Wrestlers Place Four In Top Six at Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/7/1999 12:00:00 AM | General, Wrestling
March 7, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four Ohio State wrestlers finished in the top six of their weight class to bring a close to the 85th Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich.
As a team, OSU completed the tournament in 11th place with 30.00 points.
The highest placing Buckeye was Robert Sessley (So., Columbus, Ohio). After reaching the semifinals of 133 pounds and qualifying for the NCAA Championships, the fifth-seeded Sessley was defeated by second-seeded Eric Juergens of Iowa, 3-1. Unlike the last time these two wrestled – an 11-5 win by Juergens – this bout was a low-scoring battle. Juergens took control early, scoring two points for a takedown and one for an escape. Sessley came back with an escape in the second period to cut the lead to 3-1. While Sessley continued to look for a chance to score points in the third period, Juergens was able to fend him off and walk away with a 3-1 victory and a third -place finish.
Possibly the most exciting match involving an OSU wrestler was provided by Jeff Bucher (Sr., Toledo, Ohio). Wrestling in his final Big Ten Championships, the fifth-seeded Bucher and seventh-seeded Dusty Coufal of Wisconsin battled through regulation and sudden death overtime tied at 1-1. In the overtime tiebreaker, Coufal decided on the down position, but Bucher was able to hold his grasp for the necessary 30 seconds to win the match. Bucher will also represent Ohio State in the NCAAs.
Finishing in sixth place were Peter Rogers (Jr., Sheboygan, Wis.) and Nick Preston (Fr., Columbus, Ohio). Rogers, who saw his first action Saturday after sitting out three weeks with a separated shoulder, lost to Alex Leykikh of Penn State, 6-4. It marks the first time in Rogerss career he has placed at the Big Ten Championships. Preston lost his fifth-place match to Wisconsins sixth-seeded Steve Alf, 4-1. Although they lost today, both Rogers and Preston still qualify for the NCAA Championships.
One Buckeye not as lucky was Bo James (So., Akron, Ohio). He was defeated in his seventh-place bout by Iowas Gabe McMahan, the tournaments No. 5 seed, 10-5. By finishing in eighth place, James finished one place too low to qualify for the NCAAs. Next up for Sessley, Bucher, Rogers and Preston are the NCAA Wrestling Championships in University Park, Pa., Mar. 18-20. It will mark the third time in Buchers career he has wrestled in the NCAAs. For the other three Buckeyes, this will be their first NCAA appearance. For the OSU wrestlers that did not qualify for a trip to Penn State, the season is completed.
Individual Results
Numbers preceeding wrestler indicate seeding
Session 3 – 3rd place playoff
133 lbs – No. 2 Eric Juergens, Iowa dec. No. 5 Robert Sessley, Ohio State 3-1
Session 3 – 5th place playoff
149 lbs – No. 5 Jeff Bucher, Ohio State dec. No. 7 Dusty Coufal, Wisconsin 1-1 (tb) 165 lbs – No. 4 Alex Leykihk, Penn State dec. No. 3 Peter Rogers, Ohio State 7-4 184 lbs – No. 6 Steve Alf, Wisconsin dec. No. 5 Nick Preston, Ohio State 4-1
Session 3 – 7th place playoff
174 lbs – No. 5 Gabe McMahan, Iowa dec. Bo James, Ohio State 10-5
OSUs NCAA Qualifiers
133 lbs – Robert Sessley
149 lbs – Jeff Bucher
165 lbs – Peter Rogers
184 lbs – Nick Preston
Final Team Standings
1. Minnesota 139.00 2. Iowa 121.00 3. Penn State 109.00 4. Illinois 82.50 5. Michigan 76.50 6. Wisconsin 59.50 7. Northwestern 56.50 8. Michigan State 53.50 9. Indiana 48.00 10. Purdue 31.50 11. OHIO STATE 30.00
Championship Match Results
125 lbs – No. 1 Jeremy Hunter, Penn State dec. No. 6 Pat Cassidy, Indiana 3-1
133 lbs – No. 1 Pat McNamara, Michigan State dec. No. 3 Joe Warren, Michigan 12-10
141 lbs – No. 1 Doug Schwab, Iowa dec. No. 2 Damion Logan, Michigan 6-4
149 lbs – No. 1 T.J. Williams, Iowa dec. No. 2 Troy Marr, Minnesota 8-3
157 lbs – No. 4 Jaime Heidt, Iowa dec. No. 2 Clint Musser, Penn State 6-2
165 lbs – No. 1 Don Pritzlaff, Wisconsin dec. No. 2 Josh Holiday, Minnesota 5-1 (ot); SV 7:15
174 lbs – No. 2 Glenn Pritzlaff, Penn State dec. No. 4 Mark Bybee, Northwestern 6-4 (ot); SV 8:06
184 lbs – No. 1 Brandon Eggum, Minnesota dec. No. 7 Ross Thatcher, Penn State 6-3
197 lbs – No. 1 Tim Hartung, Minnesota dec. No. 2 Lee Fullhart, Iowa 2-1
HWT – No. 1 Brock Lesnar, Minnesota dec. No. 3 Karl Roesler, Illinois 7-0
