Coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, the Wisconsin wrestling team was unable to make any noise at this year’s NCAA championships. Despite having eight wrestlers, two of them seeded, the Badgers were unable to send home any place-winners.
Wisconsin struggled from the start as Big Ten champion and No. 4 seed Tom Clum dropped his opening-round match to Mario Stuart of Lehigh. Stuart threw the UW star to his back for five points in the opening period and Clum was unable to rebound, losing 2-8.
Clum bounced back in his next match, taking out DeAngelo Penn of Cleveland State by pin in 37 seconds. However, Clum would see his tournament run end in his third match, falling 5-15 to Tom Noto of Hofstra.
At 133 pounds, No. 11 seed Ed Gutnik ended his tournament run shortly after Clum’s. Gutnik opened up the tournament by pinning Brandon Strong of Air Force late in the third period. The Moores would bring pain to Gutnik as he dropped a 0-1 decision to No. 6 Josh Moore of Penn State before being tech-falled by Derek Moore of the University of California-Davis.
At 141 pounds, Wisconsin’s tri-captain Tyler Laudon went 2-2 in his second trip to the NCAA championships. Laudon dropped his opening-round match before winning two straight. Laudon lost his first match 4-6 to the No. 2 wrestler in the country, Nate Gillick of Iowa State.
Laudon’s next two matches were even closer. He won his second match in a tiebreaker, winning 9-8 against Pittsburgh’s Ron Tarquinio.
At 174 pounds, Wisconsin senior and tri-captain Ralph Denisco went 2-2 on the tournament. Denisco won his first match of the tournament before losing to No. 2 Tyler Nixt of Iowa 2-4. Denisco came back in his third match, defeating Jon Duncombe of Minnesota 11-5 before bowing out in his fourth match.
At Heavyweight, Senior Jarreck Horton continued his run of success by defeating Citadel’s Billy Linane 5-0. Horton dropped his next two matches, but he managed to pick up a tournament victory in his first appearance on the national stage.
While the tournament proved disappointing for Barry Davis’ Badgers, next year should only see the Badgers improve upon this year’s record season. Wisconsin will feature a stellar recruiting class while welcoming back five national qualifiers.
