InterMat: Inside info from the N.W.C.A
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Winn named Outstanding Wrestler; Maryland's chicken returns to Fargo
By Jason Bryant
jbryant@intermatwrestle.com
Fargo, N.D. – Big throws, repeat champions and a kid happy to get a rubber chicken.
Cadet Greco |
It was anything but a normal night on the raised mat in the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State University at the 2005 Cadet Greco-Roman National Championships.
Deron Winn of Missouri and Eric Grajales of Florida repeated as Greco champs with two dominating victories at 189 and 98 pounds, while the 215-pound final between Oregon’s Tyrell Fortune and Missouri’s Dom Bradley gave everyone a treat with three gargantuan throws.
Eren Civan fell short of the finals in the 2004 tournament, but the proud Maryland contingent lobbed the aforementioned rubber chicken to the center of the raised mat, where Civan quickly collected it after his 5-1 win over Florida’s George Bancroft at 145 pounds.
A review credited Civan with a three-point throw on the edge of the mat, much to the displeasure of the Florida coaches. Civan countered a Bancroft gutwrench attempt to add two more points at the end of the bout.
“I set my goals high and last year I was a headlock away from the finals,” Civan said. “I wanted to be a double All-American.”
“I needed to win this. I got the chicken and a national title,” he said.
The chicken, which is hurled after a Maryland wrestler wins a medal match, originated in 2000 when a few wrestlers were in a novelty store. The story goes on to say that Mike Faust, the current Virginia Tech heavyweight, was the recipient after the chicken was dressed up in a wrestling singlet.
Since then, the chicken has made a few appearances and its presence at the Cadet & Junior Nationals continued the dubious tradition.
At 189 pounds, Winn avenged a Cadet National Duals loss to Michigan’s Marcel Dubose by dominating the match with big throws and powerful par terre offense.
“I wanted him,” Winn said. “I wanted to show him who the national champion was.”
Not only was Winn the national champion, he scored 67 points and allowed only three – to Dubose in Winn’s 14-3 victory.
Winn was also voted the tournament’s outstanding wrestler.
Fortune followed, but was tossed for three early on before getting two big throws, one for five and an appreciation, and a late three-pointer to take the 215 title 11-3.
Grajales, still pint-sized and smiling, beat Kansas’ Nathan Furches for the second straight year in the final. Last year, Grajales won at 84 pounds. This year it was 13-2 in the Brandon, Fla., wrestler’s favor.
Grajales didn’t get too anxious after pins by Iowa’s Andrew Long at 84 and Wyoming’s Tyler Cox at 91 pounds.
“I wanted to go for the pin, but if it wasn’t there I just wanted to try and wrestle smart and wrestle my match,” Grajales said.
DaVaughan Perkins of Nebraska came away with the title at 125 pounds, beating Dak Adamson of New Mexico. For Perkins, the win was particularly sweet.
Perkins was diagnosed with scoliosis and has spent the year recovering from back surgery to repair the disorder. He missed his entire freshman season and returned in 2004-05 winning a Nebraska state championship at 125 pounds for Omaha North High School, going 30-0.
“I’m real proud,” Perkins said shortly after knocking off Adamson. “I’m back 100 percent.”
Perkins had to follow his teammate, Trenton Washington who was on the receiving end of a five-point throw and an 11-1 technical fall loss to Michael Mangrum of Washington at 119.
“He’s my practice partner and we work real hard,” Perkins said. “It was tough (seeing him lose.”
Mangrum’s victory over Washington was highlighted by a post-match display of acrobatic handsprings and flips, delighting the crowd in the Fargodome.
“Handsprings? That was a backflip 360!” Mangrum said.
Missouri crowned two champs, Winn and 135-pound Shane Nay.
Nay trailed 4-3 with 10 seconds to go on a restart and was on top in par-terre. He was awarded two points on a tight high gutwrench at the buzzer to edge scrappy Jake Salazar of Utah.
“I was going to try to go for a lift, but it wasn’t there so I just went for it,” Nay said.
A humble champion, Nay was unimpressed with his tournament.
“It was okay, I wish I could have done better,” he said.
Minnesota had three finalists, and came away with two champs champion – in part because both of the finalists at 130 pounds were from the state.
“We’re practice partners and you know, I felt happy I won but at the same time, not because he lost,” said 130-pound champion Jacob Deitschler on his victory over Travis Rutt.
“We’re like best friends,” Deitschler said. “I tried to envision him from another state to get motivated instead of being mister nice guy.”
Other champions were: 105- Bo Touris (Ohio), 112- Nikko Triggas (California), 140- Alec Ortiz (Oregon), 152- Michael Chaires (New York), 160- Torrey Line (Minnesota), 171- Andrew Buck (Washington), and Myles Caragein (Pennsylvania) at 275.
Ortiz gave up only one point in the tournament, a takedown with 10 seconds left in his 8-1 finals victory over Illinois’ Vince Ramos.”
Adamson won the Most Falls Award with six falls in just over 11 minutes.
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