ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A tough quarterfinal loss ended Army 141-pound wrestler Matt Kyler\’s bid for an NCAA Division I championship in Friday\’s first session in the Scottrade Center, but the former Clearfield Area High School standout rebounded with a pair of victories to, first, clinch All-American status and then lock up at least a sixth-place finish.
The unseeded Black Knight sophomore appeared on his way to a third consecutive win over a seeded opponent with a 2-0 lead against Charles Griffin of Hofstra after two periods on the strength of a takedown with 50 seconds left in the first period.
However, the second seed escaped early in the final period and quickly shot in for a takedown. Griffin, who placed third at 141 last year, turned Kyler for two points late in the match for a 5-2 decision that snapped the Black Knight\’s 23-bout winning streak.
With a trip to the medal round at stake in the consolation third round, Kyler gained revenge for one of his five regular-season losses by piling up an 8-3 lead before pinning Penn State\’s Garrett Scott (21-7) at the 6:43 mark. Scott had triumphed 4-2 in overtime when the two met in the Nittany Lion Open finals Dec. 2.
The 12th-seeded Nittany Lion freshman, a three-time PIAA Class AA champion for Juniata Valley, got the initial takedown, but Kyler reversed. After Scott broke free early in the second period, Kyler took a 4-3 lead with a takedown and added a near fall during a scramble. Kyler came off the bottom with a reversal in the third period before sticking Scott with 17 seconds left.
The fall earned Kyler a rematch with 10th seed Cody Cleveland (29-8) of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and he repeated his first-round win (5-2) by a 7-6 count.
Once again, Kyler had to come from behind after being taken down twice in the first period. Down 4-2 after escaping twice, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champ broke free in the second period and then executed a sweep single for a takedown and a 5-4 lead.
In the third period, Cleveland tied the score with an escape before Kyler shot another sweep single and was awarded the winning takedown just before going off the mat. Cleveland escaped for his final point.
The consolation quarterfinal squeaker gave Kyler the Army record for the most wins in a season. His 43-6 mark tops the 42-9 set by current Black Knight assistant coach Brad Fenske in 1995-96.
Kyler will meet No. 4 seed Nathan Morgan (32-4) of Oklahoma State in the consy semifinals. Morgan, the Big 12 runner-up and last year\’s NCAA fourth placer, lost 1-0 to top seed Chad Mendes (24-0) of Cal Poly in the semis after three one-sided victories.
The other consy semifinal pits Griffin (29-4) against No. 9 seed Nick Gallick (27-12) of Iowa State.
The winners will wrestle for third place, the losers for fifth place.
Mendes, who placed at 125 pounds two years ago, meets No. 6 seed J. Jaggers (25-5) in the finals, which will be aired live on ESPN at 8:30 p.m.
Jaggers, seventh at 141 last year, outlasted Griffin 11-9 in the semis after scoring seven points in the first period.
