Michigan State University
NCAA Championships
Gomez Ends Spartan Career With Third-Place Finish
3/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 20, 2010
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Coach Tom | Franklin
OMAHA, Neb. - In the final two performances of his Spartan career, Franklin Gomez wrestled two dominating bouts and took home third place at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday in Omaha, Neb. In the consolation semifinal, Gomez pinned Wisconsin's Tyler Graff at the 4:14 mark and then cruised to an 8-0 major decision over fourth-seeded Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State to secure third place.
"He just wrestled beautifully today, he was on top of his game and it was a great way to finish," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel.
As a team, the Spartans finished in a tie for 18th place with 30 points.
For Gomez, it is his third top-three finish at the NCAA Championships as he also took third as a sophomore in 2008 and won the title last year. The three-time All-America ends his career as one of the best in Spartan history, with a four-year record of 119-15.
"He is one of the very best," Minkel said. "He's had a spectacular career and he's just such a fine young man."
In the consolation final, Gomez got a takedown less than a minute into the match and ended the period with 2:06 in riding time. Gomez started the third period down and got an escape 30 seconds in to increase his lead to 3-0. He got another takedown with 44 seconds left in the period, upping is leading 5-0. The Spartan senior got his final points with another takedown with less than 20 seconds remaining in the dual, and his 2:39 riding time advantage gave him the major decision, 8-0.
After clinching third place with his win over Oliver, Gomez exited the mat to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 15,613.
"It feels good - the respect the crowd showed," Gomez said. "I felt like that was a good way to end my career."
Gomez moved into the third place bout by defeating Graff earlier in the day. Gomez got a takedown 12 seconds into the bout but a reversal by Graff tied the score less than one minute later. In the second period, Graff started down and Gomez quickly got him on his back, picking up the fall at 4:14.
Players Mentioned
