Henning Claims Second, Badgers Finish 13th
March 17, 2007 | Wrestling
Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) made his debut appearance in the NCAA championship match a memorable one, nearly upsetting No. 1 Trent Paulson of Iowa State. It was a battle for the full seven minutes, as Paulson scored a takedown in the final 14 seconds to defeat Henning 6-5 and claim the national title.
As a team, the Badgers placed 13th, their highest finish since 2001 when Wisconsin tied for 10th place. It was a tight team race as Iowa State needed to win all three of their final matches to go ahead of Minnesota. However, Minnesota previaled to claim the 2007 NCAA Championship, while Iowa State finished second and Missouri third.
Henning is a two-time All-American at 157 lbs., after placing eighth at the NCAA championships last season. Paulson is a three-time All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier. It is also his first trip to the championships match after placing fourth in 2005 and 2006.
Henning's road to the championship was battle tested as the seventh-seeded grappler defeated No. 10 Moza Fay, No. 2 Brian Stith and No. 3 James Strouse to earn his spot. Paulson on other hand wrestled only one seeded opponent in the tournament, No. 5 Mike Poeta of Illinois.
The action got underway with a record setting 17,780 fans in attendance. Paulson shot first but Henning stayed strong, countering with a takedown to lead 2-0 midway through the opening period. Moments later, Paulson escaped to get on the board.
With a 2-1 lead, Henning started the second period down. Despite strong resistance from Paulson, Henning notched another escape 40 seconds into the period to lead 3-1. The Badger nearly added another takedown to his score, but the officials called it potentially dangerous action.
In the final period, Paulson began down and notched an early escape to only trail by one. With 1:25 remaining, Paulson scored his first takedown to take a 4-3 lead. Hoping to score again, Paulson cut Henning and evened the score at 4-4. With momentum on his side, Paulson grabbed another takedown for the 6-4 lead with 14 seconds to go. Henning remained in the battle, scoring an escape with five seconds left. However, it was not enough as Paulson dodged Henning in the final 10 seconds to win 6-5.
