2005-06 WRM at Cliff Keen Invitational -- Notes & Quotes
12/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
N O T E S
The Wolverines have placed fifth or better in 11 of their last 13 appearances at the Cliff Keen Invitational. This season's performance marks the third time Michigan captured the team title in five seasons.
Fifth-year senior captains Ryan Churella and Greg Wagner became just the third and fourth Wolverine wrestlers to capture two Cliff Keen Invitational individual titles. They join Jeff Catrabone (1996, '97) and Otto Olson (1999, 2001).
Michigan earned 21 of its 37 tournament wins with bonus points. The Wolverines tallied seven falls, three technical falls, 10 major decisions and one forfeit victory.
In addition to Michigan, four other Big Ten Conference schools (Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin) were among the Cliff Keen Invitational field. Illinois was the second-highest placing team in sixth (88.5 points).
With a perfect 5-0 record, fifth-year senior Greg Wagner improved his career record to 111-34 during his five seasons at Michigan. He holds the 15th spot among the Wolverines' all-time leaders in the category.
Tallying two falls against the 165-pound competition, fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella brought his career total to 30. He needs just one more pin to reach the ninth spot on Michigan's career falls list, currently held by Rob Rechsteiner (31, 1981-84).
Three former Wolverine wrestlers made appearances at the Cliff Keen Invitational as assistant coaches for participating schools -- Jeff Catrabone (1995-98) with Buffalo, Damion Logan (1998-2000) with Penn, and Jeremiah Tobias (2003-05) with Wyoming. In addition, former assistant coach Joe Wells was in attendance as the head coach of Oregon State.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the team's performance ... "I'm really proud of the way the guys competed this weekend. I thought we were aggressive and won a lot of tough matches. It's a long season, and I think everybody is going to keep this in perspective. It's just a great start for us."
On Steve Luke's win over top-ranked Alex Tirapelle ... "I thought Steve did a great job. He's just a great competitor. He's tough; he wrestles through every position. He knows what he needs to do to win matches. This should do wonders for his confidence, because I think he's right in there at his weight class -- and that is a really tough weight class."
On all of Michigan's finalists ... "Those guys are all great competitors. They refuse to lose, and they're just driven. All those guys competed well this weekend. At the same time, those guys are looking at the big picture and looking at the whole season. I'm just really proud of the way they wrestled here this weekend."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior Captain Ryan Churella
On the value of the Cliff Keen Invitational ... "I think it was just a good overall tournament that brings together the east and the west coasts. We faced a lot of guys that we don't see during the year, so I think it's good for our guys to get off to a good start early on and show everybody that we're out to dominate our opponents. I think we did a good job of that this weekend. It's been great for us to come out here the past two years and win it with all the Michigan ties to this tournament -- my dad and the Keen family."
On the team's performance ... "We did take some bumps and bruises, but that's going to happen early on, especially when you have three freshmen in the lineup. This is a big tournament, and there's some weights that are as tough as nationals. I think it's good for some of those young guys to get in here and mix it up. They're going to learn from it and make improvements. I think we'll be able to put in together by the end of the year to really compete for the national title."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior Captain Greg Wagner
On Michigan's tournament performance ... "This is an early-season tournament, so we're really looking to build toward March. It's always nice to come out here and see a lot of teams that we won't see until then and be able to do well against that kind of competition."
On his own tournament performance ... "You always want to get on a roll and be consistent and wrestle well. I think those were my goals this weekend. It worked out well for me."
U-M Junior/Sophomore Josh Churella
On his 141-pound final ... "I had a couple of decent shots, but I didn't finish. I got caught flat-footed, and he picked me and rode me out. He was really long, and I didn't want to roll with him. In the second period, I ended up getting a reversal, but he reversed me back. I got out, and we had a couple flurries. I was trailing by two or three in the third, because he had riding time. With about 20 seconds left, I needed a takedown to tie it up. I got a low single, hit a near-side cradle, got him on his back and got the pin."
On earning more lopsided victories in the tournament ... "I feel like, in most of the matches, I dominated my guys pretty well. That was the first time I wrestled [Derek Moore], and it was a pretty even match throughout. I tried to be more dominant. I didn't hang or get lazy; it was just a tough match. I think I'm on the right track; I just need to carry it into next weekend."
U-M Sophomore/Freshman Steve Luke
On his final match ... "I've seen him wrestle a lot through the years with (Ryan) Bertin wrestling him. He's tall and lanky, and he's really defensive and hard to score on. So I wanted to make sure that if I did shoot, I came right up and didn't stay underneath. I remember Bertin getting cradled once when he stayed underneath. I should've added a few more fakes and try to incorporate more shots; I'll do that next time. He doesn't shoot much. He tries to keep things close and ride people. I wrestle with Ryan Churella, who's the best top wrestler in the country, so I'm used to trying to explode right out. I knew that's what I had to do against him. In the room, we've gone over how riding time is a factor in two overtimes. I knew I had to escape within seven seconds. I just exploded out of there and did what I had to do to win the match. It was brought to my attention that he has a hard time beating Michigan wrestlers, so I just tried to keep the streak alive for Bertin. He'll be proud."
On establishing himself in his first varsity season ... "I knew that if I wrestled well, I could compete with anybody. I work out with (Eric) Tannenbaum and (Ryan) Churella, and I do well with them in the room. Sometimes nerves are more of a factor than my wrestling. I can give people too much credit, and I don't go out and do as well as I should. I can get too nervous and not shoot enough or push the action. In my first match of the tournament against the kid from Buffalo, I had that in the back of my head. He kept grabbing my headgear, and that just wore me out because I came out so hard. I need to pace myself a little more and get more tie-ups."
Players Mentioned
