Michigan
Cliff Keen Invitational
Five Wolverines Advance to Cliff Keen Invitational Semis
12/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- With five competitors headed to the championship semifinal round, the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team holds the top spot (86 points) after the first day of competition at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Friday (Dec. 2) at the Cashman Center. In addition to the semifinalist quintet, three Wolverines are still alive in the consolation bracket as U-M hangs to a substanial 13.5-point advantage over second-place Cornell (72.5 points).
Michigan demonstrated both its depth and ability to dominate as Wolverine wrestlers earned bonus points in 19 of their 27 day-one victories, while five of seven U-M quarterfinalists -- junior/sophomore Josh Churella (Northville, Mich,./Novi HS), junior/sophomore Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS), sophomore/freshman Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS), fifth-year captain Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and fifth-year senior captain Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./ Snider HS) -- pushed through to the semifinal round, giving Michigan more semifinalists than any other school.
Josh Churella, seeded third in his first appearance at the annual tournament, cruised into the 141-pound semifinals behind a trio of decisive wins, including a dominant 17-0 technical fall against Missouri's sixth-seeded Chris McCormick in the quarterfinal round. Churella tallied takedowns early in both the first and second periods of that bout and added four three-point turns to end the bout early at the 3:52 mark.
Tannenbaum, the top seed at 149 pounds, earned bonus points in three of his four first-day matches and kicked off the competition with just the fourth pin of his collegiate career, sticking Fresno State's Lucas Anderson at 4:21 in the pigtail round. The Wolverine sophomore, who claimed third place at last season's Cliff Keen tournament, posted a 13-5 major decision over Pittsburgh's eighth-seeded Jeff Ecklof in the quarterfinals, scoring five takedowns, including two in the third period, and accumulating 2:26 in riding time advantage.
At 157 pounds, Luke rolled into the semifinal round in his first tournament appearance, earning three lopsided wins before receiving a medical forfeit in the quarterfinals. Luke, seeded sixth, collected the second fall of his collegiate career in the first round, pinning Montana State's Josh Aikon at the 1:23 mark, while outscoring his other two opponents 23-7.
Ryan Churella, the top seed and defending champion at 165 pounds, had four takedowns, five back points and 4:31 in riding time for a dominant 16-2 major decision over Air Force's Beau Tresemer in the quarterfinals. Churella breezed through the morning session with a pin and a technical fall to earn bonus points in each of his first-day matches, repeating the feat from his showing at last season's tournament.
Similarily, Wagner, also the top seed and defending champion at heavyweight, tallied extra points for the Wolverines in all three of his bouts with an early technical fall and back-to-back major decisions. Squaring off against Nebraska-Kearney's Tervel Dlanev in the quarterfinals, Wagner tallied takedowns in the first and second frames while building up 3:46 in riding time for an 8-0 shutout victory.
Senior/junior Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) will not get the opportunity to capture his second Cliff Keen individual crown after suffering a 8-6 sudden-victory defeat to Harvard's fourth-seeded Robert Preston in the 133-pound quarterfinals. After a tough first period, Moos, seeded fifth, rallied in the second in put himself back in the match, but a quick takedown by Preston early in the extra frame was enough to send the Wolverine to the consolation bracket.
Moos boasted perhaps the most exciting match of the day for the Wolverines in the second round, converting a four-point move in the final seconds of the bout to advance to the quarterfinals. Choosing an option start to give Buffalo's Mark Budd a 6-4 advantage with just 13 seconds remaining in the match, Moos shot in on a double leg as soon as the Bison wrestler squared off, taking Budd directly to back to earn the takedown and two-point near fall. After a last-second escape by Budd, Moos ended up with a final 8-7 decision.
Sophomore/freshman Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) came up a little short against Purdue's second-seeded Benjamin Wissel in the quarterfinals, falling 10-5 to the Boilermaker to drop into the wrestlebacks. Todd, whose only other loss this season came against Wissel at the Eastern Michigan Open (Nov. 5), kept the match close through two periods after scoring on a single-leg attempt in the middle frame, but he could not convert in the third as Wissel added two more takedowns off of Todd's offensive attack.
After a strong major-decision victory in his first match, senior/junior Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) was knocked into the consolation bracket after getting caught in the second round and pinned by UNC-Greensboro's Tray Brawley just 17 seconds into the bout. The Wolverine, seeded third at 174 pounds, rebounded with a pair of wins in the wrestlebacks, including a 12-3 major decision against Tennessee-Chattanooga's Tim Sayers.
Michigan will return to action tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 3) for the second and final day of competition at the 2005 Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. U-M will hit the mat at 9 a.m. PST for the semifinals and continued wrestleback rounds, while the championships finals are slated for a 5 p.m. start. All matches will take place at the Cashman Center.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. MICHIGAN 86 2. Cornell 72.5 3. Missouri 68 4. Illinois 63.5 5. Edinboro 60 6. Purdue 46 7. Cal Poly 45.5 9. Arizona State 44 UNC Greensboro 44 10. Hofstra 41.5
Michigan Results
125 pounds - Jim Shutich
First Round - dec. by Trevor Charbonneau (Nebraska Kearney), 6-4
Consolations - dec. Kyle Reeves (Wisconsin), 2-1
Consolations - dec. by Jeff Hedges (Northern Idaho), 9-6
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
133 pounds - #5 Mark Moos
First Round - major dec. Albert Madsen (Ohio), 14-3
Second Round - dec. Mark Budd (Buffalo), 8-7
Quarterfinals - dec. by #4 Robert Preston (Harvard), 8-6 SV
Consolations - vs. #12 Seth Lisa (West Virginia)
141 pounds - #3 Josh Churella
First Round - major dec. Jeff Rutledge (Nebraska Kearney), 9-1
Second Round - dec. Chris Smith (Montana State), 9-4
Quarterfinals - tech. fall #6 Chris McCormick (Missouri), 17-0
Semifinals - vs. #10 Sean Markey (The Citadel)
149 pounds - #1 Eric Tannenbaum
Pigtail Round - pinned Lucas Anderson (Fresno State), 4:21
First Round - dec. Josh Wagner (Missouri), 9-5
Second Round - major dec. Ricky Turk (Utah Valley), 12-4
Quarterfinals - major dec. #8 Joe Ecklof (Pittsburgh), 13-5
Semifinals - vs. #5 Doug Withstandley (Purdue)
157 pounds - #6 Steve Luke
Pigtail Round - major dec. John Cummings (Buffalo), 12-4
First Round - pinned Ty Aikon (Montana State), 1:23
Second Round - dec. #12 Jake Yost (Tennessee-Chattanooga), 11-3
Quarterfinals - won by medical forfeit
Semifinals - vs. #2 Dustin Manotti (Cornell)
165 pounds - #1 Ryan Churella
First Round - tech. fall Larry Wilbanks (Western State), 17-0 (7:00)
Second Round - pinned Lex Case (Boise State), 2:20
Quarterfinals - major dec. Beau Tresemer (Air Force), 16-2
Semifinals - vs. Evan Copeland (Adams State)
174 pounds - #3 Nick Roy
First Round - major dec. Ryan Knapp (Ohio), 11-3
Second Round - pinned by Tray Brawley (UNC-Greensboro), 0:17
Consolations - major dec. Tim Sayers (Tennessee-Chattanooga), 12-3
Consolations - dec. Christian Arellani (Cal State Bakersfield), 7-4
Consolations - vs. #2 Blake Mauer (Ohio State)
184 pounds - #7 Tyrel Todd
First Round - major dec. Josh Vialpondo (Adams State), 19-5
Second Round - dec. Greg Gifford (Fresno State), 8-4
Quarterfinals - dec. by Benjamin Wissel (Purdue), 10-5
Consolations - vs. Alex Clemsen (Edinboro)
197 pounds - Casey White
Pigtail Round - major dec. Leo Saniuk (Brown), 11-0
First Round - dec. #11 Dallas Herbst (Wisconsin), 8-1
Second Round - dec. by #7 Jeff Foust (Missouri), 5-1
Consolations - pinned by Justin Schlect (Dickinson State), 1:59
Eliminated with a 2-2 record
Heavyweight - #1 Greg Wagner
First Round - tech. fall Clay Rodgers (Dickinson State), 15-0 (3:38)
Second Round - major dec. Janior Palma (NC State), 13-3
Quarterfinals - major dec. Tervel Dlagnev (Nebraska Kearney), 8-0
Semifinals - vs. #5 Tyler Shovlin (UNC Greensboro)
Conact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
