Hoosiers Dominate USA Wrestling Collegiate Championships

3/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

Rochester, Minn. - While 10 Hoosier starters head to the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis., March 8-9, several Indiana freshmen and non-starters traveled to Rochester, Minn., to participate in the first annual USA Wrestling Collegiate Nationals.

The first-ever tournament drew 90 participants from 26 schools, including several junior national place winners and high school All-Americans. Big Ten schools ran the show as five Minnesota wrestlers earned spots in the finals while IU and Illinois both claimed four final positions.

At 141 pounds, J.P. Stanley claimed third place while Nick Spatola finished sixth after forfeiting with injury in the battle for fifth place.

At 157 pounds, true freshman Matt McIntire took the crown, pinning three competitors en route to the championship over Illinois' Anton Dietzen. McIntire was the high school national champion at 135 pounds in 2001 and was a two-time Ohio state champion at 135 and 140 pounds. He also earned All-American honors four times at Lakota West High School in Cincinnati.

At 174 pounds, both Chad Watson and Andrew Wolf managed to drop decisions in the championship semi-finals. Both wrestlers advanced to the consolation finals where Wolf won, pinning Watson in 3:35. Watson took fourth and Wolf took third place, respectively.

While redshirt freshman Andy Rios wrestled one Big Ten match, losing 3-9 to Penn State's then-No. 4 Mark Becks, he was the champion at 184 pounds in the USA Wrestling Championship. Rios pinned three consecutive foes to take champion honors in the weight class, defeating Minnesota's Eli Ross by pin in 55 seconds in the championship finals.

At 197 pounds, the Hoosiers showed their strength as two IU grapplers battled for the championship in the finals. True freshman Josh Buuck and redshirt freshman Allen Wienzapfel defeated two wrestlers in reaching the finals where Buuck won the decision by forfeit.

For the Hoosier starters, they depart from Bloomington, Ind., and the Assembly Hall practice room Thurs., March 5 for Madison, Wis. Indiana finished the regular season ninth in the Big Ten and is receiving votes in the latest Div. I InterMat poll, as they have all season.

The Hoosiers projected lineup is as follows:

125 pounds: Redshirt freshman Joe Dubuque finished the season with a 23-5 overall record, 15-2 in dual meets and 1-2 in the Big Ten after battling injury throughout a majority of the Big Ten season. He finished fourth at both the Missouri Open and the Northern Iowa Open.

133 pounds: Senior Greg Schaefer is 24-8 overall this season, 18-7 in duals and 3-4 in the Big Ten. He won his 80th career bout on Feb. 7 against Purdue's Rene Hernandez. His overall career record stands at 81-38, 53-20 in dual meets. He opened the season in dual meets against Rider and Rutgers in late November and then finished fifth in the Northern Iowa Open. He is tied for tenth on the all-time career pins list with Brian Dolph (1987-90) and Chuck Wertschnig (1967-69). All three have had 19 pins in their Hoosier careers. Schaefer is the number six seed for the championships. Schaefer is a two-time wild-card NCAA qualifier.

141 pounds: Junior Coyte Cooper has been a force for the Hoosiers this season. He has lost only two matches this season to his 33 wins and finished the Big Ten regular season with a 6-1 mark, losing only to Penn State's Scott Moore who was then ranked 10th in the nation. Cooper has 77 career wins. He has also earned a spot at the top of the pins on a season list. He has pinned 16 competitors this year, tied with Viktor Sveda who, in 2001, also had 16. Rod Chamberlin (1981) owns the record for pins in a season with 19. Cooper owned an 18-match undefeated streak in the season. He has 26 pins in his career, tied for fifth with Bill Paxton (1983-86). Cooper is a two-time NCAA qualifier and is the top seed in the Big Ten at 141 pounds.

149 pounds: True freshman Matt Cooper has gained valuable experience this season. He finished the season with an overall record of 15-18, but could not get a conference victory. The Anacortes, Wash. native finished the season with four pins to follow in older brother Coyte's steps.

157 pounds: Yet another true freshman in Indiana's starting lineup, Isaac Knable earned the starting spot midway through the regular season. He wrestled the majority of the season at 157 pounds, filling a gap for the Hoosiers. He wrestled at both 149 and 165 pounds at points in the season. At 157 pounds, Knable finished with 9 wins and 11 losses and earned his first Big Ten victory over Minnesota's Tyler Marr on Feb. 23.

165 pounds: Alex LaPointe owns a season record of 9-23. The junior Carol Stream, Ill. native will wrestle in the starting lineup for the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championships.

174 pounds: Redshirt freshman Brady Richardson did not start the regular Big Ten season with the rest of his teammates against Penn State, but rebounded from a midseason injury to finish 18-9 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten. He finished the season on a high note, upsetting Minnesota's No. 20 Josh McLay in Minneapolis, Minn. Richardson is the sixth seed in the Big Ten.

184 pounds: Fifth-year senior Ty Matthews began the season at 197 pounds, but sophomore Pat DeGain won the starting spot over Matthews. Matthews then made the decision to move up to heavyweight where he went 1-1 in duals against Rider and Rutgers. He made his debut at a lighter 184 pounds on Dec. 21 in a dual against then-No. 20 Missouri where the Hoosiers pulled the upset. Matthews owned 18 straight victories with no losses before he was defeated by the nation's top wrestler on Feb. 21, Iowa's Jessman Smith. Matthews finished the season on a winning note, defeating Minnesota's Matt Nagel. Matthews is a two-time NCAA qualifier at 197 pounds in 2000 and 2001. Matthews is the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten's pre-seeding.

197 pounds: Sophomore Pat DeGain went the the NCAA championships last season and finished just shy of All-American honors. He has a 28-5 overall record and finished 3-3 in the Big Ten. He earned his 50th career victory on Jan. 31 by defeating Michigan's No. 16 Kyle Smith. He was the Missouri Open champion and finished second at the Northern Iowa Open. He is 11th on the all-time pins list with 17 in his career, nine of those have come this season. DeGain earned a No. 5 Big Ten pre-seed.

Heavyweight: The third true freshman in the Indiana lineup, Joel Powers finished the season 19-13 overall, 1-6 in the Big Ten. He had nine pins in his debut season for the Hoosiers. He faced five straight top-15 opponents.

Overall, Coyte Cooper is the top seed in the Big Ten at 141 pounds. The Hoosiers have not had a Big Ten Champion since Roger Chandler won in 1997 at 142 pounds.