Mountain Hawks finish eighth at NCAA Championships

3/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling

St. Louis, MO – Oklahoma State captured five individual national championships Saturday night, capping off a dominating performance that saw the Cowboys claim their third consecutive national team title by a whopping 70 points over second place Michigan. Lehigh finished in eighth place with 60 team points. The Mountain Hawks had three All-Americans, all of whom placed third in their respective weight classes: Cory Cooperman at 141, Troy Letters at 165 and Jon Trenge at 197.

 

Saturday night’s championship finals saw all ten bouts decided by five points or fewer. Oklahoma State captured titles at 149, 165, 174, 197 and heavyweight along the way. Cowboy heavyweight Steve Mocco scored a 3-1 win in sudden victory over Minnesota’s Cole Konrad to cap an undefeated season. Greg Jones of West Virginia was the only other grappler to go undefeated this season, winning his third national title with a 5-3 win over Tyler Baier of Cornell. Jones was later named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

 

Much like Lehigh the previous two years, Cornell was the surprise team of this year’s championships. The Big Red had one national champ, Travis Lee at 133 and one runner up en route to a fourth place finish, best of any eastern team. For his team’s surprising finish, head coach Rob Koll was honored as the NWCA Coach of the Year. North Carolina’s Evan Sola won the award for most falls picking up three in a time of 7:11.

 

For the eighth place Mountain Hawks six of seven NCAA qualifiers will be back next year. Only Trenge, a three-time All-American will not return. The senior left his shoes, headgear and trademark goggles on the mat following his third place match, symbolizing his retirement from competition.

 

SCENES FROM ST. LOUIS … Prior to the start of the finals, the 80 All-Americans from this year’s tournament took part in a parade around the arena floor.  The 125 lb. weight class was led by Lehigh alum Tom Bold ’84.  Bold now works in the Athletics Department at Brown University … University of Maryland head coach and former Lehigh assistant Pat Santoro pulled Jon Trenge aside in the tunnel following the consolation finals this morning to congratulate Trenge on a great career … All eight All-Americans at 141 lbs. (including Lehigh’s Cory Cooperman) will return to the collegiate mats next year … Saturday night’s attendance was listed at over 16,300.  The total attendance for the 2005 NCAA Division I wrestling championships was 95,459 – the second-highest total ever.

 

2005 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships –

Final Team Scores

Team

Score

1. Oklahoma State

153.0

2. Michigan

83.0

3. Oklahoma

77.5

4. Cornell

76.5

5. Minnesota

72.5

6. Illinois

70.5

7. Iowa

66.0

8. LEHIGH

60.0

9.  Iowa State

57.0

10. Indiana

54.5

 

National Finals Results

Weight

Match-up

Result

 

Score

125

Joe Dubuque (Indiana)

dec.

Kyle Ott (Illinois)

2-0

133

Travis Lee (Cornell)

dec.

Shawn Bunch (Edinboro)

6-3

141

Teyon Ware (Oklahoma)

dec.

Nate Gallick (Iowa State)

3-2

149

Zack Esposito (Oklahoma State)

dec.

Phillip Simpson (Army)

5-2

157

Ryan Bertin (Michigan)

dec.

Joe Johnston (Iowa)

8-5

165

Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State)

dec.

Mark Perry (Iowa)

5-2

174

Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State)

dec.

Ben Askren (Missouri)

10-5

184

Greg Jones (West Virginia)

dec.

Tyler Baier (Cornell)

5-3

197

Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State)

dec.

Sean Stender (Northern Iowa)

5-4

285

Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State)

dec.

Cole Konrad (Minnesota)

3-1 s.v.

 

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Photo © 2005, Lehigh Athletics/Jeff Nolan
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