ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A tremendous sophomore season, highlighted by a great run in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, ended on a disappointing note for Army 141-pounder Matt Kyler of Clearfield Saturday in the Scottrade Center.
The unseeded Black Knight, who was assured of being an All-American after four wins over seeded opponents Thursday and Friday, lost to Big 12 Conference finalists Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State 8-3 and Nathan Gallick of Iowa State 3-2 to wind up sixth in what was considered one of the tournament\’s toughest weight classes.
Kyler, Army\’s 15th All-American and the first since 2005 when 149-pound runner-up Phillip Simpson placed for the third time, was 4-3 against six seeded matmen for a final record of 43-8, which included a 23-bout winning streak.
In addition to breaking the Black Knights\’ single-season win record, Kyler led the team with a 16-1 dual meet mark and 21 bonus point wins. He had 15 falls, the fifth highest season total in Army history, one technical fall and five major decisions.
The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champ ranked among the national leaders in wins and falls most of the season.
Kyler, a three-time PIAA Class AAA placewinner and 2005 state champion at 103 pounds for Clearfield Area High School, will take a 74-20 record into his junior season, 18 wins and one fall away from cracking Army\’s all-time top 10 in both categories.
Against the fourth-seeded Morgan in the consolation semifinals, Kyler surrendered three takedowns, two in the first period, and managed only three escapes. Morgan, who prevailed 5-3 when they met in the Lone Star duals last season, added an escape and a riding time point.
No. 2 seed Charles Griffin (30-4) of Hofstra beat Morgan (33-5) 5-2 for the bronze medal. Griffin, a PIAA Class AAA runner-up at 125 pounds for Reading High School in 2004, beat Kyler 5-3 in the quarterfinals, scoring all of his points in the third period.
In the fifth-place bout, Kyler was limited to a pair of escapes by No. 5 seed Gallick (28-13).
Those one-pointers offset Gallick\’s early takedown, but the Black Knight elected to cut the Big 12 champ loose in the final minute though just 13 seconds shy of a riding time point. However, he was unable to secure the winning takedown.
No. 5 seed Manuel Rivera (34-9) of Minnesota pinned No. 10 seed Cody Cleveland (29-9) of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 3:46 for seventh place.
