March 6, 2010
Brackets | Live blog
ANN ARBOR, Mich.--Sophomore Andrew Howe gets a chance to defend his Big Ten title, while junior Trevor Brandvold goes for his first conference championship as both wrestlers advanced to the championship matches at the 2010 Big Ten Championships on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
In the team standings, Wisconsin is fourth place with 82 points. Iowa continues its lead with 137 points.
Eight Badgers in all are still alive in competition, with seven of the eight still eligible for third place or better.
Howe, who can be the first Badger to repeat as Big Ten champ since current associate head coach Donny Pritzlaff did it from 1999-2001, faced Dan Vallimont of Penn State in the semifinals at 165 lbs. Howe scored the first points of the match with a takedown with 34 seconds left in the first period. He added an escape at the beginning of the second, holding on to win the bout by a 3-1 decision. Howe will face Colt Sponseller of Ohio State in the championship bout at 165 lbs tomorrow. Howe has beaten Sponseller twice in his two-year career.
At 197 lbs., Brandvold took on Anthony Biondo of Michigan in the semifinals. Brandvold won the match by a 3-1 decision after scoring a takedown in the first period and an escape in the second. Brandvold, who finished fourth in 2007 and 2008, will face Minnesota's Sonny Yohn in the 197 lbs. final tomorrow. Brandvold defeated Yohn earlier this year by a 4-2 decision.
In the 133 lbs. semifinal, redshirt freshman Tyler Graff wrestled Jayson Ness of Minnesota. Graff scored the first takedown of the match with 2:23 left in the first period and entered the third period tied 2-2. Ness scored a takedown with 35 seconds left in the third and then added three nearfall points to win the bout by a 10-4 decision. Graff will face Ohio State's Ian Paddock in his first match tomorrow in the consolation bracket with third place still a possibility. The two have never faced one another.
After a bye in the first round of consolation, redshirt freshman Cole Schmitt faced Mark Weber of Michigan at 141 lbs. Schmitt scored a takedown with 50 seconds left in the first period , adding an escape and riding time to win the bout by a 4-0 decision. Schmitt will face Montell Marion of Iowa in a consolation bout tomorrow. Marion has defeated Schmitt twice this season.
Senior Kyle Ruschell took on Ohio State's Lance Palmer in the semifinal match at 149 lbs. Ruschell recorded an escape with 1:20 left in the third period to trail 2-1, but was unable to score any additional points. Palmer defeated Ruschell by a 2-1 decision. Ruschell will face Michigan State's Dave Cheza in tomorrow's consolation bout.
Junior Greg Burke won his first consolation match by a 6-5 decision against Kevin Bialka of Northwestern ay 157 lbs. Burke scored two takedowns and a reversal in the matchup. Burke then faced Indiana's Kurt Kinser in his second consolation bout of the day. Burke was defeated by an 18-5 decision and faces Clinton Arlis of Illinois for seventh place tomorrow.
Sophomore Travis Rutt faced Eric Cameron of Indiana in his first consolation match at 184 lbs. Rutt won the match by pin at 1:16. Rutt's second match of the day was against Aaron Jones of Northwestern. Entering the second period, Rutt led the bout 4-1. He then added two takedowns and an escape to win by a 9-7 decision. Rutt takes on Dave Erwin of Penn State in the consolation bracket tomorrow. Rutt lost to Erwin in a 2-0 decision earlier this year.
Junior Eric Bugenhagen faced Alan O'Donnell of Michigan State in his consolation match at heavyweight. Bugenhagen won the match by a 5-1 decision and will continue on in the consolation bracket tomorrow. With an undefeated Sunday, which starts with a match against Cameron Wade of Penn State, Bugenhagen would win the heavyweight third place title. Wade defeated Bugenhagen by a 4-0 decision this season.
Senior Drew Hammen is now out off the competition at 125 lbs after losing by a 2-0 decision to John Deneen of Illinois. Deneen scored the only points of the bout with a takedown 33 seconds into the first period. Hammen ends the 2009-10 season after going 0-3 at the Big Tens and finishes his collegiate wrestling career with a 21-56 overall record.
True freshman Brendan Ard is also now out of competition at 174 lbs. Ard dropped his consolation match to Northwestern's Brian Roddy by a 7-4 decision. He scored a takedown and two escapes in the match. Ard ends his first Big Ten Championships appearance 0-2 and the 2009-10 season at 1-11.
Session three starts at 11 a.m. (CT) and the championship round will begin at 1:05 p.m. (CT).
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Justin Mozer
Athletic Communication
