OMAHA, Neb. – Former Clearfield Area High School standouts Brad Pataky of Penn State and Matt Kyler of Army advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships by winning two matches apiece at the Quest Center Omaha Friday.
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Unseeded at 125 pounds after finishing fourth in the Big 10 Conference Tournament two weeks ago, Pataky sent a pair of seeded conference champions into the wrestlebacks with hard-earned decisions.
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The Nittany Lion redshirt junior upended Big 12 Conference titlist and No. 9 seed Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma 6-4 in what really wasn’t a big surprise since he had edged the Sooner freshman 8-6 in the Virginia Duals in early January.
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Patterson (29-10) countered a low single-leg shot by Pataky for a takedown late in the first period but paid for choosing the down position for the second period. Pataky stuck him for a three-point near fall, missing a possible pin when the hold was ruled potentially dangerous.
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A quick escape gave the Nittany Lion a 4-2 lead in the third period, but Patterson came out of a scramble on top of Pataky for a takedown with 21 seconds left.
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An escape and riding time provided the winning margin for Pataky, who followed up with a 3-2 squeaker over Mid-American Conference champ and No. 8 seed Matt Steintrager of Central Michigan in the second round.
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Pataky’s early takedown was the difference against Steintrager (24-4), a redshirt senior who managed only a pair of escapes. The Nittany Lion’s other point was a second period breakaway as the spent most of the match on their feet.
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A rematch with Big 10 champ and No. 1-ranked Angel Escobedo (35-0) of Indiana is next for Pataky (28-8).
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Escobedo, bidding to become Indiana’s first four-time All-American, beat Pataky 14-1 in the conference semis.
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The Nittany Lion did score a 4-3 upset over the 2008 national champion when they met in a 2009 conference dual meet.
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Another upset would send Pataky against No. 4 seed Anthony Robles (30-2) of Arizona State or No. 5 seed Andrew Long (25-6) of Iowa State in the semis.
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No. 3 Matt McDonough (34-1) of Iowa is the lone seed left in the lower bracket. He takes on Jarrod Garnett (25-5) of Virginia Tech and Cashe Quiroga (27-12) of Purdue goes against Fred Santaite (19-9) of Boston. Santaite pulled off the biggest shocker of the first day when he took down defending champion and No. 2 seed Troy Nickerson (14-2) of Cornell with two seconds left for a 2-1 win.
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Kyler, seeded No. 6 at 149 pounds, began his quest for a second All-American finish in his fourth trip to nationals with two impressive bonus-point wins.
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The Black Knight senior spent most of the first five minutes controlling George Mason junior Brian Bucher (17-18) after a first-period takedown and second-period reversal. Bucher, who placed third in the Colonial Athletic Association, chose neutral in the final period, and Kyler took him down again and hooked up a cradle for a fall at the 6:46 mark.
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In the second round, Kyler was equally dominant against No. 11 seed Desi Green (28-7) of Buffalo, breezing to a 9-0 major decision with two takedowns, an escape, three penalty points and more than four minutes of riding time. He led the Mid-American Conference champ 7-0 after two periods.
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Kyler (32-3), the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association champion, will face a very familiar foe in the quarters as he and No. 3 seed Kyle Terry (28-2) of Oklahoma have a history dating back to the beginning of the 2007-08 season when the then No. 17-ranked Sooner eked out a 5-4 decision in the Oklahoma Gold Classic hosted annually by State University of New York-Brockport.
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They met twice last season, Kyler winning 4-1 in the Oklahoma Gold Classic and Terry getting revenge 7-4 in the second round of the nationals. Kyler was the No. 8 seed and Terry the No. 9 seed.
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In last November’s Oklahoma Gold Classic, Terry prevailed 6-2 in the semifinals.
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The Big 12 champ’s only losses have come against No. 1 seed Lance Palmer (29-2) of Ohio State, 2-0 in the Oklahoma Gold Classic finals and 4-3 to Palmer in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational semifinals Dec. 4.
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If Kyler wins, he will face either two-time NCAA finalist and second seed Brent Metcalf (32-1) of Iowa or No. 7 seed Mitch Mueller (27-8) of Iowa State.
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Palmer gets No. 8 seed Jason Chamberlain (27-8) of Boise State and No. 5 seed Frank Molinaro (31-5) of Penn State meets unseeded Torsten Gillespie (30-13) in the upper bracket. Â
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Penn State is locked in a four-way tie for 10th place with 17 points as the six Nittany Lion qualifiers were 5-1 in both sessions, with No. 4 seed Cyler Sanderson (30-4) at 157 and No. 6 seed Dan Vallimont (28-7) at 165 joining Pataky and Molinaro in the quarterfinals set for Friday morning at 10:30.
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No. 11 seed David Erwin (30-9) at 184 and unseeded Cameron Wade (21-10) at heavyweight went 1-1 and will be wrestling in the third round of consolations.
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The semifinals will highlight Friday’s 7 p.m. session that will set the pairings for Saturday’s 11 a.m. consolation finals and 7:30 p.m. championship matches.
