ST. LOUIS, Mo.— North Dakota State University 174 pounder Kurtis Julson and 184 Hayden Zillmer stayed alive and advanced in the consolation round during session three of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 20, before 18,486 at the Scottrade Center.
Julson (22-10) takes on Oregon State’s Joe Latham (24-17), while Zillmer (36-4) battles No. 2-seed Pitt’s Max Thomusseit (26-2) in session four that starts at 7 o’clock tonight. Both wrestlers need to win one more match to advance to the medal round.
Ohio State leads the team standings with 64.5 points. North Dakota State has nine points and is tied for No. 29 with Northern Iowa.
The NCAA tournament and season came to an end for 125 Josh Rodriguez, 149 Clay Ream and 285 Evan Knutson. Rodriguez and Knutson each won their first matches Friday.
Julson, a senior from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., recorded a takedown as time expired in the first sudden-victory overtime to post a 4-2 hard-fought win over Oklahoma’s Matt Reed (27-13).
Julson and Reed were scoreless in the first. Julson gained an escape to start the second, but Reed fired back with a takedown with 45-seconds left to take a 2-1 lead. Julson was in the top position in the third, bullied Reed the entire period to gain 1:15 of riding time and the point to tie the match at 2-all.
In his second match, Julson repaid an old debt in claiming a 5-1 decision over Wisconsin’s Frank Cousins (21-15), who had won 4-1 at NDSU on Nov. 30.
Following an early escape, Julson completed the takedown with 21-seconds left to take a 3-1. Cousins answered with an escape early in the third, but Julson held him off and clinched the win with a takedown with 2-seconds remaining.
Zillmer, a junior from Crosby, Minn., scored late to secure both of his wins on Friday morning. He trailed No. 12-seeded Nolan Boyd (27-10) of Oklahoma State by the scores of 2-1 after the first period and 3-1 after two. Zillmer pulled an escape early in the third period and gained a takedown with 20-seconds left.
The suspense continued for the No. 6-seed Zillmer (36-5) in his 3-2 decision over No. 4 Jack Dechow of Old Dominion. The wrestlers were scoreless after one and Zillmer was able to get an escape for a 1-0 lead in the second. Dechow (31-3) tied the match at 1-1 in the third, but Zillmer recorded the winning takedown with 40-seconds left.
Rodriguez, a sophomore from Guadalupe, Calif., opened with an 8-3 decision over No. 13-seeded Ben Willeford of Cleveland State. Rodriguez came out aggressive and recorded a pair of takedowns including one with 7-seconds left to build a 4-1 lead after one period. He picked up an escape early in the second period to extend the lead to 5-1. Rodriguez posted an important takedown with 37-seconds remaining in the third and gain 1:21 of riding time.
Chattanooga’s No. 5-seeded Sean Boyle (33-6) registered a reversal midway through the third period, kept control and erased riding time to record a 5-4 decision over Rodriguez. The Bison sophomore had a pair of takedowns in the second period, built 1:05 riding time and 4-3 advantage. Rodriguez went 2-2 at his first NCAA tournament and finished the season with a 20-8 record.
Knutson, a senior from Wausau, Wis., opened session three with workmanlike 4-0 win over Old Dominion’s Jacob Henderson (24-13). He defeated Henderson 3-1 in sudden victory-1 overtime on Dec. 30 at the Midlands Championships. Knutson rolled up over two minutes of riding time in the win.
The Bison 285-pounder hooked up with Minnesota’s Michael Kroells for the third time this season, each with a win. Kroells posted a 6-1 decision over Knutson. Kroells had a first period takedown, an escape in the second and clinched it with another takedown midway in the third. Knutson went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships and finished the season with a 24-10 record. He had a 3-6 record in three national tournament appearances.
Ream, a redshirt freshman from Wentzville, Mo., had his season come to a close with a 5-0 loss to Iowa’s No. 4-seeded Brad Sorenson (35-5). Ream went 2-2 in his first NCAA tournament and finished 26-13 overall. The wrestlers were scoreless after two periods, but with Ream in the down position Sorensen gained 2:00 in riding time. Sorenson had an early escape in the third, quickly scored a takedown and added a point on a stalling caution.
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