Takedown Report

Pack’s Gwiazdowski Finishes Second at Southern Scuffle

Pack’s heavyweight falls 1-0 in final to two-time NCAA Champion
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – NC State redshirt sophomore Nick Gwiazdowski brought home a second place finish at 285 pounds at the 2014 Southern Scuffle, one of the top collegiate tournaments annually. In all, four of the five Pack wrestlers that advanced to second day action won at least one bout on Thursday.  Gwiazdowski came in as the No. 2 seed and ranked fifth nationally. His opponent in the championship at 285 pounds was Tony Nelson of Minnesota, currently ranked No. 1 nationally, and the two-time defending NCAA champion. This summer, Gwiazdowski recorded two wins over Nelson at the U.S. World Team Trials.  In the final bout, Gwiazdowski and Nelson wrestled to a scoreless first period. To start the second, Gwiazdowski deferred and Nelson chose bottom. Nelson scored a point for an escape, which turned out to be the final score. In the third period, Gwiazdowski chose neutral, but could not score a takedown to make up the point difference.  Gwiazdowski breezed through two wins yesterday to advance to the quarterfinals last night. In earlier action today, Gwiazdowski beat Jonathan Gingrich of Penn State and then scored a 7-3 decision over No. 12 Jeremy Johnson of Ohio to reach the finals.  Junior Tommy Gantt just missed placing in the top-8, finishing one spot out. Competing in the wrestlebacks at 157 pounds, Gantt posted a 9-2 win over Robert Burg of Navy and followed with a 7-5 decision over Brandon Kingsley of Minnesota. Gantt was eliminated with a 9-2 loss by Luke Smith of Central Michigan.  A pair of Pack freshmen each notched a win today in the wrestlebacks before being eliminated. Pete Renda downed Nick Kee of Appalachian State, 5-3 at 174 pounds, before falling to No. 16 Mike England of Missouri, 4-2. Michael Macciavello earned an 11-6 decision against former NCAA qualifier Ryan Garringer of Ohio at 184, before losing to Craig Kelliher of Central Michigan by fall.  Bill Cook dropped a major decision to No. 18 Zach Nye of Virginia in the wrestlebacks at 197 pounds.  The Pack will compete in the first ACC dual of the season when it travels to No. 12 Pittsburgh on Jan. 11.

January 6, 2014 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized