Lehigh tightens grip on second
9/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Kansas City, MO - In another huge round for Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks advanced all five of its unbeaten wrestlers to the NCAA quarterfinals to hold onto second place in the team standings. The spark was provided early by a spectacular upset win by sophomore Terrance Clendenin at 125.
The unseeded Clendenin beat the nation’s 5th-ranked wrestler, Nick Simmons of Michigan State, who is considered one of the most dominant lightweight men while on top. The first two periods were scoreless with Terrance unable to score from his feet. But while looking to ride out for a 1-0 win on time advantage, the Spartan made a mistake by locking hands while Clendenin tried frantically to escape. Tied 1-1 in overtime, once again neither scored, but Simmons was penalized for an illegal choke hold while attempting to ride out in the tie-breaker—giving Clendenin a 2-1 victory.
Freshman Troy Letters added more bonus points, pinning Wyoming’s Levi Prevost in 2:02 for his second fall of the tournament. Junior All-Amerrican Jon Trenge scored a takedown and three-point near fall in the final 15 seconds for a major decision win over Ryan Bader, of Arizona State.
Scoring a regular decision to advance to the quarterfinals was Derek Zinck, with all four takedowns in the bout to beat Pitt’s Justin Nestor, 10-6. Likewise, Brad Dillon scored the only two takedowns in his bout to win 6-3 over number ten seed, Curtis Owen of Arizona State.
In consolation bouts, Travis Frick was defeated 8-3 by Scott Justus, Virginia Tech, which eliminates him from the tournament. Joe Sahl is scheduled to wrestle later tonight.
LEHIGH SECOND ROUND BOUT RESULTS at NCAAs:
125 - Terrance Clendenin decisioned (5) Nick Simmons, Michigan St, 2-1, t.b.
157 - (7) Derek Zinck decisioned Justin Nestor, Pittsburgh, 10-6
165 - (2) Troy Letters WBF 2:02 over Jason Erwinski, Northwestern
174 - (7) Bradley Dillon decisioned (10) Curtis Owen, Arizona State, 6-3
197 - (1) Jon Trenge major decision over Ryan Bader of Arizona State, 11-2
NCAA TEAM POINTS-End of 2nd Round
1 - Oklahoma St, 35.0
2 - LEHIGH, 24.0
3 - Oklahoma, 22.0
4 - Minnesota, 21.5
5 - Iowa 18.0
Illinois 18.0
7 - Arizona St, 17.0
8 - West Virginia, 16.0
9 - Northern Iowa 15.5
Purdue 15.5
LEHIGH'S QUARTERFINAL MATCH UPS:
125 - Terrance Clendenin vs. (4) A.J. Grant, Michigan
157 - (7) Derek Zinck vs. (2) Keaton Anderson, Ohio State
165 - (2) Troy Letters vs. (10) Levi Prevost, Wyoming
174 - (7) Brad Dillon vs. (2) Chris Pendleton, Oklahoma St.
197 - (1) Jon Trenge vs. (9) Kyle Smith, Michigan
For live brackets of the NCAA Championships, please click here.
