Upsets surface in NCAA wrestling
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The NCAA wrestling tournament opened Thursday with a few upsets in the early rounds, while Cael Sanderson continued to chase history, pinning two opponents in pursuit of a perfect college record.
Sanderson beat Eric Mausser of Clarion with a fall at 3:32 in the 197-pound weight class. He planted Buffalo's Kyle Cerminara the same way in 6:33 in the second round for his 156th consecutive win.
The Iowa State senior took each man down and let him go repeatedly before rolling each on his back. By Saturday afternoon, he could become the first unbeaten collegiate wrestler to win four NCAA titles.
Lehigh sophomore Jon Trenge, the second seed at 197 who lost 6-1 in Sanderson's closest match this year, pinned Marcio Botelho of Fresno State in 1:47 and later pinned Cornell's Matt Greenberg in 3:15.
More than 12,000 fans in the Pepsi Arena cheered for virtually the first time in unison when Sanderson was introduced on one of the eight mats. The second mass cheer erupted when Minnesota's Leroy Vega was upset in the second round, losing 3-1 to Hofstra's unseeded Tom Noto in sudden death to end their 125-pound match.
Minnesota is the favorite and defending team champion. Oklahoma coach Jack Spates said the Golden Gophers would have to stumble to open the door for another team.
Oklahoma was the only other team to qualify wrestlers in all 10 weights, but also at 125 pounds Cornell's Travis Lee pinned higher-seeded Sooner Matt Ridings in 6:52 in the second round.
At 184 pounds, Rowdy Lundegreen of California State at Fullerton pulled the biggest upset. He caught Virginia Tech's Scott Justus in a headlock and threw him for a first-period takedown, put the top seed on his back in a cradle for a near fall, and held on for the 14-7 upset. The unseeded Lundegreen pumped both fists in the air as he walked off the mat.
Justus was one of eight wrestlers who had come to the tournament unbeaten this season. Lundegreen lost 9-5 to Wisconsin's Ralph DeNisco, also unseeded, in the next round.
At 133 pounds, Minnesota's top-seeded Ryan Lewis extended his streak to 30 wins with a 23-9 decision over Drexel's Joe Cristaldi and a 6-2 win over Central Michigan's Jordan Webster.
Other top seeds won their early matches, though some were close.
Navy's Mark Conley, ranked first at 141 pounds, had to wrestle in the pigtail round, beating Jared Sullivan of Chattanooga 8-3 to advance. An hour later, Conley edged Wisconsin's Grant Hoerr 2-0. After a scoreless first period, Conley escaped in the second then rode Hoerr in the third for a riding time point. In the evening, Conley edged Lock Haven's Mike Maney 3-2.
Iowa's Mike Zadick pinned Billy Smith of West Virginia in 2:35 at 149 pounds, later beating George Mason's Adrian Austin with a 24-8 technical fall at 6:27.
Fresno State senior Stephen Abas at 125 pounds edged Jose Leon of Boston University 2-0, then defeated Michigan State's Chris Williams 11-1.
Nebraska senior Bryan Snyder at 157 pounds beat Warren Stout of Lehigh 25-10 for a technical fall at 4:54, repeatedly letting Stout go then taking him down again to build the score. He did the same in his second match, beating Oregon's Tony Overstake 25-10 in 6:39.