University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Wrestlers finish 6th at regionals
3/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – At the 2011 NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championships, the Northern Colorado team finished in sixth place with 24 points and all nine wrestlers advanced to at least the consolation semifinals.
Senior Justin Gaethje got a quick fall (1:15) in the third-place match over Mark Erickson from North Dakota State to force a true second. Gaethje then avenged an earlier loss this season to Brett Robbins, winning 5-4 for the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Gaethje started the afternoon with a 7-2 loss to Air Force's Josh Kreimier. He received a bye and then won 5-2 over Josh Wilson of Utah Valley in the backdraw semifinals.
Junior Casey Cruz, who finished with a perfect 6-0 mark in WWC action, lost in the finals to top-seeded Flint Ray from Utah Valley 5-4. It was a tightly contested match and Cruz came out just on the short side. In the first two rounds, Cruz scored 11 points in each win. In the quarterfinals, he won 11-0 over North Dakota State's Justin Solberg and then came back with an 11-4 victory over Tyler Cox from Wyoming in the semifinals. Then in his final match, Cruz lost a 6-4 decision to Derek Gillespie from Air Force in the true-second. He finishes the day with a 2-2 mark.
Junior Tanner Weiks at 157 pounds finished in fourth place on the day. He opened the day with a 12-7 loss to Alec Williams but battled back to defeat Richard Winger (Utah Valley), 13-10 and pin Wyoming's Jimmy Belleville in 2:30. In the third-place match he lost a close 5-4 decision to Nick Flynn from South Dakota State.
Freshmen Cody McAninch (174) and Nick Bayer (197) and senior Eric Brennan (184) all finished the day with 1-2 records, while freshmen Sam Bauer (125) and Konner Knudtsen (285) and junior Brandon Kammerzell (165) both went 0-2 after getting byes in the backdraw.
125: Sam Bauer (0-2)
First Round: Michael Martinez, UW major Bauer, 13-5
Backdraw Round One: Bauer received a bye
Backdraw Semifinals: Aaron Pickrel, SDSU dec. Bauer, 9-7
133: Casey Cruz (2-2)
First Round: Cruz major Justin Solberg, NDSU, 11-0
Semifinals: Cruz dec. Tyler Cox, UW, 11-4
Finals: Flint Ray, UVU dec. Cruz, 5-4
True Second: Derek Gillespie dec. Cruz, 6-4
149: Justin Gaethje (3-1)
First Round: Josh Kreimier, AF dec. Gaethje, 7-2
Backdraw Round One: Gaethje received a bye
Backdraw Semifinals: Gaethje dec. Josh Wilson, UVU, 5-2
Third-Place Match: Gaethje dec. Brett Robbins, UNI, 5-4
157: Tanner Weiks (2-2)
First Round: Alec Williams, AF dec. Weiks, 12-7
Backdraw Round One: Weiks dec. Richard Winger, UVU, 13-10
Backdraw Semifinals: Weiks fall Jimmy Belleville, UW, 2:30
Third-place Match: Nick Flynn, SDSU dec. Weiks, 5-4
165: Brandon Kammerzell (0-2)
First Round: Steven Monk, NDSU fall Kammerzell, 2:19
Backdraw Round One: Kammerzell received a bye
Backdraw Semifinals: Trevor Kittleson, UNI dec. Kammerzell, 5-4
174: Cody McAninch (1-2)
First Round: Brice Wolf, UNI major McAninch, 12-1
Backdraw Round One: McAninch dec. Joe Rasmussen, SDSU, 9-4
Backdraw Semifinals: Brad Darrington, UVU major McAninch, 16-5
184: Eric Brennan (1-2)
First Round: Brennan dec. Kazden Ikehara, AF, 3-1
Semifinals: Joe LeBlanc, UW fall Brennan, 6:01
Backdraw Semifinals: Casen Eldridge, UVU dec. Brennan 4-3
197: Nick Bayer (1-2)
First Round: Neil Delaney, AF TB2 Bayer, 5-4
Backdraw Round One: Bayer dec. Trevor Rupp, UVU, 3-2
Backdraw Semifinals: Drew Ross, NDSU dec. Bayer, 10-7
285: Konner Knudtsen (0-2)
First Round: Matthew McLaughlin, Wyo. Fall Knudtsen, 2:53
Backdraw Round One: Knudtsen received a bye
Backdraw Semifinals: Kevin Kelly dec. Knudtsen, 9-4
