Michigan
Big Ten Session III
Olson Wins Big Ten Title as Michigan Finishes Third
3/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan wrestling team finished in third place at the Big Ten Conference Championships and qualified nine individuals for the NCAA Championships, led by sixth-year senior Otto Olson (Everett, Wash/Everett HS), who repeated as 174-pound champion on Sunday (March 10) at the University of Illinois' Assembly Hall.
| | Olson |
The Wolverines' nine NCAA qualifiers -- the program's largest contingent since 1965 -- included one champion, two runners-up, two third-place finishers, two fourth-place individuals, and one each in sixth and seventh place. The top seven in each weight class at the Big Ten meet automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.
In a close 174-pound championship bout, top seed Olson took the first lead over Iowa's second-seeded Nixt with a first-period takedown and added a quick escape in the second to hold a two-point edge heading into the final period. After Nixt recorded a reversal early in the third, Olson held on to win the match 3-2 for his second consecutive Big Ten championship.
Making his first career Big Ten Championships appearance, redshirt freshman Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) finished as runner-up at 157 pounds. Also finishing second was senior 184-pounder and captain Andy Hrovat (Gates Mills, Ohio/St. Edward HS), who earned his highest Big Ten finish in his four years at Michigan.
After a scoreless first period in the 157-pound championship match, second seed Bertin scored an escape point midway through the second period to take the lead into the final period. Becker responded with a quick reversal and takedown in the third period to win the bout 5-3 and take the first-place title.
At 184 pounds, Hrovat fell behind early in his championship bout against Minnesota's Damion Hahn, seeded third, after the Gopher wrestler scored a first-period takedown. The Wolverine captain could not recover as the Hahn executed a balanced attack throughout the bout to take the first-place title 8-4.
Juniors Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward HS) and Kyle Smith (Butte, Mont./Butte HS) looked strong for the Wolverines, finishing third at 149 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively, and junior A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) earned his highest Big Ten finish as he took fourth place at 125 pounds.
Third seed Kulczycki outwrestled Illinois' Ryan Berger, seeded fifth, collecting nearly two minutes riding time to earn the 12-3 major decision and advance to the 149-pound third-place match, where he faced fourth seed Keaton Anderson of Ohio State. Kulczycki wrestled to a three-point lead in the first period before Anderson took a long medical timeout with a bloody nose. The bout resumed, but after Kulczcyki scored a takedown just seconds into the second period, Anderson ended the bout to give the Kulczcyki third place by injury default.
At 197 pounds, third seed Smith dominated Michigan State's John Wechter in the consolation semifinal round, scoring three takedowns and a two-point near fall to earn the 12-3 major decision and advance to the third-place bout, where he faced Indiana's fourth-seeded Pat DeGain. After a scoreless first period, Smith earned a second-period escape and collected nearly two minutes of riding time in the final period to win 2-0 and take third place in his first Big Ten Championships appearance.
In the 125-pound consolation bracket, third seed Grant dominated eighth seed Jesse Leng from Ohio State before earning the fall at the 6:10 mark of the bout to advance to the third-place match, where he squared off against Purdue's second-seeded Chris Fleeger. Grant fell behind early in his bout against Fleeger and was outwrestled by the Boilermaker, falling by an 11-2 margin to finish fourth in the tournament.
At heavyweight, sixth seed Matt Brink (Muskegon, Mich./Fruitport HS) advanced into the third-place match after a medical forfeit by Illinois' John Lockhart, seeded fifth, in the consolation semifinal round. In Brink's second meeting in the tournament against Minnesota's third-seeded Garrett Lowney, both wrestlers earned escapes to send the match into sudden-victory overtime. In the extra period, Lowney scored a quick takedown to win the bout 3-1 and give Brink the fourth-place title.
At 165 pounds, seventh seed Charles Martelli (Naperville, Ill./North HS) battled back from an early deficit to tie up the score against fifth seed Oscar Santiago of Purdue in the consolation semifinal round, but the Boilermaker scored a third-period takedown to take the win 7-6. In the fifth-place match, Martelli squared off against eighth seed Nate Baker of Minnesota and dominated the Gopher in the first period, scoring an early takedown and collecting over two minutes of riding time. Baker evened up the scored with a takedown in the third period to send the match into overtime with a 3-3 score. After a scoreless extra period, Martelli was unable to escape from the down position and lost the tiebreaker to finish the tournament in sixth place.
At 133 pounds, third seed Foley Dowd (Howell, N.J./The Peddie School) jumped to an early lead against Indiana's Brian Smiley in the 133-pound seventh-place match. Dowd recorded four takedowns en route to a 12-4 major decision and a seventh-place finish in the tournament.
The nine Wolverine wrestlers who will represent Michigan at the NCAA Championships will have a two-week break to prepare and ready themselves for the country's top collegiate wrestlers before heading to Albany, N.Y., for the three-day tournament that will take place Thursday through Saturday, March 21-23, at the Pepsi Arena.
Final Team Standings
1. Minnesota 174 2. Iowa 129 3. MICHIGAN 121.5 4. Ohio State 115 5. Illinois 91.5 6. Penn State 66.5 7. Purdue 55.5 8. Michigan State 54.5 9. Wisconsin 50 10. Indiana 48 11. Northwestern 13
Michigan Results (Session III)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
#3 A.J. Grant (125)
Consolation Semifinals - pinned #8 Jesse Leng (Ohio State), 6:10
Third Place - major dec. by #2 Chris Fleeger (Purdue), 11-2
Finished in 4th place with 3-2 record
#3 Foley Dowd (133)
Seventh Place - major dec. Brian Smiley (Indiana), 12-4
Finished in 7th place with 2-2 record
#3 Mike Kulczycki (149)
Consolation Semifinals - major dec. #5 Ryan Berger (Illinois), 12-3
Third Place - won by injury default vs. #4 Keaton Anderson (Ohio State)
Finished in 3rd place with 3-1 record
#2 Ryan Bertin (157)
Final - dec. by #1 Luke Becker (Minnesota), 5-3
Finished in 2nd place with 2-1 record
#7 Charles Martelli (165)
Consolation Semifinals - dec. by #5 Oscar Santiago (Purdue), 7-6
Fifth Place - dec. by #8 Nate Baker (Minnesota), 3-3 TB
Finished in 6th place with 2-3 record
#1 Otto Olson (174)
Final - dec. #2 Tyler Nixt (Iowa), 2-1
Finished as 174-pound champion with 3-0 record
#1 Andy Hrovat (184)
Final - dec. by #3 Damion Hahn (Minnesota), 8-4
Finished in 2nd place with 2-1 record
#3 Kyle Smith (197)
Consolation Semifinals - major dec. John Wechter (Michigan State), 12-3
Third Place - dec. #4 Pat DeGain (Indiana), 2-0
Finished in 3rd place with 3-1 record
#6 Matt Brink (Hwt)
Consolation Semifinals - won by medical forfeit vs. #5 John Lockhart (Illinois)
Third Place - dec. by #3 Garrett Lowney (Minnesota), 3-1 (OT)
Finished in 4th place with 3-2 record
Session I Results | Session II Results | Complete U-M Results
N O T E S
With his first-place finish at 174 pounds, sixth-year senior Otto Olson became the first Wolverine wrestler to win back-to-back Big Ten Championships since Sean Bormet won 158-pound titles in 1993 and 1994.
With nine NCAA qualifiers, Michigan is sending its largest contingent to the NCAA Championships in 36 years and the third-most wrestlers in school history. The Wolverines have twice qualified 10 wrestlers (1963 and 1965) for the NCAA Championships, but this season marks the first time that nine Wolverines qualified.
With his major decision over Illinois' Ryan Berger in the 149-pound consolation semifinal round, junior Mike Kulczycki earned his 100th career victory at Michigan. Kulczycki, who is just the 21st Wolverine wrestler to reach the prestigious milestone, joins current teammates Otto Olson, Andy Hrovat and Matt Brink in the Michigan's 100-win club.
Indiana's Pat DeGain, Kyle Smith's opponent in the 197-pound third-place match, is the brother of former Wolverine co-captain Joe DeGain (1997-2001).
The Wolverines' third-place finish is its best since 1991, when Michigan was runner-up to Iowa, which was in the midst of its 25-year hold on the Big Ten title (1974-98).
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the team's performance ... "I don't think we reached our expectations of what we wanted to accomplish this weekend, but the good thing is that we've got nine guys through (to the NCAA Championships). At this point in time, looking back, that's what's important. We need to put good matches back-to-back against tough opponents, and I don't think all the guys were able to do that this weekend. Hopefully, we can turn that around."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
