Four Bulls battle at NCAAs
By Chris Rahn | Mar. 23, 2010Although the results weren't ideal, four young wrestlers gained valuable experience at the NCAA Championships. Sophomores Desi Green, Kevin Smith and John-Martin Cannon, as well as junior Jimmy Hamel, all competed at the NCAA Wrestling Championships over the weekend in Omaha, Neb. After battling through injuries throughout the first day, Cannon and Hamel were eliminated, while Green and Smith each advanced in consolation rounds before being defeated. "It's just the nature of the NCAA championships," said Bulls' head coach Jim Beichner. "One guy leaves happy and one guy doesn't." Competing in the 149-pound weight class, No 18. nationally ranked Green defeated Virginia's Shawn Harris in a 9-8 decision in his first bout. In the following match, No. 6 ranked wrestler, Matt Kyler of Army, shut out Green, 9-0. On the second day of action, Green met Mid-American Conference rival and No. 19 ranked Seth Morton of Ohio University. At the MAC Championships earlier in the month, Green defeated Morton to win the individual crown. The results weren't any different this time around as Green won the match 5-4 to advance to the fourth consolation round. Green's NCAA trip came to an end against No. 16 Andrew Nadhir of Northwestern. Down 6-3, Green battled his way back into the match to even the score at six, but Nadhir regained control of the match to edge out Green in a 9-6 decision. Making his first appearance at an NCAA Championship, 17th ranked Smith wrestled in the 133-pound weight class. Smith's tournament began with his toughest opponent of the season in a bout with No. 3 Daniel Dennis of Iowa. After a close first period in which Smith trailed 2-1, Dennis pulled away for a 6-2 victory. Dennis eventually won championship in the weight class. Later in the day, Smith notched his first victory by defeating Jimmy Kirchner of Rider, 11-5, to advance to the third consolation round. Smith was set for a rematch with 14th ranked Steve Mytych of Drexel, who defeated Smith 6-4 at the East Stroudsburg Duals earlier in the year. After a closely contested first period, Mytych held a 3-2 lead over Smith and held on to win the match, 5-2. Also making his first appearance in the Championships, Cannon competed at the 165-pound weight class. Struggling with an injury against No. 5 ranked Colt Sponsellor of Ohio State, Cannon was defeated by pin fall at 6:22. Cannon was also defeated by 10th ranked Paul Young of Indiana. Cannon kept the match close through the first period but trailed by a slim margin of 2-1. Cannon decided to keep wrestling despite taking an injury timeout in the second period, but eventually by a 10-2 decision. Making his second-straight NCAA appearance, Hamel wrestled in the 197 pound weight class and met 20th ranked Micah Burak of Penn in the first round. After an exciting extra overtime match, Hamel was defeated by a score of 6-5. In his next match, Hamel held an early 3-0 advantage over Tyler Sorenson of South Dakota State. Sorenson came back to win the match 5-3 to eliminate Hamel. The Bulls only lose three seniors and should be able to utilize the experience gained this year to compete in the MAC and national championships next season. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
