Paulsons, No. 2 Cyclones right on heels of No. 1 Minnesota at NCAA Championships
Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
03/16/2007
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – It seems like Iowa State’s Paulson twins have been around forever.
That’s probably the sentiment of many of their opponents as Cyclone seniors Trent and Travis Paulson have pieced together superb collegiate careers. Both now are three-time All-Americans.
But two career-long goals have eluded the Iowa State standouts.
Winning individual and team titles at the NCAA Championships. Both those goals remained very much alive through Friday’s first session before 14,170 fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Paulsons comprise half of
ISU’s semifinalists as the No. 2 Cyclones remained very much in the title hunt. First-year coach Cael Sanderson’s crew was in second place with 62.5 points entering Friday night’s semifinals. Top-ranked Minnesota is in first with 66 points and four in the semis.
“Travis and I always feed off each other and seeing him do well inspires me even more,” Trent Paulson said. “We’ve both worked really hard for this tournament. It would be awesome if we could both go out as champions and the team could go out as champions. That would be a perfect way to go out.”
Minnesota and
ISU each have three wrestlers alive in the wrestlebacks.
Four-time defending national champion Oklahoma State also had a strong session by placing four in the semis. The No. 4 Cowboys sit in third place with 48.5 points.
Leading the way for OSU is two-time NCAA champion Johny Hendricks, who beat Missouri’s Matt Pell 10-2 in the 165-pound quarterfinals. Hendricks has won 55 straight matches.
“This is my last year and I’m wrestling balls to the wall,” Hendricks said. “I will do whatever I need to win. I want to dominate. I love the sport - I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t love it. I’m doing everything I can to help our team.”
Top-seeded Trent Paulson (157) beat unseeded Josh Zupancic of Stanford 2-1 in the quarters while No. 4 seed Travis Paulson (165) stopped No. 5 seed Nick Baima of Northern Iowa 5-1.
Trent Paulson will try to avenge a loss to Mike Poeta of Illinois in the semifinals. Poeta beat Paulson in the finals of the Midlands Championships. The No. 5 Poeta knocked off No. 4 C.P. Schlatter of Minnesota in the semifinals.
“It will be a real exciting match with Poeta,” Trent Paulson said. “He is real offensive and I’m going to push my offense. I’ve just tried to stay calm and use my experience to my advantage in this tournament.”
Fourth-seeded Travis Paulson will meet the top-seeded Hendricks in the semifinals. Fellow
ISU senior Kurt Backes (197) also reached the semifinals as did Cyclone freshman Jake Varner (184).
The Paulsons will be joined in the semifinals by Oklahoma State sophomore Brandon Mason (174). The Paulsons and Mason were teammates on state championship teams at Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Top-seeded Minnesota senior Cole Konrad (heavyweight) extended his winning streak to 74 straight after rolling to a 16-4 major decision over No. 9 seed Michael Spaid of Bloomsburg. Konrad is a returning NCAA champion.
Top-seeded Minnesota sophomore Dustin Schlatter (149) extended his winning streak to 65 straight with a 6-3 win over unseeded Tyler Turner of Wisconsin in the quarters. Schlatter, a returning NCAA champion, is 77-1 in his career.
Missouri’s top-seeded Ben Askren (174) continued to decimate the field after earning a fall in the quarterfinals over No. 9 Matthew Palmer of Columbia. The returning NCAA champion and reigning Hodge Trophy winner has won 85 straight matches.
Returning NCAA champion and second-seeded Matt Valenti of Penn looked sharp at 133 pounds in a 4-0 quarterfinal win over No. 7 seed Mack Reiter of Minnesota.
Rider junior Don Fisch continued his remarkable run at 141 after beating No. 4 seed Manuel Rivera of Minnesota 10-4 in the quarterfinals. The unseeded Fisch has now defeated No. 5 seed Dominick Moyer of Nebraska, No. 12 seed Cassio Pero of Illinois and the No. 4 Rivera in the tournament. Next up for Fisch is No. 1 seed Ryan Lang of Northwestern in Friday night’s semifinals.
“I was unseeded coming in, so I really had nothing to lose,” Fisch said. “I think I’m as good as those guys, I just have to go out there and prove it. I take what they give me and try to capitalize on him.”
Semifinal pairings 125 POUNDS
Sam Hazewinkel (#1/Oklahoma) vs. Jayson Ness (#4/Minnesota)
Paul Donahoe (#6/Nebraska) vs. Troy Nickerson (#2/Cornell)
133
Nick Simmons (#1/Michigan State) vs. Coleman Scott (#4/Oklahoma State)
Darrell Vasquez (#6/Cal Poly) vs. Matt Valenti (#2/Penn)
141
Ryan Lang (#1/Northwestern) vs. Don Fisch (Rider)
Nathan Morgan (#3/Oklahoma State) vs. Derek Moore (#2/UC Davis)
149
Dustin Schlatter (#1/Minnesota) vs. Gregor Gillespie (#5/Edinboro)
Josh Churella (#3/Michigan) vs. Lance Palmer (#10/Ohio State)
157
Trent Paulson (#1/Iowa State) vs. Mike Poeta (#5/Illinois)
James Strouse (#3/Hofstra) vs. Craig Henning (#7/Wisconsin)
165
Johny Hendricks (#1/Oklahoma State) vs. Travis Paulson (#4/Iowa State)
Michael Patrovich (#6/Hofstra) vs. Mark Perry (#2/Iowa)
174
Ben Askren (#1/Missouri) vs. Eric Luedke (#5/Iowa)
Brandon Mason (Oklahoma State) vs. Keith Gavin (#2) Pittsburgh
184
Jake Herbert (#1/Northwestern) vs. Tyrel Todd (#4/Michigan)
Jake Varner (#6/Iowa State) vs. Roger Kish (#2/Minnesota)
197
Kurt Backes (#9/Iowa State) vs. Phil Davis (#4/Penn State)
Chris Weidman (#11/Hofstra) vs. Josh Glenn (#2/American)
285
Cole Konrad (#1/Minnesota) vs. Ty Watterson (#5/Oregon State)
Bubba Gritter (#3/Central Michigan) vs. Aaron Anspach (#2/Penn State)
Team Scores Heading into Session 4
(top ten)
1. Minnesota 66
2. Iowa State 62.5
3. Oklahoma State 48.5
4. Missouri 44.5
5. Hofstra 41
6. Penn State 39.5
7. Iowa 37
8. Northwestern 34.5
9. Wisconsin 31.5
10. Michigan 29
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