Kansas, City, MO ? Hofstra?s Chris Skretkowicz (Hamburg, NJ) lost to Jon Trenge of Lehigh in the semifinals in front of a crowd of 15,818. Skretkowicz will wrestle for third place at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 22 at Kemper Arena. All-American?s Skretkowicz and Jon Masa are the only Hofstra wrestlers left in the competition.
SEMIFINALS:
In the semifinals of the 197-pound weight class, 4th seeded Skretkowicz from Hofstra was defeated by top seeded Trenge 5-3. Trenge got on the board first with a takedown in the first. Skretkowicz escaped and was taken down again by Trenge but escaped before the whistle ending the first period 4-2. After a scoreless second, Skretkowicz brought the score to within one (4-3) after starting from the bottom position and escaping but could not tally a takedown to win and move on to the NCAA Wrestling Finals. Trenge accumulated 1:27 of riding time ending the match score at 5-3. Skretkowicz will wrestle for third place against 2nd seeded Lawal Muhammed of Oklahoma State.
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS:
In the consolation quarters, Ohio?s Jake Percival defeated Masa by a score of 9-7. Percival got on the board first with a takedown and rode Masa for 2:23 before Masa score a reversal and a near fall taking a 4-2 lead at the end of the first. Percival took a 5-4 lead in the second tallying an escape and takedown. In the third, Masa came back with an escape and a takedown almost gaining control as time expired but Percival held strong winning 9-7 adding an extra point for 3:55 of riding time.
FOURTH ROUND OF CONSOLATIONS:
In the fourth round of consolations, Masa proved to be victorious being named All-American in 2003. However, junior?s Noel Thompson and Ralph Everett fell short as they were knocked out of contention from gaining All-American status and a chance for a top eight finish.
At 149 lbs. Hofstra?s sophomore Jon Masa defeated Karl Nadolsky of Michigan State by a score of 12-5. Masa took an early lead in the first with a takedown and added three more points with another takedown and an illegal hold against Nadolsky for a 5-3 lead to end the second period. In the third, Nadolsky was called for his second illegal hold, while Masa broke the scoring open with a nearfall, takedown and three escapes to earn All-American status and advance to the
Hofstra?s junior Noel Thompson at 165 lbs. fell short to Missouri?s Tyron Woodley, 4-2 as Woodley came back in the third after trailing Thompson 1-0 after the second period. Woodley recorded an escape from the bottom position and a takedown in the third and added his fourth point with 1:19 of riding time knocking Thompson from All-American status.
At 174 lbs. Hofstra?s Ralph Everett could not hold on to Arizona State?s Curtis Owen in the final five seconds in the third as Owen pulled out the 5-3 victory. Everett trailed Owen 4-3 after the second period but took a 5-4 lead in the third with a takedown with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation, however Owen escaped Everett?s hold to win 6-5, earning All-American status.
Skretkowicz and Masa will wrestle for third place and seventh place respectively, Saturday morning at 8 a.m. at Kemper Arena.
FIRST RELEASE ON FRIDAY
Kansas, City, MO (March 21) ? Hofstra?s Chris Skretkowicz (Hamburg, NJ) kept alive his hopes for a national championship as he moved into the semifinals of the 197-pound weight class at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Friday at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. With the quarterfinal victory over Morgan Horner of Lock Haven, Skretkowicz clinched All-American status as the top eight wrestlers in each weight class are named All-Americans.
Skretkowicz will wrestle Jon Trenge of Lehigh in the semifinals, which will be televised on ESPN at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Other Pride wrestlers moving on are Ralph Everett (Miami, FL) who drops to the consolation quarterfinals, Jon Masa (Long Beach, NY) and Noel Thompson (Freeport, NY) who also advance to the consolation quarterfinals and all of whom are one win away from earning All-American status.
QUARTERFINALS:
In quarterfinal action for the Pride, Skretkowicz, seeded fourth matched up against twelfth seed, Morgan Horner of Lock Haven. Horner got on the board first with a takedown but Skretkowics tied the match with a two-point reversal and a two-point near fall to take a 4-2 lead going into the second. Horner came back with a takedown of his own but Skretkowicz escaped and recorded a takedown and two back points for a 9-2 advantage ending the second period. Horner chose down to start the third and had a two-point reversal but Skretkowicz had an escape and added another takedown, earning a 14-8 victory with another point for 2:37 of riding time. The 2003 All-American Skretkowicz will now face top seeded 2003 All-American, Trenge in the semifinals. Skretkowicz is 0-2 against Trenge this season losing 5-2 at Midlands and 6-4 in a dual meet.
In other quarterfinal action, 174-pounder Everett matched up against Carl Fronhofer of Pittsburgh, both whom were not seeded in the top 12. After a scoreless first period, Fronhofer escaped after starting in the bottom position to take a 1-0 lead. In the third, Everett started down and Fronhofer rode Everett for over a minute of riding time and recorded a takedown with seven seconds remaining to secure the 4-2 and move into the semifinals. Everett will now face tenth seeded Curtis Owen of Arizona State in the wrestlebacks.
A sidenote on Everett, who knocked out top seeded Greg Jones of West Virginia in the first round. Jones is one of only two top seeds to be knocked out of contention for a national championship. Jones is the first-ever defending champion to not make it through the first round the next year.
CONSOLATION WINNERS:
In the second round of consolations, seventh seeded Masa took on Jon Garvin of Northern Iowa. Masa scored two takedowns in the first for a 4-1 lead and extended his advantage in the second period tallying another takedown and a two-point near fall for an 8-2 lead. Masa kept his hopes of becoming an All-American status with two more takedowns, an escape and 3:34 of riding time defeating Garvin of Northern Iowa, 14-3.
In Masa's second match of the day, he defeated Pittsburgh's Justin Giovinco, 16-8. Masa dominated the bout tallying seven takedowns including three in the third period to go along with 2:06 of riding time advancing to the consolation quarterfinals.
Thompson, seeded eighth at 165 pounds, faced Drew Kelly of Northern Iowa in the second round of consolations. Thompson led 4-1 after the first period tallying two takedowns and allowing one escape. Thompson moved into the third period with a 6-3 advantage and quickly added a point with an escape after starting down. With under a minute remaining in the third, Kelly took down Thompson closing the gap but Kelly was called for an illegal hold around Thompson?s head, giving a point to Thompson at the 6:22 mark. Kelly drew the score closer with his second takedown of the period but let Thompson up for a 10-7 score in favor of Thompson. Kelly continued to attack but Thompson held on for a 10-7 final score advancing to the third round of consolations.
In Thompson?s second match of the day at 165-pounds, Thompson defeated Nick Frost of Arizona State by a score of 8-2. Thompson did not let up a point until the third period on two escapes by Frost. Thompson advances to the consolation quarterfinals to face Tyron Woodley of Missouri.
CONSOLATION LOSERS:
Losing in the second round of consolations for the Pride are Mike Patrovich (Islip, NY) and Brad Christie (Fort Lee, NJ).
In the second round of consolations, Patrovich battled Rafael Maturino of Oklahoma. After a scoreless first half, Maturino started down and Patrovich accumulated 1:31 of riding time before Oklahoma?s Maturino escaped to take a 1-0 lead sending the match into the third period. Patrovich started in the bottom position and escape tying the match at 1-1 at the 5:20 mark. With no point scored in sudden victory overtime, the match went into tiebreaker where Maturino held down Patrovich for the 2-2 tiebreaker criteria win, knocking Patrovich out of the tournament. Patrovich went 1-2 during his first trip to the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
In the second round of consolations at 184 pounds, Christie was matched up against Ryan Halsey of Cal Poly. Christie jumped on the board first with a takedown but Halsey quickly scored a reversal putting Christie on his back pinning him at 1:40 knocking Christie out of the tournament.
The semifinals and consolation quarterfinals will begin Friday, evening starting at 5:30 p.m. at Kemper Arena. Semifinals will be televised on ESPN at 7 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
