Michigan
Cliff Keen Invitational
Wolverines Take Seventh Place at Cliff Keen Invitational
12/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team finished in seventh place out of 45 competing schools with 87 points at the annual Cliff Keen Invitational, held Friday and Saturday (Dec. 6-7) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Wolverines had four individual wrestlers place in the top eight of their respective weight classes.
| | Dowd won his last four matches to finish third. |
After dominating early opponents, Dowd suffered his only loss of the tournament to 11th-seeded Matt Sanchez of Cal State-Bakersfield, falling 9-5 in the quarterfinal round. Dowd worked his way back through the consolation bracket, winning four decisive victories to take third place. In the close third-place match, Dowd scored an escape and a second-period takedown and held Cal-Davis' Urijah Faber to just an escape to win the bout 3-1.
Grant earned decisions in his first three matches before being pinned by top-seeded Chris Fleeger of Purdue at 1:35 in his semifinal bout. After dropping a 4-2 decision to second-seeded Ben Vombaur of Boise State in the consolation bracket, Grant headed to the fifth-place match, where his 1:56 of riding time advantage proved to be the tiebreaker as he defeated Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo's Vic Moreno 2-1.
After cruising into the semifinal round with dominant victories in his first three bouts, including two quick falls in the first and second rounds, Bertin was forced to withdraw from his match against third-seeded Keaton Anderson of Ohio State after suffering an ankle injury midway through the second period. Bertin forfeited his remaining bouts in the consolation bracket and concluded the tournament with a sixth-place finish.
Smith posted back-to-back wins in the first and second rounds before losing a 6-1 decision to eighth-seeded Emmett Willson of Montana State. In the consolation bracket, he rebounded with a 6-1 victory over Cal State-Fullerton's Landon Seefeldt but was pinned at 5:23 in the final period in his bout against fourth-seeded Marico Botelho of Fresno State. In the seventh-place match, Smith dominated North Dakota State's Brian Kraemer, holding him to only three escapes and winning 12-3.
Senior/junior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) had an explosive start in the 141-pound bracket with quick first-period falls in his first two matches. Forward was sent to the consolation bracket after dropping a close 5-4 decision to top seed Shane Cunanan of West Virginia in the quarterfinal round. On the second day of competition, Forward suffered his second loss against Illinois' Cal Ferry by a 5-2 margin and was eliminated from competition.
Senior/junior Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS) also started strong for Michigan at 165 pounds with a 12-2 major decision over Cal State-Fullerton's Risto Marttinen, but he fell to seventh-seeded Nick Frost of Arizona State in his next bout and headed to consolations. In the consolation bracket, Owen collected a fall over Augustana's Dustin Wilking at 5:31 before being eliminated by Boise State's Nathan Phloen with a 7-4 decision.
Redshirt freshmen R.J. Boudro (Richmond, Mich./Armada HS) and Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) looked good in their first appearances at the tournament but were unable to place for the Wolverines. In the 174-pound consolation bracket, Boudro earned a first-period fall over North Dakota State's Thad Pike at 2:24 in the match and upset fifth-seeded Matt Erwin of VMI with a takedown and three-point near fall in the final seconds of the third period to win 8-4. However, Boudro was eliminated from competition after suffering his second loss, a 12-4 major decision to second-seeded Travis Pascoe of Nebraska.
Dominating Harvard's Jonas Corl with a 16-0 technical fall in his first match, Wagner was sent to the heavyweight consolation bracket after losing a narrow 2-1 tiebreaker to Boise State's Boe Rushton. After advancing through two rounds of consolations, Wagner was eliminated after being pinned by sixth-seeded Andy Bowlby of Oregon State at 1:32.
Another pair newcomers to the tournament, junior/sophomore Jeremiah Tobias (Manchester, Mich./Manchester HS) and redshirt freshman Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS), were both sent to the consolation bracket early after first-round matches against highly seeded opponents. At 149 pounds, Tobias rebounded with a quick fall over Wyoming's Thad Trujillo at 2:35 but was eliminated after a narrow 7-6 loss to Cal State-Fullerton's Brett Gordan. At 184 pounds, Breyer rallied in the consolation bracket, winning a pair of decisions and advancing by injury default before suffering his second loss of the tournament to Colby's C.B. Dolloway, 11-3.
Next up for the Wolverines is a home dual meet against Cleveland State next Saturday (Dec. 14) at 7:30 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena.
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Minnesota 131 2. Illinois 123.5 3. Ohio State 118.5 4. Arizona State 112 5. West Virginia 96.5 6. Nebraska 89 7. MICHIGAN 87 8. Wisconsin 77.5 9. Boise State 75.5 10. Missouri 73.5
Michigan Results
125 - #4 A.J. Grant
First Round - dec. Mark Bader (Missouri), 9-5
Second Round - dec. Chad Meyer (Missouri Valley), 7-0
Quarterfinals - dec. #5 Vic Moreno (Cal Poly-SLO), 6-3
Semifinal - pinned by #1 Chris Fleeger (Purdue), 1:35
Consolation - dec. by Ben Vombaur (Boise State), 2-1 SV
Fifth-place - dec. #5 Vic Moreno (Cal Poly-SLO), 2-1
Finished in 5th place with a 4-2 record
133 - #3 Foley Dowd
First Round - pinned Ricky Aguirre (Menlo), 4:38
Second Round - major dec. Matt Benza (Air Force), 18-7
Quarterfinals - dec. by #11 Matt Sanchez (Cal State-Bakersfield), 7-5
Consolation - major dec. David Rodriguez (Cal State-Fullerton), 18-5
Consolation - dec. #10 Mike Simpson (Arizona State), 8-1
Consolation - dec. #4 Brandon Lauer (West Virginia), 8-3
Third-place - dec. #6 Urijah Faber (Cal-Davis), 3-1
Finished in 3rd place with a 6-1 record
141 - #9 Clark Forward
Pigtail Round - pinned Jared Walters (Lassen), 2:46
First Round - pinned Ronnie Stafford (Northern Colorado), 0:50
Second Round - dec. Chris Nedens (Northern Idaho), 6-5
Quarterfinals - dec. by #1 Shane Cunanan (West Virginia), 5-4
Consolation - dec. by Cal Ferry (Illinois), 5-2
Finished with a 3-2 record
149 - Jeremiah Tobias
Pigtail Round - tech. fall by #6 Jeremy Spates (Missouri), 16-1
Consolations - pinned Thad Trujillo (Wyoming), 2:44
Consolations - dec. by Brett Gordon (Cal State-Fullerton), 7-6
Finished with a 1-2 record
157 - #2 Ryan Bertin
First Round - pinned Jerod Goodwin (Central Oklahoma), 1:43
Second Round - pinned Ben Cherrington (Boise State), 2:56
Quarterfinals - major dec. #7 Chovis Crane (Purdue), 12-0
Semifinal - inj. default by #3 Keaton Anderson (Ohio State)
Finished in 6th place with a 3-1 record
165 - #10 Pat Owen
First Round - major dec. Risto Marttinen (Cal State-Fullerton), 12-2
Second Round - dec. by #7 Nick Frost (Arizona State), 5-2
Consolations - pinned Dustin Wilking (Augustana), 5:31
Consolations - dec. by Nathan Phloen (Boise State), 7-4
Finished with a 2-2 record
174 - R.J. Boudro
First Round - dec. Shane Hall (Missouri Valley), 5-3
Second Round - dec. by #4 Ryan Lange (Purdue), 15-8
Consolations - pinned Thad Pike (North Dakota State), 2:24
Consolation - dec. #5 Matt Erwin (VMI), 8-4
Consolation - major dec. by #2 Travis Pascoe (Nebraska), 12-4
Finished with a 3-2 record
184 - Willie Breyer
First Round - major dec. by #3 Scott Justus (Virginia Tech), 24-11
Consolations - dec. Mario Thomas (Missouri Valley), 2-0
Consolations - dec. Ronnie Silva (Cal-Davis), 8-7
Consolations - won by injury default
Consolations - major dec. by C.B. Dolloway (Colby), 11-3
Finished with a 3-2 record
197 - #1 Kyle Smith
First Round - pinned Jason Lovell (Oregon State), 1:02
Second Round - pinned Drew Dunbar (San Francisco State), 1:06
Quarterfinals - dec. by #8 Emmett Wilson (Montana State), 5-2
Consolation - dec. Landon Seefeldt (Cal State-Fullerton), 6-1
Consolation - pinned by #4 Marico Botelho (Fresno State), 5:23
Seventh-place - major dec. Brian Kraemer (North Dakota State), 12-3
Finished in 7th place with a 4-2 record
Hwt - #8 Greg Wagner
First Round - tech. fall Jonas Corl (Harvard), 16-0
Second Round - dec. by Boe Rushton (Boise State), 2-1 TB
Consolation - pinned Israel Silva (Northern Idaho), 5:51
Consolation - won by injury default
Consolation - pinned by #6 Andy Bowlby (Oregon State), 1:32
Finished with a 3-2 record
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
