March 18, 2010
OMAHA, Neb. - Senior Chris Brown picked up a pair of victories, including an upset of No. 4 Jonathan Reader of Iowa State, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Three Monarchs competed in front of a sold out crowd at the Qwest Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb. Thursday.
Senior Jesse Strawn, seeded No. 10, and junior James Nicholson, seeded No. 7, both went 1-1 in the opening day.
Brown's upset was one of the most thrilling matches of the day. After a Reader reversal in the second period, Brown found himself trailing 4-0. The senior fought back though, getting an escape and a takedown of his own to pull within a point (4-3) going into the last round.
With Reader holding a 58 second advantage in riding time, Brown chose neutral to start the final stanza. With a flair for the dramatics, Brown posted a takedown with only five seconds remaining in the bout to seal the 5-4 victory.
In his second round match, Brown controlled the second half of the bout to beat Binghamton's Matt Kaylor. The match was tied at three before Brown earned the final six points to advance with the 9-3 decision.
Brown will face Oklahoma's Tyler Caldwell in the quarterfinals Friday morning. Caldwell upset No. 5 seed Colt Sponseller of Ohio State, 3-2, in the second round.
Strawn topped Cody Magrum of Ohio State in the first round, 5-3. Magrum led the No. 10 seed after the first period, 2-1, but Strawn would not go away quietly. Magrum started down to begin the second and Strawn held the advantage for the entire two minutes to easily take the riding time advantage. Strawn started down and escaped to open the third round and a takedown later capped the ODU win.
The Monarch senior next faced No. 7 Anthony Biondo of Michigan for a chance at going to the quarterfinals. The score was tied (5-5) at the end of regulation so it went to the tiebreaker round. Biondo escaped during the first extra session to go up 6-5. Strawn had a chance at a reversal during the second, but he couldn't gain the reversal points or the escape and Biondo held on for the win.
No. 7 James Nicholson fell to Cashe Quiroga from Purdue, 4-3 in his opening bout. The junior bounced back though, topping No. 10 Christopher Notte of Oklahoma State, who was also upset in the first round. Nicholson won a 7-4 decision to advance in the wrestlebacks.
Live coverage of the quarterfinals at 10:30 a.m., and semifinals at 7 p.m., on Friday, March 19, will be telecast by ESPNU. Live coverage of the finals on Saturday, March 20, will air at 11 a.m. on ESPNU, and at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
For more information on the wrestling championships, log on to NCAA.com/wrestling.
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