March 22, 2002
University of Illinois No. 2 seed, 165-pounder Matt Lackey will be looking for his first NCAA title on Saturday afternoon as he faces No. 1 Joe Heskett of Iowa State at 2 p.m. Lackey defeated No. 3 Tyrone Lewis of Oklahoma State in the semifinals, 6-4, in sudden victory overtime to advance to the finals. With wins by Lackey and seniors Griff Powell (157 pounds) and John Lockhart (Hwt), Illinois is in 10th place with 43 points heading into the final day of competition in Albany, N.Y. Should Illinois hold its placing, it will be the sixth Top-10 finish in 10 years under head coach Mark Johnson.
Lackey gave up a takedown in the first period to Lewis, but escaped for a 2-1 deficit after the first three minutes. Choosing down to begin the second period, Lackey quickly escaped to tie the match at 2-2. A Lackey takedown and two Lewis escapes in the third sent the match into overtime. With 22 seconds remaining in sudden victory, Lackey scored the winning takedown and a 6-4 decision.
Powell upset No. 8 Matt Anderson of Iowa by a 4-1 decision to earn his first All-America honor in his four-year career. He then fell to No. 6 Ryan Bertin of Michigan, 2-1, in the tie-break overtime period and will compete for seventh place against Gray Maynard of Michigan State on Saturday.
With a medical forfeit by Oklahoma's Leonce Crump, heavyweight and No. 5 seed John Lockhart advanced to the consolation quarterfinals, earning All-American as well. Lockhart wrestled David Rechul of Harvard winning a 6-3 decision over the Ivy Leaguer to face No. 4 Garrett Lowney of Minnesota in the consolation quarterfinals tomorrow.
Lackey will also be aiming for Illinois' seventh individual national title in 10 years under head coach Mark Johnson. With the three remaining wrestlers earning All-America accolades after competition today, Johnson has now coached 26 in his Illinois career.
Minnesota leads all competition with 112 points, followed by Oklahoma at 95. Other Big Ten teams in the hunt are Iowa in fourth with 83.50 points, Ohio State in seventh with 52.5 and Michigan in ninth with 48, five ahead of the Illini. The following is a breakdown of each wrestler through the fourth session:
157: #10 seed Griff Powell (24-9), Sr. Morton Grove, Ill.
First Round: Defeated Mitch Morgan (Boise St.), 9-3
Second Round: Defeated Adam Britt (VMI), 5-2
Quarterfinals: Lost to #2 Yoshi Nakamura (Penn), 5-3
Consolation Round: Defeated #8 Matt Anderson (Iowa), 4-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: Lost to #6 Ryan Bertin (Mich.), 2-1 TB
Up Next: Gray Maynard, Michigan State in the seventh-place match
Notes: Powell was pinned by Maynard in the Big Ten tournament in overtime in the pair's only meeting this year ... Powell upset Anderson for the second time this season to earn All-America honors for the first time in his four-year career ... Recorded his 102nd career win.
165: #2 seed Matt Lackey (38-1), Jr. Moline, Ill.
First Round: Defeated Carl Fronhofer (Pitt), 5-2
Second Round: Defeated Charles Martelli (Mich.), 4-1
Quarterfinals: Defeated #7 Eugene Harris (Oregon), 3-1
Semifinals: Defeated #3 Tyrone Lewis (OK St.), 6-4 SV
Up Next: #1 Joe Heskett, Iowa State (38-1) in the finals
Notes: Lackey faced Heskett this season in the finals at the Midlands Tournament and lost 4-2 ... Both wrestlers enter the match with identical 38-1 records ... Lackey defeated Lewis for the second time this season ... Lackey recorded his 23rd straight win of the season and moves to 19th on the all-time Illinois win list ... His 38 wins this season are third on the single-season list.
HWT: #5 John Lockhart (32-6) Sr. Mahomet, Ill.
First Round: Defeated Eric Webb (Oregon), 3-2
Second Round: Lost to #12 John Testa (Clarion), 2-1 TB
Consolation Second Round: Defeated Matt Kenny (UNC), 4-2
Consolation Third Round: Boe Rushton (Boise St.), 3-1 SV
Consolation Fourth Round: Wins by forfeit over #3 Leonce Crump (Oklahoma)
Consolation Quarterfinals: Defeated David Rachul (Harvard), 6-3
Up Next: #4 Garrett Lowney, Minnesota (26-5)
Notes: Lockhart earns his third career All-America honor after defeating Crump and Rachul ... He will square off against Garrett Lowney of Minnesota for the second time this year ... Lowney won in tie break overtime in the dual in Minneapolis.
TEAM RESULTS
1. Minnesota (112.00)
2. Oklahoma (95.00)
3. Iowa State (88.00)
4. Iowa (83.50)
5. Oklahoma State (66.50)
6. LeHigh (55.50)
7. Ohio State (52.50)
8. Nebraska (52.00)
9. Michigan (48.00)
10. Illinois (43.00)
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Results for eliminated wrestlers after third session
125: #12 seed Twan Pham (28-11), Jr. Palatine, Ill.
Rat Tail Round: Defeated Mario Stuart (LeHigh), 3-1 SV
First Round: Defeated Nathan Peterson (5-0)
Second Round: Lost to #5 Ben VomBaur (Boise St.), 3-2 TB
Consolation Second Round: Defeated Mason Lenhard (Penn), 3-1
Consolation Third Round: Lost to Shawn Bunch (Edinboro), 3-2
Up Next: Pham eliminated
133: #11 seed Chad Hay (19-13), Sr. Sandwich, Ill.
First Round: Defeated Dan Hyman (LeHigh), 3-1 SV
Second Round: Lost to #6 Cliff Moore (Iowa), 8-4
Consolation Second Round: Defeated Joe Cristaldi (Drexel), 6-4
Consolation Third Round: Lost to Urijah Faber (UC-Davis), 2-0
Up Next: Hay eliminated
174: Brian Glynn (17-15), Fr. Orland Park, Ill.
First Round: Lost to #4 Greg Parker (Princeton), 4-0
Consolation: Defeated Dustin Kawa (N.C. State), fall 6:59
Consolation Second Round: Lost to Ty Wilcox (OK St.), fall 1:58
Up Next: Glynn eliminated
184: Jason Potter (25-11), So. St. Charles, Ill.
First Round: Defeated Justin Johnson (Bloomsburg), 9-4 SV
Second Round: Lost to #3 Andy Hrovat (Mich.), 6-5 TB
Consolation Second Round: Lost to #9 Pat Popolizio (OK St.), 4-3
Up Next: Potter eliminated
Results for Eliminated Wrestlers after second session
149: Ryan Berger (21-14), Jr. Mahomet, Ill.
First Round: Lost to #5 seed Jesse Jantzen (Harvard), 4-0
Consolation: Lost to Marc Hoffer (American), 3-2
Up Next: Berger elimnated
197: Tyrone Byrd (19-13), Fr. Clinton, Ill.
First Round: Lost to Brent Miller (WVU), 6-2
Consolation Rat Tail: Defeated Jason Gore (N.C. State), 2-0
Consolation First Round: Lost to David Schenk (Cal Poly), 7-6
Up Next: Byrd eliminated.
Notes: Byrd recorded his first NCAA Tournament win with a 2-0 decision over Gore of NCSU ... Byrd was one of only 14 true freshmen to qualify for the tournament.
