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Big guns shine at All-Star Classic

Jason Bryant
Nov 20, 2006
In stark contrast to the previous year’s happenings, matches went according to plan at the 41st annual NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps.

Last season in Stillwater, four returning NCAA champions fell – this year, with the state of Texas hosting for the first time, returning champions Matt Valenti, Dustin Schlatter, and Johny Hendricks all won their matches and only one top-ranked wrestler tasted defeat – Arizona State’s Brian Stith.

Two of the night’s most high profile bouts came at 165 and 174 pounds. Hendricks, a two-time champ from Oklahoma State, used a grinding style on top to overpower Iowa’s Mark Perry, a two-time All-American dropping back down to 165 this season.

Hendricks and Perry were virtually even in the neutral position, with Hendricks scoring two points on a second period reversal.

In stark contrast, Herbert funked his way to a five-point lead late in the first period against Roger Kish of Minnesota at 184 pounds and rolled to a 10-2 major decision in the event’s most lopsided feature match of the evening.

Iowa State’s Trent Paulson traded escapes with top-ranked Stith, but earned the winning point with 1:32 of riding time, all picked up in the third period.

Sam Hazewinkel started out the show at the Dallas Convention Center Arena with a workmanlike 4-1 victory over Stanford’s Tanner Gardner, who stepped into the match in the last five days after Cornell’s Troy Nickerson pulled out.

Valenti had the night’s most exciting bout with Oklahoma State’s Coleman Scott. The pair twisted and tossed each other about, but Valenti’s attacking style was more so than that of his counterpart.

Leading 5-2 late in the match, Scott nearly locked up a cradle after gaining control for a takedown, but with time running down, Valenti straightened himself out and with a riding time point, edged Scott 6-5.

Penn teammate Matt Herrington wasn’t so lucky, as Penn State’s James Yonushonis scored a double leg takedown with less than 30 seconds to go to beat Keystone rival Herrington 5-4.

While one Penn State wrestler came away with a winner, another didn’t as top-ranked Phil Davis was forced to forfeit his 197-pound bout with second-ranked Jerry Rinaldi for failing to make weight.

The match, while not an official bout for NCAA records purposes, is however an official NCAA weigh-in, therefore no allowance is available for the event and Davis could not take the mat even in an exhibition format for fear of violating and NCAA rule regarding weigh ins.

Northwestern was the only school to win with more than one entry, with Herbert’s victory and 141-pounder Ryan Lang scoring a late takedown to edge last-minute replacement Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State 4-3.

Schlatter’s first-period duck-under at 149 pounds was all he needed as the returning NCAA champion knocked off second-ranked Matt Storniolo of Oklahoma.

Storniolo’s only success was in riding Schlatter, taking top in the third period to presumably scout the Gopher sophomore for later meetings.

In the day’s final bout, Harvard’s Bode Ogunwole scored the winning point with a stalling call in overtime to defeat North Carolina’s Spencer Nadolsky in the day’s most lackluster bout.

The exhibitions and featured matches also provided the roughly 2,500 fans in attendance a local flavor as four native Texans won bouts leading up to the event.

Oklahoma’s Will Rowe beat The Citadel’s Travis Piccard in a match between two nationally ranked wrestlers, while Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev bested the top heavyweight in Division III, Blake Gillis of Wartburg.

A pair of UT-Arlington club wrestlers fell, Clay Silver in the opening match to Kansas State’s club wrestler Clay Madden and Brian Kinsella lost to Texan Kevin Wainscott of Oklahoma State.

The first women’s bout was won by Arlington native Randi Miller at 67kg. Miller beat Stefanie Howorun of McMaster University of Canada in two periods during the break between 157 and 165 pounds.

Central Oklahoma’s Jason Leavitt bested the final NCWA competitor, Billy Johnson of Grand Valley State with relative ease.

FINAL RESULTS
125: Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma) dec. Tanner Gardner (Stanford) 4-1.
133: Matt Valenti (Penn) dec. Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) 6-5.
141: Ryan Lang (Northwestern) dec. Nathan Morgan (Oklahoma State) 4-3
149: Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) dec. Matt Storniolo (Oklahoma) 3-0.
157: Trent Paulson (Iowa State) dec. Brian Stith (Arizona State) 2-1.
165: Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State) dec. Mark Perry (Iowa) 3-1.
174: James Yonushonis (Penn State) dec. Matt Herrington (Penn) 5-4.
184: Jake Herbert (Northwestern) maj. dec. Roger Kish (Minnesota) 10-2.
197: Jerry Rinaldi (Cornell) won by forfeit.
285: Bode Ogunwole (Harvard) dec. Spencer Nadolsky (North Carolina) 3-2, SV.

Exhibitions
133: Clay Madden (Kansas State) maj. dec. Clay Silver (UT-Arlington) 11-3
157: Jason Leavitt (Central Oklahoma) maj. dec. Billy Johnson (Grand Valley State) 9-0.
165: Kevin Wainscott (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Brian Kinsella (UT-Arlington) 17-3.
285: Tervel Dlagnev (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. Blake Gillis (Wartburg) 7-5.
157: Will Rowe (Oklahoma) dec. Travis Piccard (The Citadel) 10-4
W76: Randi Miller (USOTC) dec. Stefanie Howorun (McMaster, CAN) 2-0, 4-0
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