Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Michigan's Luke Wins Big Ten 174-Pound Championship
3/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Junior/sophomore Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) captured the 174-pound individual title to headline the No. 23-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team's performance at the Big Ten Conference Championships Sunday (March 4) in Michigan State University's Breslin Center. The Wolverines took eighth place with 79.5 points and had five wrestlers earned automatic qualifying bids for the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top seven at the Big Ten meet.
Luke -- just two weeks removed from his return to the lineup after injury -- controlled the action against Penn State's top-seeded James Yonushonis in the final, scoring a pair of takedowns en route to a 5-2 decision and his first conference trophy. The Wolverine wrestler struck quickly in the opening period, converting a fireman's carry near the edge of the mat -- nearly putting Yonushonis to his back -- to claim a lead he would never relinquish. He added another takedown late in the period, shooting a single and finishing with a driving double out of bounds. Yonushonis took a few shots in the third, all of which Luke easily neutralized.
Michigan's other finalists, senior/juniors Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS), both fell just short in their bids to reclaim Big Ten trophies. Churella suffered a 3-2 decision on riding time against top-seeded Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota at 149 pounds. The Gopher wrestler scored the winning takedown seconds into the first period with a low single-leg shot. Churella narrowed the gap with a quick escape to knot the score at 2-2 late in the second period. Schlatter, however, rode Churella for most of the middle frame to build up 1:58 in time advantage, which proved to be the deciding factor in the final outcome. The Wolverine wrestler shot deep on a single leg midway through the final period, but Schlatter dove underneath to force a stalemate.
Top-seeded Tannenbaum lost his first match of the season in the 165-pound final, as Iowa's No. 2-seeded Mark Perry used a second-period takedown and riding time to secure a 5-2 decision. After a scoreles first period and quick Perry escape in the second, the Hawkeye scrambled out of a Tannenbaun single-leg shot to gain the top position before riding out the period to gain time advantage. The Wolverine converted in the third, fighting through another Perry scramble to finish on his single-leg shot. Tannenbaum cut him on the restart but could not score again.
Junior/sophomore Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) claimed the best Big Ten finish of his career, taking third-place honors with a 12-3 major decision against Wisconsin's Trevor Brandvold at 184 pounds. Todd converted on a three takedowns, including two in the third period, and locked up a cradle in the second to earn three back points. His final takedown -- with a few seconds left in the match -- secured the bonus point. Todd battled to a 3-1 decision in his consolation semifinal contest against Illinois seventh-seeded John Dergo, using an ankle pick on the mat's edge in the last second of the first period to claim a 3-1 decision.
Fifth-year senior Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) suffered a pair of wrestleback losses to Penn State's top-seeded Phil Davis and Illinois' third-seeded Patrick Bond to place sixth at 197 pounds. The second bout was a close one, as Bond used a takedown midway through the second sudden-victory frame to claim the 4-2 decision. Roy opened the day with a 6-2 loss to Penn State's Phil Davis in the consolation semifinals. Despite a couple deep shots, the Wolverine could not score an offensive point, and Davis won on takedowns in the second and third periods.
Fifth-year senior Rob Sulaver (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn HS) came just a match short qualifying for the NCAA tournament, losing a close 3-1 match against Purdue's seventh-seeded Jake Murphy in the seventh-place contest at 157 pounds. After a scoreless first period and escapes from both wrestlers in the second and third periods, Murphy scored the matchwinner late, countering a Sulaver shot to force a scramble and come around top with about two seconds remaining.
The Wolverines will have two weeks to prepare before sending their five-man contingent to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Maize and Blue will co-host the event at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Final Team Standings
1. Minnesota 156 2. Wisconsin 99.5 3. Iowa 91 4. Penn State 90.5 5. Indiana 86 6. Northwestern 84 7. Illinois 83.5 8. MICHIGAN 79.5 9. Ohio State 68.5 10. Purdue 33 11. Michigan State 30.5
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
149 pounds -- #2 Josh Churella
Final - dec. by #1 Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota), 3-2
Finished second with a 3-1 record
157 pounds -- #8 Rob Sulaver
Seventh Place - dec. by #7 John Murphy (Purdue), 3-1
Finished eighth with a 1-3 record
165 pounds -- #1 Eric Tannenbaum
Final - dec. by #2 Mark Perry (Iowa), 5-2
Finished second with a 2-1 record
174 pounds -- #3 Steve Luke
Final - dec. #1 James Yonushonis (Penn State), 5-2
Finished as the 174-pound champion with a 4-0 record
184 pounds -- #4 Tyrel Todd
Consolations - dec. #7 John Dergo (Illinois), 3-1
Third Place - major dec. #8 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin), 12-3
Finished third with a 4-1 record
197 pounds -- #7 Nick Roy
Consolations - dec. by #1 Phil Davis (Penn State), 6-2
Fifth Place - dec. by #3 Patrick Bond (Illinois), 4-2 SV2
Finished sixth with a 1-3 record
Day 1 Results
Q U O T E S
U-M Junior/Sophomore Steve Luke
"I think this definitely helps boost my confidence. Everyone in the Big Ten is strong, and, coming in, I knew would just have to wrestle them hard. I feel confident when I go into every match. I feel like I could beat any one of those guys, and I'm sure they feel the same way when they wrestle me. It's really just a mentality thing and about staying mentally tough, like in overtime or in riding people. It's a winning attitude. But I can't look at this weekend and be feel complete yet because, really, national is what matters."
On his 174-pound final ... "I felt really strong in that match. He kept moving and kept pushing, but comparing his offense with my defense, I felt my defense completely stopped anything he could do. He's kind of wild and really gets after you, so a lot of times he leaves his arms up and leaves himself open, so I just took advantage of that. Getting those first two takedowns in that first period... it was nice not to go into overtime."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
