UNCP Trio Moves Through To Saturday, Clinches All-America Honors
PUEBLO, Colo. – Mike Williams clinched his third-straight all-American honors, while Shane Nolan and Daniel Ownbey each clinched their first, as all three wrestlers moved into Saturday's wrestling action at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at Massari Arena in Pueblo, Colo.
Williams and Nolan each completed unblemished Fridays that moved them into Saturday's semifinals, while Ownbey rebounded from a tough loss in the quarterfinals by dominating his opening match in the consolation bracket. The top-8 finishers in each weight class are decorated with all-America honors.
Friday's performances gave the Braves 23-1/2 team points and a 13th-place standing after day one of the championships. Nebraska-Kearney leads the 42-team field with 56-1/2 points, while St. Cloud State is second (41 points) and Wisconsin-Parkside is third (34 points). NCAA Super Region I champion and second-ranked Newberry is in eighth place with 29 points.
Session III of the 2012 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which will feature the championship semifinals, as well as the remaining consolation matches, is set to get underway at noon EST. The national championship matches will be contested on Saturday at 9 p.m. EST.
NCAA DIVISION II WRESTLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (UNCP Results Only)
141
No. 7 Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) maj. dec. Tyrell Galloway (Maryville) M 16-7
No. 1 Dalton Jensen (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. No. 7 Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) D 7-4
No. 7 Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) maj. dec. No. 8 Max Ortega (Adams State) M 15-6
165
No. 2 Mike Williams (UNCP) dec. Cody Quinn (Minnesota State-Mankato) D 7-1
No. 2 Mike Williams (UNCP) maj. dec. Chester Granard (Colorado Mesa) M 9-0
197
No. 8 Shane Nolan (UNCP) dec. Sean Derry (Augustana, S.D.) D 8-6
No. 8 Shane Nolan (UNCP) dec. Joseph Brandt (Ashland) D 4-2
SESSION I – FRIDAY, 1 p.m.
Ownbey booked a dominant 15-7 major decision over Maryville's Tyrell Galloway in his opening match in the 141-pound tournament. The UNCP newcomer gathered seven takedowns in the scuffle, including four in the first period alone. His takedown with 30 seconds left in the bout gave him the major decision, as well as a bonus point in the team standings for the Braves.
Williams was dominant in his opener with Minnesota State-Mankato's Cody Quinn as well, booking 5:05 of riding time en route to the 7-1 decision. Williams scored a takedown in the first period, tallied a reversal in the second period and then, for good measure, grabbed another takedown in the third and final stanza.
Nolan rallied back from an early 4-1 deficit in the opening period to register an 8-6 decision over Sean Derry of Augustana (S.D.) in his tournament opener. Derry tallied two first-period takedowns to take a 4-2 advantage into the second period, but Nolan stormed ahead with an escape and a takedown. Derry's late second-period escape knotted the match up heading into the final stanza, but Nolan registered both an escape and a takedown to put the match away.
SESSION II – FRIDAY, 8 p.m.
Ownbey took a 3-1 lead into the third period of his quarterfinal matchup with top-ranked Dalton Jensen of Nebraska-Kearney, but Jensen scored a pair of takedowns and held off any threat by the redshirt freshman from Pembroke. Ownbey scored an escape after the initial takedown in the final period, but Jensen struck again less than 30 seconds later and rode it out until the final whistle.
Williams executed the same kind of offense as he did earlier in the day in posting a 9-0 major decision over Chester Granard of Colorado-Mesa in his quarterfinal match. Williams grabbed an early takedown and left the first period with more than two minutes of riding time, and then scored a reversal in the second period and tallied 90 more seconds of riding time. With Williams in the down position in the third period, Granard was, initially, able to cut into his riding time deficit, but Williams turned an escape and then booked another takedown 15 seconds later.
Nolan used a first period takedown to set the pace for his quarterfinal victory over Ashland's Joseph Brandt. The UNCP senior tallied the takedown 70 seconds in the first period, but Brandt booked the escape right before the end of the opening stanza to slice his deficit in half heading to the second period. By the time the escape happened, however, Nolan had registered nearly 80 seconds of riding time. Brandt turned in an escape for the only points of the second period, while Nolan did the same in the third.
Ownbey rebounded from his tight loss in the quarterfinal round with a dominating 15-6 major decision over Adams State's Max Ortega in the consolation bracket. Ownbey tallied seven takedowns in the bout, including three in the third period alone, while also registering 1:43 of riding time.
