Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Churella Claims Third Big Ten Crown; U-M Places Third
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Assembly Hall)
Event: Big Ten Championships
U-M Finish: 3rd Place of 11 Teams (115 Points)
Next U-M Event: Thu-Sat., March 16-18 -- NCAA Championships (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) captured his third consecutive individual title to pace the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team to third place (115 points) Sunday (March 5) on the second and final day of competition of the Big Ten Conference Championships at Indiana's Assembly Hall.
Nine of Michigan's 10 wrestlers automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top seven at the Big Ten meet. Minnesota captured the team crown with 138 points, while Illinois took runner-up honors at 125 points.
Churella became just the eighth wrestler in U-M program history to claim three Big Ten individual trophies, defeating Minnesota's third-seeded Matt Nagel 7-0 in the 165-pound final. Churella dominated the action from start to finish, taking every shot through the seven-minute bout. After a few unsuccessful attempts early in the first period, he converted on a single leg late in the frame to take the only lead he would need. Churella used an elevator to score a reversal in the second and added another takedown in the third to cruise to his 25th consecutive win of the season.
Michigan's other finalist, fifth-year senior captain Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS), battled Minnesota's top-seeded Cole Konrad to overtime in the heavyweight final, keeping the score knotted a one point apiece until the closing seconds of the extra frame when the Gopher threw Wagner to his back to score five points and seal a 6-1 victory. The runner-up performance was the best Big Ten tournament finish of Wagner's career.
Fifth-year senior Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) earned the best Big Ten finish of his career, taking fourth at 197 pounds after narrowly falling to Northwestern's third-seeded Matt Delguyd 3-1 in overtime. The two wrestlers exchanged escapes through regulation, but the Wildcat ended the bout halfway through the extra, sudden-victory frame, converting a single-leg shot on the edge of the mat. Breyer advanced to the consolation final after picking up his third straight win in the wrestlebacks, an 8-4 decision against Purdue's fifth-seeded Nathan Moore in the morning session. Breyer used his specialty cradle to convert a five-point move midway through the opening period and gain a substanial early advantage. The Wolverine senior added a takedown in the middle frame and, despite a couple stalling calls in the third, held on for the decision.
Senior/junior Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) claimed fourth place at 133 pounds, falling 9-6 to Penn State's Jake Strayer to match his finish from last season's conference meet. The Wolverine took the initial lead in the match after scoring on a pair of early takedowns. Strayer, however, neutralized the score with a takedown on his own late in the opening frame. The bout remained knotted at six points apiece until midway through the final frame when Strayer succeeded on a single-leg attempt and rode the rest of the period to pick up riding-time advantage. Moos earned bonus points in the morning session with a dominant 13-2 victory against Illinois' Gabe Flores on the consolation semifinal. After a scoreless opening period, Moos broke open the bout in the second, scoring a quick takedown and using a cradle to add three near-fall points. The Wolverine added a reversal and three more back points in the closing period and accumulated 2:20 in riding time to net the major decision.
Junior/sophomore Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) also suffered a close loss in the third-place match at 141 pounds as a second-period takedown proved the difference in a 3-2 loss to Iowa's Alex Tsirtis. With no scoring in the first period and Tsirtsis' single leg offsetting Churella's escape point and a point for an Iowa technical violation, the score remained knotted at two points entering the final frame. Churella started on top and was able to ride the Hawkeye for most of the period, but Tsirtis pulled away just before Churella's riding time reached the minute mark to eke out the one-point win. The Wolverine cruised past Minnesota's seventh-seeded Manuel Rivera in his first bout of the day, building up an early advantage with a takedown in each of the first two periods and holding on for a 6-1 decision.
Sophomore/freshman Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) finished fourth in his first career appearance at the conference meet after falling 6-0 to Indiana's fifth-seeded Brandon Becker in the consolation final. Luke could not get much offense going against the Hoosier wrestler, giving up takedowns in the first and third periods as well as 1:26 in riding time. In a close consolation semifinal against Iowa's fourth-seeded Joe Johnston earlier in the day, Luke used a double leg early in the final frame to build up a three-point advantage. He rode the Hawkeye until the final seconds of the match and fought off a few late Johnston shots for a 3-1 decision.
Junior/sophomore Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Mich./North HS) took fifth-place honors at 149 pounds after accepting a forfeit victory against injured Ohio State wrestler J Jaggers. Tannenbaum lost in overtime to Iowa's second-seeded Ty Eustice in the consolation semifinal round, giving up a takedown on the edge of the mat to fall 4-2.
Sophomore/freshman Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) earned a 3-2 decision over Northwestern's sixth-seeded Mike Tamillow to earn a fifth-place finish at 184 pounds in his first Big Ten tournament appearance. The Wolverine's successful high crotch early in the first period proved the difference as the two wrestlers traded escapes and clamped down on defense through the remainder of the bout. Todd's performance in the fifth-place bout was a good rally from a disappointing loss to second-seeded Ben Wissel of Purdue in the consolation semifinals, when he gave up a takedown in the final 10 seconds of the match to fall 10-8. Todd struck first with a first-period single leg and held a two-point lead at the end of five minutes after shooting in on double and returning Wissel to the mat at the second-period buzzer. The Boilermaker wrestler pulled back into the match with a quick escape and takedown early in the third and, after both wrestlers were hit with stalling late in the period, countered a Todd shot into a cradle to just squeeze out a victory.
Freshman Michael Watts (Riverton, Utha/Riverton HS) punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships by claiming his first win of the tournament against Ohio State's Nathan Costello in the seventh-place match at 125 pounds. Watts gave up a quick single leg to trail early in the match, but after getting to his feet to collect an escape the Wolverine rookie hit a cement mixer to roll Costello to his back and earn the fall at 2:04.
The Wolverines will have two weeks to prepare before sending their nine-man contigent to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Final Team Standings
1. Minnesota 138 2. Illinois 125 3. MICHIGAN 115 4. Penn State 91 5. Northwestern 87.5 6. Iowa 86 7. Wisconsin 76.5 8. Michigan State 68 9. Purdue 45.5 10. Indiana 43.5 11. Ohio State 40
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
125 pounds -- #6 Michael Watts
Seventh Place - pinned Nathan Costello (Ohio State), 2:04
Finished seventh with a 1-2 record
133 pounds -- #4 Mark Moos
Consolation - major dec. Gabe Flores (Illinois), 13-2
Third Place - dec. by #5 Jake Strayer (Penn State), 9-6
Finished fourth with a 2-2 record
141 pounds -- #1 Josh Churella
Consolation - dec. #7 Manuel Rivera (Minnesota), 6-1
Third Place - dec. by #3 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 3-2
Finished fourth with a 3-2 record
149 pounds -- #3 Eric Tannenbaum
Consolation - dec. by #2 Ty Eustice (Iowa), 3-2 SV
Fifth Place - won by forfeit
Finished fifth with a 3-2 record
157 pounds -- #6 Steve Luke
Consolation - dec. #4 Joe Johnston (Iowa), 3-1
Third Place - dec. by #5 Brandon Becker (Indiana), 6-0
Finished fourth with a 4-2 record
165 pounds -- #1 Ryan Churella
Final - dec. #3 Matt Nagel (Minnesota), 7-0
Finished as the 165-pound champion with a 3-0 record
184 pounds -- #8 Tyrel Todd
Consolation - dec. by #2 Ben Wissel (Purdue), 10-8
Fifth Place - dec. #5 Mike Tamillow (Northwestern), 3-2
Finished fifth with a 4-2 record
197 pounds -- Willie Breyer
Consolation - dec. #5 Nathan Moore (Purdue), 8-4
Third Place - dec. by #3 Matt Delugyd (Northwestern), 3-1 SV
Finished fourth with a 3-2 record
Heavyweight -- #2 Greg Wagner
Final - dec. by #1 Cole Konrad (Minnesota), 6-1 SV
Finished second with a 2-1 record
• Day 1 Results
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
