University of Northern Iowa
MAC Championships
Moore Repeats as MAC Champ, 4 Panthers Qualify for NCAA
3/8/2015 1:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Cooper Moore became the second Panther to repeat as MAC champion, winning his second title at 165 pounds. He will be joined at the NCAA tournament by teammates No. 5 Dylan Peters (125 pounds), No. 9 Blaize Cabell (heavyweight) and Basil Minto (197 pounds).
Moore was awarded a stall point against ODU's Warner. A takedown and two near fall points in the second put Moore up 4-1. Moore released Warner at the start of the third and followed up with a takedown to go up 6-1. He earned 2:31 in riding time to secure his championship, 7-1.
Cabell was UNI's only top-seeded wrestler heading into the MAC. The championship came down to a familiar foe in No. 12 Devin Mellon of Missouri. Cabell had beaten Mellon twice earlier in the season, but it was Mellon who scored first. Mellon got a takedown early in the first, and Cabell trailed the rest of the match. Mellon earned riding time to win 4-2.
Peters was unable to avenge a loss earlier in the year the nation's top-ranked wrestler. He lost 11-4 to No. 1 Alan Waters of Missouri to get second place and the final automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. He wrestled a true-second match to decide who would go to the national tournament. He dominated the match, getting four takedowns, three near fall points and a point for more than five minutes of riding time. A stalling penalty point in Peters' favor gave the sophomore his second major decision of the tournament. It was his third win by bonus points at the MAC this weekend, having earned a fall in his first-round bout.
Jake Hodges entered the tourney as the fifth seed at 141 pounds. He picked off the fourth seed, Tyler Small of Kent State on the first day but fell to No. 10 Zach Horan of Central Michigan to end up in the consolations. He earned a decision over Mike Shaw of Eastern Michigan to set up the third-place match with No. 5 Lavion Mayes of Missouri.
Hodges struck first and got a takedown. He released Mayes to make it 2-1 in favor of Hodges. Mayes countered with a takedown and released Hodges to tie it up in the first. They traded escapes and tied it up 4-4 until the final second. Mayes grabbed a takedown to grab third place and the final automatic spot at the national tournament.
Cody Caldwell got a forfeit at 184 pounds in the fifth-place match to earn his second trip to the MAC podium.
Jarrett Jensen, 157 pounds, started the MAC tourney strong with fall to earn his fifth-straight win. He dropped his next two matches, including his first one on Sunday to Central Michigan's Cody LeCount.
Jensen faced Eastern Michigan's Brandon Zeerip for fifth place. Zeerip jumped out to a 2-0 lead with more than two minutes of riding time after the first. Jensen tied it up in the second with two near fall points, but a reversal gave Zeerip the 4-2 lead heading into the final period. Two stalling penalties awarded to Jensen tied it up at 4-4, but Zeerip's riding time made the difference. Jensen lost 5-4 to place sixth.
PANTHER PLACES:
UNI had seven Panthers medal at the weekend championships.
- 125 – Peters, second place *
- 141 – Hodges, fourth place
- 157 – Jensen, sixth place
- 165 – Moore, first place *
- 184 –Caldwell, fifth place
- 197 – Minto, sixth place *
- 285 – Cabell, second place *
(*NCAA qualifiers)
UP NEXT
The Panthers will compete at the NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, March 19-21.
TEAM SCORES
|
1. |
Missouri |
139.5 |
|
2. |
Old Dominion |
97.5 |
|
3. |
Ohio |
85.5 |
|
4. |
Kent State |
75.5 |
|
5. |
Central Michigan |
74.5 |
|
6. |
Northern Iowa |
72.5 |
|
7. |
Northern Illinois |
40.0 |
|
8. |
Eastern Michigan |
28.5 |
FULL RESULTS (first two matches are from the first day)
125 – #5 Dylan Peters (2-1) – 2ND PLACE
- W - Zak Hassan (Ohio) 1:31 (F)
- W - Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) 8-2
- L - #1 Alan Waters (Missouri) 11-4 (MD)
- W - Derek Elmore (Northern Illinois) 13-1 (MD) - true second match
133 –Leighton Gaul (0-2) - DNP
- L - Vincent Pizzuto (Eastern Michigan) 13-5 (MD)
- L - Michael Hayes (Old Dominion) 12-6
141 – Jake Hodges (2-2) – 4TH PLACE
- W - #30 Tyler Small (Kent State) 5:44 (F)
- L - #10 Zachary Horan (Central Michigan) 5-3
- W - Mike Shaw (Eastern Michigan) 4-3
- L - #5 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) 6-4
149 –Gunnar Wolfensperger (0-2) - DNP
- L - #13 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) 12-3 (MD)
- L - #17 Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan) 8-6
157 – #25 Jarrett Jensen (1-3) – 6TH PLACE
- W - Andrew Morse (Northern Illinois) 4:39 (F)
- L - #10 Joey Lavallee (Missouri) 3-2
- L - #33 Cody LeCount (Central Michigan) 6-5
- L - #31 Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan) 5-4
165 – #12 Cooper Moore (3-0) – 1ST PLACE
- W - Shaun'Qae McMurty (Northern Illinois) 3-1
- W - #23 Harrison Hightower (Ohio) 5-3
- W - #14 Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) 7-1
- L - #9 Cody Walters (Ohio) 14-0 (MD)
- L - Austin Coburn (Old Dominion) 5-3
184 – Cody Caldwell (2-2) – 5TH PLACE
- L - Jerald Spohn (Kent State) 8-6
- W - Quinton Rosser (Northern Illinois) 13-2 (MD)
- L - Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) 5-4
- W - Jerald Spohn (Kent State) forfeit
197 – #33 Basil Minto (1-3) – 6TH PLACE
- L - #26 Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois) 4-3
- W - Jackson Lewis (Central Michigan) 7-6
- L - #24 Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) 6-3
- L - #20 Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan) 3-1 SV1
285 – #9 Blaize Cabell (2-1) 2ND PLACE
- W - Arthur Bunce (Northern Illinois) 13-5 (MD)
- W - #29 Jake Henderson (Old Dominion) 4-2
- L - #12 Devin Mellon (UNI) 4-2
Players Mentioned
