Wrestler Bertin Earns 157-Pound National Championship

Saturday, March 22

Kansas City, Mo.

9:00 AM CT

Michigan

NCAA Day 3

Wrestler Bertin Earns 157-Pound National Championship

3/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Junior/sophomore Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) claimed the University of Michigan wrestling team's first NCAA individual championship in 17 years, defeating Illinois' Alex Tirapelle 7-3 in the 157-pound final match today (Saturday March 22) at the NCAA Championships in Kemper Arena. Boasting three All-Americans, Michigan finished seventh at the tournament with 58 points. Oklahoma State claimed the NCAA team title with 143 points.

Bertin is U-M's first NCAA wrestling champion since 1986, when Kirk Trost won the heavyweight crown.

In the championship bout, Bertin came out strong, jumping to an early lead and never looking back. Scoring a takedown midway through the first period, the Wolverine rode out Tirapelle for the remainder of the frame to collect 1:36 in riding time. Bertin stayed on the attack throughout the second period, scoring another two takedowns while holding the Illini wrestler to just a pair of escapes. Bertin was given his second stalling call in the final frame to add another point to Tirapelle's score, but the Wolverine already had the victory sealed up, earning a final point at the match's end with a total of 2:57 in riding time advantage.

Also placing for the Wolverines were senior captain A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS), who finished fourth at 125 pounds, and fifth-year senior captain Kyle Smith (Butte, Mont./Butte HS), with a seventh-place finish at 197 pounds.

Grant, seeded fourth at 125 pounds, squeezed past Wisconsin's 10th-seeded Tony Black in the consolation semifinals, defeating the Badger 2-0 to advance to the third-place match. Starting the second period in the down position, Grant earned a reversal midway through the frame for the only points in the bout. Squaring off against ninth-seeded Jason Powell from Nebraska for third place, Grant struck first with a takedown late in the first period to hold a two-point advantage heading into the second frame. Powell came back strong, however, getting a takedown and two-point near fall before putting the cradle on the Wolverine to get the fall at 4:38.

Smith, the ninth seed at 197 pounds, wrapped up the tournament on a strong note, collecting a fall at 2:32 in his seventh-place bout against Fresno State's Maricio Botelho. Smith dominated the match from the start, scoring a takedown midway through the first frame. He added another takedown a minute later, putting Botelho flat on his back to get the fall.

Final Team Standings (Top 15)

 1. Oklahoma State 143 2. Minnesota 104.5 3. Oklahoma 78 4. Lehigh 69 5. Arizona State 65 6. Penn State 62 7. MICHIGAN 58 8. Iowa 57.5 9. Illinois 53 10. Cornell 52 11. Northern Iowa 49.5 12. Boise State 45 13. Nebraska 40.5 14. Purdue 38 15. Ohio State 37

Michigan Results (Day 3)
(Numbers listed are tournament seedings)

#4 A.J. Grant (125)
Consolation -- dec. #10 Tony Black (Wisconsin), 2-0
Third Place -- pinned by #9 Jason Powell (Nebraska), 4:38
Finished in 4th place with a 4-2 record

#6 Ryan Bertin (157)
Finals -- dec. #9 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois), 7-3
Finished as 157-pound champion with a 5-0 record

#9 Kyle Smith (197)
Seventh Place -- pinned Maricio Botelho (Fresno State), 2:32
Finished in 7th place with a 4-2 record

Day 1 Results | Day 2 Results | Complete U-M Results

N O T E S

Ryan Bertin's NCAA title is Michigan's 18th and its first since 1986, when current assistant coach Kirk Trost claimed the heavyweight title, defeating Iowa State's John Heropoulos 6-3.

Bertin is Michigan's third wrestler to claim an NCAA title in his sophomore season. Heavyweight Dave Porter won in 1966 and Mark Churella won the 150-pound NCAA title in 1977.

Bertin split two matches against Alex Tirapelle this season prior to the championship match. Both bouts were just one-point margins -- he lost 3-2 at the dual meet on Jan. 22 and won 3-2 in the quarterfinal round at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago (March 8-9).

Michigan has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships for three consecutive seasons, placing seventh in 2001, ninth in 2002 and seventh in 2003.

This afternoon's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships finals session will be aired via tape delay on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. EST.

Q U O T E S

Head Coach Joe McFarland
On Ryan Bertin's 157-pound title ... "I am so happy for him. This was his first trip to the finals, so I was afraid that he would be a little rattled going in, but he was so focused and ready all weekend. He just wrestled match-to-match. It was a fantastic performance, an NCAA champion's performance. Ryan is such a great kid and a great student-athlete. I don't think anyone understands how much effort he puts into his wrestling and schoolwork. He had to battle back from injury all season. He deserved everything he got this weekend; he worked so hard for it."

On Michigan's seventh-place finish ... "I thought it was a gutsy performance by all of our guys. We stayed really positive all tournament and all season. I was proud of the way everyone wrestled. We wrestled hard this weekend; we were sharp, aggressive and demonstrated excellent conditioning. It was a great tournament for Michigan wrestling."

Junior/Sophomore Ryan Bertin
On beating Alex Tirapelle for the 157-pound title ... "I just wanted to wrestle solid and finish hard. I wanted to stay out of scramble situations against him. I didn't want to get rolling around with him, because that's where he's strong. I felt really good out there; my adrenaline was really going. Everything felt like it just fell into place for me this weekend. I went into the match thinking I was going to win, and that's what happened. I had just an up-and-down season this year. I'm just really excited."

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423