Michigan State University
Big Ten Championships
Nick And Andy Simmons Crowned Big Ten Champions
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 5, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Nick Simmons won his second consecutive Big Ten Championship and his younger sibling Andy won his first on Sunday, March 5 as the brother combination became the first since Pat and Tom Milkovich in 1972 to win conference titles in the same season at the 2006 Big Ten Championships, hosted by Indiana.
R.J. Boudro claimed third in exhilarating fashion at 174 pounds, while Darren McKnight also qualified for the NCAA Championships as he earned one of two wild-card selections. Overall, the Michigan State wrestling team took eighth with 68 points at the 2006 Big Ten Championships.
"I'm really proud of how we did as a team today, and I think we're building momentum heading to NCAA Championships," head coach Tom Minkel said. "What Nick and Andy accomplished today was such a great thing for Michigan State wrestling, and R.J. fought through a heart-breaking loss early to really redeem himself."
Nick Simmons won his second-straight conference title over Illinois' Kyle Ott, 7-0, to remain unbeaten on the season. Simmons did not care to duplicate the 4-2 come-from-behind victory over Ott in the 2005 finals and instead, dominated the two-time NCAA finalist for the second time in a month. He scored a takedown in the first 15 seconds of the contest and accumulated 4:13 of riding time in the first two frames en route to his 11th shutout and 31st victory of the 2005-06 season.
The back-to-back 125-pound Big Ten Champion also exposed Ott's back in the middle period for three near-fall points, and extended his lead to six with a stalling point midway through the frame. Simmons likely will enter the NCAA Championships as the top-seeded wrestler in the nation.
"I was able to get the top position and really execute our game plan going into the match, which I wasn't able to do last year," Nick Simmons said. "Hopefully, I can build on this as the No. 1 seed at nationals in a week and a half."
Nick Simmons becomes the first Spartan wrestler to win back-to-back individual conference titles since David Morgan in 1996. That was also the last time the Green and White crowned multiple Big Ten champs as Brian Picklo at 190 pounds joined Morgan at the top of the podium. Morgan won three 118-pound titles from 1995-97.
 Andy Simmons produced his first Big Ten title, knocking off Northwestern's Ryan Lang, 8-2, in the 141-pound final.  | |
Two matches later, Andy Simmons duplicated his brother's performance in the 141-pound final, with an 8-2 decision against Northwestern's Ryan Lang. Similar to the match where he pinned Lang Feb. 12, Simmons fought back after he relinquished the first takedown to claim victory. Trailing 2-1 following the opening three minutes, the Spartan All-American rode Lang early in the second, then threw the fifth-seeded Wildcat to his back, nearly pinning him again as the period expired.
Simmons added a takedown, an escape and a riding-time point in the final two minutes to beat Lang for the second time since falling to him, 6-5, in the finals of the Michigan State Open last November. The MSU junior captain enters the NCAA tournament with a 31-4 record.
"Ryan Lang caught me with a five-point move back at the MSU Open and that is what won him the match, so I knew I had to be aware of him trying for the big move," Andy Simmons said. "It's really exciting for my family, and I couldn't ask for anything more. Now, we just need to turn these Big Ten titles into NCAA titles in a couple of weeks."
Boudro scored an inspiring victory in the consolation finals to join in on the trip to Oklahoma City for the NCAAs, defeating Minnesota's Gabriel Dretsch, 3-1, in the final seconds. Boudro was injured midway through the first when Dretsch threw him onto the hardwood floor, but persevered to improve on last season's fourth-place finish. With the match tied 1-1 late in the contest, Dretsch appeared to have the victory locked up when he got a clean shot in on the Spartan captain, but Boudro countered it on the edge of the mat for a takedown and a two-point win.
Boudro reached the third-place match with a 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded James Yonushonis from Penn State. The Richmond, Mich., native remained in control for virtually the entire seven minutes, as he notched takedowns in the first and third periods, and rode Yonushonis for more than a minute to acquire a riding-time point.
Seniors Jeff Clemens and Max Lossen as well as sophomore Joe Williams failed to earn automatic berths to the national tournament, as they all fell in the seventh-place matches on Sunday morning. The Big Ten is awarded 72 spots at nationals, including the top seven at each weight plus the addition of two wild cards, as voted on by the head coaches.
MSU's four national qualifiers continue their seasons in 11 days, when they head to the 2006 NCAA Championships March 16-18 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
125 poundsFinals: No. 2 Nick Simmons dec. No. 4 Kyle Ott (Ill.), 7-0
141 poundsFinals: No. 2 Andy Simmons dec. No. 5 Ryan Lang (NU), 8-2
149 poundsSeventh Place: No. 7 James Woodall (PSU) dec. No. 8 Darren McKnight, 4-2
174 poundsCons. Semifinals: No. 3 R.J. Boudro dec. No. 4 James Yonushonis (PSU), 6-2
Cons. Finals: No. 3 R.J. Boudro dec. No. 8 Gabriel Dretsch (Minn.), 3-1
184 poundsSeventh Place: No. 5 Paul Bradley (Iowa) dec. Joe Williams, 5-4
197 poundsSeventh Place: No. 8 Dallas Herbst (Wis.) fall Jeff Clemens, Fall :40
285 poundsSeventh Place: No. 7 Dave Herman (Ind.) dec. Max Lossen, SV 3-1
*Numbers denote seeds not national rankings.
Players Mentioned
