Southern Scuffle XI: Championship Finals
Team Standings (top 5)
1. Penn State ... 189 pts
2. Oklahoma State ... 164.5 pts
3. Minnesota ... 161 pts
4. Cornell ... 114.5 pts
5. Missouri ... 102.5 pts
Attendance: 2014 Day 2 - 3,436 is another Southern Scuffle Record ... beats Day One's total of 2,894
(Finals for 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th were wrestled simultaneously)
125 -No.1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. Nicholas Megaludis (Penn State), 6-4
133 - No.1 Jon Morrison (Okla State) dec. No. 7 Joey Gulibon (Penn State), 4-0
141 - No.2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. No.12 Joe Spisak (UVa.), 5-4 OT.
149 - No.2 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) pinned No.1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), 2:53
157 - No.1 Alex Dieringer (Okla State) dec. No.6 Ian Miller (Kent State), 2-1 OT
165 - No.1 David Taylor (Penn State) major dec. No.2 Tyler Caldwell (Okla State), 9-0
174 - No.1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No.2 Matt Brown (Penn State), 4-0
184 - No.3 Gabriel Dean (Cornell) dec. No.1 Ed Ruth (Penn State), 7-4
197 - No.1 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State), 6-3
285 - No.1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No.2 Nick Gwiazdowski (N.C. State), 1-0
Champions: Oklahoma State (3), Cornell (2), Penn State (2), Minnesota (2), Missouri (1)
Outstanding Wrestler: Gabriel Dean (Cornell)
Play by Play
125 -No.1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. No.2 Nicholas Megaludis (Penn State), 6-4
1st - Garrett shoots and has single leg but they go out of bounds ... Garrett gets tough first takedown late , 2-0 .... 2nd: Garrett down ... escape 3-0 ..nice ankle pick up and then kicks the other leg out from under him for impressive strong td (2)... 5-0 ... Megaludis escape, 5-1 ... 3rd: Megaludis down ... escape 5-2 .. now Meg gets the ankle and td (2) 5-4 . escape Garrett 6-4 1:04 remaining ... Meg gets high single leg... but Garrett counters .. :27 ... Garrett warning time runs out
Nahshon Garrett champion 6-4 . Megaludis was a defending Southern Scuffle champ and Garrett was third ... Megaludis beat Garrett, 3-1, last season in the Scuffle semis ... series is 1-1
133 - No.1 Jon Morrison (Okla State) dec. No. 7 Joey Gulibon (Penn State), 4-0
1st: Morrison gains quick double leg takedown (1) 2-0 ... Morrison riding tough ... Morrison trying to gain control of arms to tilt .. gets warning (1) not 45 degrees ... Gulibon not able to get off his stomach ... 2nd: Morrison down ... Gulibon controlling but Morrison builds to base .. now stands ... and escape 3-0 plus riding time ... 1:08 remaining ...3rd: Gulibon down ... up on feet but go out of bounds ... :58 ... Gulibon up again tries a roll ... Morrison tilts but no points ... :21 ...
Morrison wins 4-0 ... wins his second S.S. title
141 - No.2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. No.12 Joe Spisak (UVa.), 5-4 in overtime
Retherford gets in quick on single and gains takedown(1) ...2-0 .. blood time Spisak .. Spisak gains escape 2-1 ... 2nd: Spisak down ... tries to stand but Retherford grabs ankle and rides him out of bounds ... Spisak rolls but nothing ... Retherfod throws in legs and tries to turn ... :49 .., lots of pressure on head ... blood time ... Spisak gains escape ... 2-2 ... 3rd: Retherford down ... escape 3-2 ... and has riding time ... Spisak in deep on double and gains td 4-3 ... Retherford has 1 minute RT
OT - 4-4 blood time Spisak ... Retherford in quick and gains TD :28 remaining.. wins 5-4
Retherford improves to 17-0 ... Spisak wrestled much better than a 12 seed
149 - No.2 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) pinned No.1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), 2:53
both 2013 All-Americans and both medaled at Scuffle
2nd: Houdashelt gains takedown on edge then cradles him and shocks the top seed with a pin ...
IMMM-Pressive ...
157 - No.1 Alex Dieringer (Okla State) dec. No.6 Ian Miller (Kent State), 2-1 OT
1st: neither can find an opening ... 0-0 .... 2nd: Dieringer down ... out in 4 seconds ... 1-0 ... ref says work the center ... Miller locks up the arms and nice throw, but countered by Dieringer ... 3rd: Miller down ... quick escape 1-1 ... OT ... neutral ...Dieringer was in on a double but Miller used hips and countered well .. Dieringer down ... escapes with :05 left ... 2-1 ... Miller down ... blood Dieriinger ... Dieringer caution (1) ... D rides him out :12 ... Dieringer rides to a win'
165 - No.1 David Taylor (Penn State) major dec. No.2 Tyler Caldwell (Okla State), 9-0
1st: good countering between two talented wrestlers but no advantage ... 0-0... 2nd: Caldwell down cross body ride by Taylor ... Caldwell rolls to get out but on his back twice .. Taylor gets a pair of 2pt nea falls ... 4-0 ... 3rd: Taylor down reverse and 3-pt cradle 8-0 ... plus riding time ... caution Taylor (1) ... Taylor throws in legs ... stalemate .. :22 ...
174 - No.1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No.2 Matt Brown (Penn State), 4-0
NCAA champ (Perry) and All-American (Brown) ... Perry won Scuffle in 2013 and Brown was third ...
1st: Brown in on single leg late but no takedown.. 0-0 ... 2nd: Brown down ... Perry able to roll him for 2-pt near fall, 2-0 ... ..warning Perry (1) ... 2rd: Perry down ... escape .. 3-0 ... nice single leg by Perry but Brown locks hands to counter ... stalemate ... Brown looks for duck under but countered
Perry wins 4-0 ...
184 - No.3 Gabriel Dean (Cornell) dec. No.1 Ed Ruth (Penn State), 7-4
Dean in on single twice and finally gets takedown on edge of mat ... 2-0 ... Ruth stands but tripped back down ... escape ... 2-1 ... Ruth shoots but Dean counters and locks up the head ... Ruth then gets the td(1) 3-2 ... Dean escapes 3-3 ... Ruth has ankle on edge but period ends excellent first period lots of action ... 2nd: Dean down ... Dean up .. warning Ruth (1) ... Dean still down ... Ruth warning (2) ... point for Dean ... Dean leads, 4-3 ... Dean up again ... escape 5-3 .. :22 ... Ruth shoots ... Dean ties up the head ... Ruth in on single but nothing ... period ends 3rd: Ruth down ... Dean riding well ... Dean warning (1) ... Ruth escapes 5-4 ... :48 ,.. Ruth shoots but Dean counters and huge takedown 7-4
rides him on edge .. :24 Dean caution (1) .. rides the ankle tough.. Ruth looked tired from first period on .. upset of tournament .. Dean wrestled a well orchestrated smart match .. Ruth had an 84-match win streak over three years .. last loss was to No.7 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) in third match of 2011 NCAAs. then won four straight for 3rd plus 31-0 as soph 33-0 as junior and 16-0 as senior
197 - No.1 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State), 6-3
1st: nothing... 2nd: Gadson down escapes... 1-0 ... 3rd Schiller down reverse Gadson escape 2-2
Schiller leads 4-2 takedown late 6-2 Gadson escape 6-3
285 - No.1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No.2 Nick Gwiazdowski (N.C. State), 1-0
1st: Nick G in on single but nothing at end of first ... 0-0 ... 2nd: Nelson down... stands Nick G has single ... Nelson escape 1-0 ... 3rd: Nick G neutral ... in on single and had good chance to gain takedown ... but flattened out and Nelson working to get behind but stalemate ... 58 seconds ...
Nick G shoots 2-3 times but Nelson keeps him at bay ... Nelson wins second Scuffle, 1-0
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net