall in 2:30, then proceeded to win his next three matches by a combined score of 29-6. Gomez topped 11th-ranked Obenson Black of Lock Haven, 5-1, in the championship match to move to 10-0 on the season.
In his first career dual meet, Gomez stepped into hostile territory and came up with a big victory, defeating Tyler Shinn of Oklahoma State in Stillwater, 4-1.
Gomez was a highly-touted recruit after completing the "triple crown" of high school wrestling in 2005, winning the high school national championship, the junior freestyle national championship and the junior Greco-Roman national championship.
Players Mentioned
