PHILADELPHIA ñ The University of Iowa wrestling team placed third and crowned five All-Americans at the 2011 NCAA Championships Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia|PHILADELPHIA ñ The University of Iowa wrestling team placed third and crowned five All-Americans at the 2011 NCAA Championships Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Hawkeyes scored 86.5 points to finish behind champion Penn State (107.5) and runner-up Cornell (93.5). The three-day tournament attendance total of 104,260 set a new NCAA Division I record.
Hawkeye sophomore Matt McDonough, who was competing in his second-straight 125-pound NCAA final, lost a 7-1 decision to top-seeded and undefeated Anthony Robles to open the final session. Robles took a 7-0 first-period lead on a takedown and five nearfall points. McDonough chose neutral to start the second period, but was unable to score. Robles chose down to start the third period, and was warned twice for stalling, resulting in a point for McDonough. The Iowa sophomore ended the season with a 27-2 record, tallying a 64-3 mark in his two-year Hawkeye career.
“You have to be more aware; know what you’re getting yourself into,” said McDonough. “Go out there to scrap. You can’t come out in the first two minutes and feel things out when you’re in that stage and take something away from every experience. You have to take something away from this. As much as it stings, you still have to take something away from it.”
Iowa finished the 2010-11 season with five All-Americans and two Big Ten Champions. Iowa earned its fourth straight Big Ten regular season title with a perfect 8-0 conference record and extended its unbeaten dual winning streak to 77 by posting a 15-0-1 overall dual mark. The Hawkeyes’ perfect 8-0 home record marked the program’s 19th undefeated season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
FINAL NCAA TEAM STANDINGS (Top 10 Teams)
Place Team – Points
1. Penn State – 107.5
2. Cornell – 93.5
3. Iowa – 86.5
4. Oklahoma State – 70.5
5. American – 65
6. Arizona State – 62.5
7. Minnesota – 61
8. Lehigh – 58.5
9. Boise State – 57.5
10. Wisconsin – 54.5
COMPLETE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS RESULTS (Numbers indicate tournament seed)
125 – #1 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) dec. #2 Matt McDonough (Iowa), 7-1
133 – #1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) dec. #2 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State), 8-4
141 – #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) dec. #3 Borislav Novachkov (Cal Poly), 3-2
149 – #4 Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. #2 Frank Molinaro (Penn State), 8-1
157 – #4 Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State) pinned #3 David Taylor (Penn State), 2:14
165 – #1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) maj. dec. #3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma), 11-3
174 – #1 Jonathan Reader (Iowa State) dec. #7 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford), 10-3
184 – #9 Quentin Wright (Penn State) dec. #2 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh), 5-2
197 – #4 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) pinned #2 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State), 4:56
285 – #1 Zachery Rey (Lehigh) dec. #3 Ryan Flores (American), 2-1
