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AUBURN HILLS, MI – Sophomore Gregor
Gillespie did what no one had been able to do in 65 previous
matches. The Edinboro University sophomore ended Minnesota’s
Dustin Schlatter’s 65-match winning streak in the 149 lb.
semifinal match to advance to the finals at the NCAA Division I
Wrestling National Championship. The Palace of Auburn Hills in
Auburn Hills, MI is the site of the 2007 Nationals. Saturday’s
national championship bouts can be seen live on ESPN at 8 p.m.
Edinboro is tied for 11th in the team standings
after four sessions. The Fighting Scots and Wisconsin have 45.5
points.
Gillespie, seeded fifth, scored a 3-2 decision
over Schlatter, the defending national champion and the top seed.
It started an incredible string in a short period of time for the
Fighting Scots. At the same time Gillespie’s match on mat
number 3 was taking place, Deonte Penn was wrestling on mat number
2 with All-American honors on the line. He captured his 165 lb.
match against Arizona State’s Patrick Pitsch, 13-8, to
capture All-American honors for the second straight year.
Less than a half hour later Alex Clemsen
fulfilled a dream with a 6-2 decision over David Craig of Lehigh
at 184 lbs. to earn All-American honors for the first time. This
was the fourth trip to Nationals for the senior.
The only disappointment for the Fighting Scots
was an 6-4 loss in sudden victory for heavyweight Joe Fendone
against EWL rival Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg in his quest for an
All-American finish.
Despite being seeded fifth, Gillespie’s
win over Schlatter was being described as the biggest upset of the
tournament. The Minnesota sophomore owned a 38-0 record this year
and was 80-1 for his career heading into the semifinal. He had
been taken down just twice all year.
Gillespie made it three times early in the
match as he used a deep shot with 1:15 remaining in the first
period to take a 2-0 lead. Schlatter would escape with 43 seconds
left for a 2-1 lead after one period.
Gillespie chose down to start the second period
and escaped 19 seconds into the period for a 3-1 lead. The two
wrestlers traded several shots in the second period without any
scoring. Schlatter selected neutral to start the third period, but
with the exception of one time when he got to Gillespie’s leg
at the edge of the mat, he could not mount an offense. The final
point came via stalling with two seconds left, as the crowd of
14,745 yelled its approval.
Gillespie noted afterwards that the early
takedown gave him a boost. “Yes, it helped. That can throw
them out of their game a little bit, particularly when they’re
fresh. That gave me a lot of confidence.”
Head coach Tim Flynn agreed that the early
takedown was pivotal.
“When you can get out to an early
lead it’s always nice,” noted the veteran coach. “It
gives you confidence. That win was huge. We didn’t get a
chance to wrestle him (Schlatter), even though we were in the
Southern Scuffle last year and this year. Gregor was excited to
wrestle him. He rose to the occasion.”
Gillespie, who finished seventh last year as a
true freshman, looks to become Edinboro’s third national
champion when he faces Michigan’s Josh Churella on Saturday
night. The Wolverine was a 5-2 winner over Lance Palmer of Ohio
State in the other semifinal. Churella is the third seed and has a
31-4 record. Gillespie will bring a 33-2 record into the final. He
has never faced Churella.
Edinboro’s previous national champions
were Sean O’Day in 1989 and Josh Koscheck in 2001. Most
rfecently, Shawn Bunch reached the finals at 133 lbs. in 2005.
Gillespie’s and Penn’s matches were
running simultaneously, and while Gillespie’s was a
low-scoring affair, Penn and Pitsch gave the scoreboard lights a
workout. Penn, as has been his custom, opened with a takedown in
the early portion of the bout. He added three near-fall points for
5-0 lead with a minute to go, but Pitsch would escape, and then
post a takedown and three back points in the final seconds for a
6-5 lead after one period.
That was just the start, leading to a wild
second period which started with Penn starting down and being
tilted for two back points. A Penn reversal made it 8-7, and he
would score the final six points after that. It began with three
back points in the final minute for a 10-8 lead. Itsch chose
neutral to begin the third period and was taken down by Penn at
the 1:10 mark. A riding time advantage of 3:31 gave Penn a second
straight All-American certificate.
He would lose in his next bout, suffering a 7-4
loss to Michigan’s Eric Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum, the third
seed, was able to smother Penn’s offense, and took a page out
of Penn’s book with an early takedown in a wild scramble. It
turned into a four-point move with two near-fall points, and Penn
trailed 4-0 less than 30 seconds into the match.
Penn scored the only points of the second
period with an escape, but Tannenbaum started the third period
with a takedown for a 6-1 lead. Penn closed the match to 6-4 with
an escape and takedown, but Tannenbaum owned riding time.
Penn will wrestle again on Saturday, bringing a
record of 36-4 overall and 113-43 for his career. He has moved
into 12th place in career wins.
Clemsen continued to make good in his senior
season. After becoming a four-time PSAC champion and winning his
first EWL crown, he added to his resume with two wins tonight to
earn All-American honors and a shot at third place. He is now 36-3
this season and 120-34 for his career. That moves him into ninth
place in career wins.
He opened his match against Craig with a
takedown midway through the first period, with Craig escaping to
make it 2-1 after one period. Clemsen built the lead to 5-1 in the
second with an early escape and his second takedown with 30
seconds left in the period. Craig was able to escape late in the
third period, but not before Clemsen built up 1:08 in riding time
for a point.
Clemsen then wore down Cornell’s Josh
Arnone in his next match. After a scoreless first period, he
gained the lead with an escape at 1:49 of the second period.
Arnone tied the match with an escape at 1:50 of the third, but
Clemsen posted the lone takedown of the match at the 1:20 mark.
Arnone would escape less than 30 seconds later, but it was enough
to provide Clemsen with another win. He will now wrestle in the
morning, with a win moving him into the third place match, and a
loss putting him in the fifth place bout.
Flynn was thrilled to see Clemsen break through
as an All-American.
“He’s put so much work in,”
related Flynn. “He’s had a snakebitten career, with two
hip surgeries and other injuries. I’m really happy for him.”
Fendone, meanwhile, suffered his fourth loss of
the season to Spaid, but not before putting a huge scare in the
big Husky. The sophomore had failed to score a point in three
previous meetings, and it didn’t look good when Spaid
registered a takedown midway through the first period.
Spaid began the second period in the down
position, and Fendone finally broke through, tilting Spaid for
three back points and a 3-2 lead with 1:22 left. Fendone chose the
top to start the third period, but a Spaid reversal left Fendone
trailing 4-3 with 1:33 left. Fendone squeezed out an escape with
just seven seconds left to send the match into overtime. Spaid
broke out of a scamble with a takedown with 30 seconds left on the
very edge of the mat for the winning points. Fendone ended his
season at 28-12.
This marks the second straight year that
Edinboro has had three All-Americans, and the seventh year overall
with three-or-more All-Americans. The record is four All-Americans
in 1988. |
