Friday, March 20, 1998
Wrestlers in fourth after two rounds at NCAAs
Five Lions vying for individual titles
By J.P. GRAMLICHCollegian Sports Writer
CLEVELAND -- John Lange remained in a heap at center mat.
Lange's opponent David Wells, rolled onto his side and looked to the Cal-Poly bench in disbelief. Catching the eye of his coach, Lennis Cowell, Wells mouthed the question Penn State fans were considering with equal confusion: "I won?"
Penn State Wrestling Home Page
Wells, unseeded and wrestling at 158 pounds from California-Poly, throttled the Nittany Lions' Lange 15-5 in the opening round of the NCAA Championships yesterday at the Cleveland State Convocation Center.
1998 NCAA Wrestling Championships Home Page
"I don't think I was overlooking him or anything, I just
didn't wrestle my best match," Lange said. "My goal
was to be a national champion. Now my national championship is
third place."
Lange's loss could prove to be a pivotal factor in Penn State's quest for a team title. After two rounds of championship action, the Lions stand in fourth place and trail front-runner Iowa by 9.5 points. Oklahoma State is second and Minnesota is third.
Penn State wrestler Clint Musser rides an opponent during a match earlier this season. Yesterday at the NCAA Championships, Musser beat Virginia Tech's Chris Martin 7-4 and George Mason's Brandon James 13-5 in a major decision. (Collegian Photo/Shawn Knapp - click for full size image)
Lange, Jason Betz (126) and Biff Walizer (134) are Penn State's
representatives in the consolations. Unseeded Ross Thatcher (190)
lost twice and has been eliminated, while heavyweight Mark Janus
did not qualify for NCAAs.
Of those still wrestling in the championships, Musser's second seed is the highest. Musser, who lost for the first time since Nov. 29 in the Big Ten finals, said he is using his defeat at the hands of Michigan's Bill Lacure as motivation in Cleveland.
Penn State wrestler John Lange kicks up his heels during a match earlier this season. Yesterday at the NCAA Championships, Lange lost to Cal-Poly's David Wells 15-5. (Collegian Photo/Shawn Knapp - click for full size image)
"I was real disappointed with the way I wrestled at Big Tens,"
Musser said. "I wrestled pretty slow in my first match today,
so I wanted to pick things up in the second one. I think I did
that, and I'm looking forward to wrestling tomorrow."
Iowa looks to be the favorite heading into the later rounds. Just
like Penn State the Hawkeyes have five members still wrestling
in the front draw.
The difference is that four of Iowa's five are former national
champions -- Mark Ironside (134), Jeff McGinness (142), Joe Williams
(167) and Lee Fullhart (190). Also competing for the Hawkeyes
is 180 pounder Eric Juergens.
"I think the guys, especially in the quarterfinal, wrestled with a lot of intensity," Iowa coach Jim Zalesky said. "That's what you need to do. In this tournament, each round you have to pick up your intensity. Each round gets tougher."
