Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
NCAA Championships (Session V)
Becker Earns Second Straight All-American Honor; Places Seventh
3/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 18, 2006
OKLAHOMA CITY - Sophomore 157-pounder Brandon Becker grappled his way to a seventh-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Championships on March 18, in Oklahoma City. Becker became just the 16th Hoosier to achieve the honor twice in his career, rolling through Craig Henning of Wisconsin, 9-4, to claim the top-eight finish.
"Brandon had a very good tournament considering the amount of great competition there was in the 157 division," head coach Duane Goldman said. "There were legitimately 16 athletes that could have claimed All-American honors, and for Brandon to come out of that group was impressive. Brandon is a competitor and he showed that today."
An All-American finisher for the second time at NCAAs, Becker looks back at his 2006 championships performance.
"I wrestled hard during every round, but I could have done better in some of my matches," Becker said after his seventh-place victory. "I know that it is an accomplishment to finish in the top-eight in what has to be the tournament's deepest division, but I set high goals coming into this tournament and am a little disappointed. However, I understand that seventh is still good when you look at that only one of the top-four seeds placed, and wrestlers all the way to the 11th seed captured All-America honors."
Becker concludes the 2006 campaign 28-9 overall and a two-time All-American (2005, 5th; 2006, 7th). Becker's top finishes on the season include his seventh-place finish at NCAAs, a fifth-place finish at Big Tens, a first-place outing at the Mat Town Invitational and a fourth-place placing at Midlands. Becker captured his 50th career victory with a 2-1 decision over No. 13 Nathan Galloway (PSU) to become the 14th Hoosier to accomplish the feat during his sophomore season. Becker won a season-best 11 matches from 11/26-12/30 and went 7-8 against ranked grapplers this year.
Action at the 2006 NCAA Championships continues on Saturday, March 18, with the championship round at 7:30 p.m. (EST). The NCAA Championships also will host the March of Champions at 7 p.m. (EST), an event that will honor Becker and the rest of this year's All-Americans.
HOOSIER CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW
No. 3 Joe Dubuque vs. No. 5 Troy Nickerson (Cornell)
The two grapplers will meet for the first time in their careers in the finals bout of the 2006 NCAA Championships. Nickerson is a true freshman and earned Ivy League Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors while starting for Cornell. Nickerson moved into the championship bout after upsetting top-seeded Nick Simmons (Michigan State) who falls in the semifinal bout for the second straight year. Dubuque enters the match as the defending national champion with a 27-1 record, while Nickerson is 36-1 on the season.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
Senior Joe Dubuque will face No. 5-seed true-freshman Troy Nickerson of Cornell after dismissing Sam Hazewinkel for the second straight year in the semifinal bout. Dubuque and Nickerson have never met on the mat. Dubuque looks to become the first Hoosier to win a title in back-to-back years. The senior also would become only the second IU grappler to garner two titles during his Indiana career.
Brandon Becker sealed his second All-American honor after defeating Michael Chandler of Missouri 10-4 in his first match of session five. Becker, who finished fifth a year ago, captured seventh at this year's edition of the NCAA Championships. Becker becomes the sixteenth Hoosier in IU history to achieve two All-American honors during his career.
SESSION V RECAP
Sophomore Brandon Becker defeated Craig Henning of Wisconsin in the seventh-place bout to mark his second straight top-eight finish at the Championships. The sophomore never trailed in the match. Becker opened with a shot for a takedown early and grabbed five near-fall points to take a 7-0 lead into the second period. Becker failed to escape in the second after starting on bottom, but a pair of escapes in the third was all the two-time All-American needed to take the 9-6 victory.
SESSION V RESULTS
Seventh/Eighth-Place Bout
157: No. 6-seed Brandon Becker dec. No. 9-seed Craig Henning (Wisconsin), 9-6
SESSION VI BOUT
NCAA Title Bout
125: No. 3-seed Joe Dubuque vs. No. 5-seed Troy Nickerson (Cornell)
SESSION IV RESULTS
125: No. 3-seed Joe Dubuque dec. No. 2-seed Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma), 2-1
157: No. 6-seed Brandon Becker dec. Michael Chandler (Missouri), 10-4
157: No. 1-seed Trent Paulson (Iowa State) dec. No. 6-seed Brandon Becker, 6-3
SESSION III RESULTS
125: No. 3-seed Joe Dubuque dec. No. 11-seed Luke Smith (Central Michigan), 6-4
157: No. 6-seed Brandon Becker pinned Dan Clum (Wyoming), 4:32
165: Max Dean med. for. No. 7-seed Troy Letters (Lehigh), MFor.
285: Dave Herman dec. No. 9-seed Payam Zarrinpour (Sacred Heart), 9-6
157: No. 6-seed Brandon Becker dec. Matt Hill (Edinboro), 7-5
165: No. 5-seed Matthew Pell (Missouri) dec. Max Dean, 5-3
285: Spencer Nadolsky (North Carolina) dec. Dave Herman, 3-2
SESSION II RESULTS
125: No. 3-seed Joe Dubuque dec. David Tomasette (Hofstra), 4-0
133: Joseph Baker (Navy) dec. Andrae Hernandez, 16-9
157: No. 11-seed Derek Zinck (Drexel) dec. No. 6-seed Brandon Becker, 8-6sv
165: Max Dean dec. Ray Blake (Stanford), 6-4
285: No. 3-seed Greg Wagner (Michigan) pinned Dave Herman, 2:19
SESSION I RESULTS
125: No. 3-seed Joe Dubuque dec. Michael Silengo (Penn), 5-2
133: No. 2-seed Nathan Morgan (Oklahoma State) dec. Andrae Hernandez, 9-3
157: No. 6-seed Brandon Becker maj. dec. Ryan Hluschak (Drexel), 11-0
165: Johnny Galloway (Northern Illinois) dec. Max Dean, 2-1 TB1
285: Dave Herman dec. Jon May (Nebraska), 4-1
TEAM STANDINGS
Pl Score Team 1 114.5 Oklahoma State 2 80.5 Oklahoma 3 76.0 Minnesota 4 70.0 Iowa 5 62.0 Cornell 22 31.0 Indiana
REMAINING TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
March 18
Session VI [Finals and Awards Ceremony/1 Mat]: 6:30-9 p.m.
TOURNAMENT HOST
The Oklahoma City All Sports Association and the University of Oklahoma will co-host the 76th annual NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the For Center in Oklahoma City.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
ESPNU will air the quarterfinal live at 10 a.m. Central time on Friday, March 17. Additionally, ESPNU and ESPN Regional will be producing and syndicating live coverage of the semifinals beginning at 6 p.m. Central time on the same day. Check your local listings for stations airing the event. ESPN will air the championships live at 6:30 p.m. Central time on Saturday, March 18.
LIVE UPDATES
All live updates and results will be carried through the NCAA official online sports web site at www.ncaasports.com. The wrestling page will feature up-to-date results and scores for the current and past rounds. For session recaps for the Hoosiers, visit IUHOOSIERS.com following the conclusion of each session.
