Palmer Makes Wrestling History as First All-American in 23 Years
3/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
With a burst of speed, he raced to the corner of the mat where
Or did he?
"Actually, I think I jumped in his," Buckley said. "I was so excited. Anthony Constantino's mom said, `Who's more excited, you or Matt'?"
Palmer, the sophomore from
Palmer is
Rebounding from Thursday's 10-1 loss to top-seeded Troy Letters of Lehigh, which knocked him into the Consolation Bracket, Palmer began his streak with a 4-2 victory over 11th-seeded Nate Yetzer of Edinboro. He then gained a win over the ninth-seed, Dave Bolyard of
That brought him to the Round of 12, with one win standing between him and All-American honors. But he would have to defeat a major adversary, Jacob Klein of
One of the top wrestlers in the Big 12, Klein was seeded seventh -- Palmer, although ranked 19th nationally, was unseeded in the NCAA's -- and had already beaten Matt once this year. In fact, he had pinned Palmer, in 4:24, at the Las Vegas Invitational in December.
Palmer and Klein both came out cautiously, and the first period was scoreless, though the Nebraskan nearly got a takedown. Palmer had the choice for the second period, and although Klein was known for his prowess on top, Palmer chose "down," allowing Klein to begin the second period in control.
"That was a bold move," Buckley said. "It's an example of Matt's confidence in himself."
Palmer quickly escaped from Klein's grasp, and took a 1-0 lead. The rest of the two-minute period passed without a score.
Now it was Klein's choice, and he selected the "down" position, trying for the escape which would tie the match at 1-1 as soon as the referee's whistle blew.
But Palmer wouldn't let go. He "rode" Klein for two more tough, exacting minutes, as the Cornhusker tried everything he knew. One attempted roll to "freedom" nearly ended in disaster when Palmer countered it, just missing back points.
The Lion was warned for stalling with 44 seconds to go, but still didn't let go. As the final horn sounded, ending the match, Palmer remained on top, totally in control of the Nebraskan. With a point for his accumulated riding time, he had defeated Klein, 2-0.
"Matt wrestled a smart, close match," Buckley noted. "He won it on his strength, which is riding."
Unfortunately, Palmer had to step on the mat again just 90 minutes later, for yet another tough match. This time, he would face Jon Sioredas of Tennessee-Chattanooga, the sixth seed. Sioredas, who had been ranked as high as third in the nation, immediately took a 2-0 lead with a takedown. Palmer escaped just as quickly.
Sioredas scored the only point of the second period, on an escape, and led 3-1, but Palmer matched him with an escape to start the third period. Leading just 3-2, Sioredas suddenly shot in and took Palmer down. He quickly brought him to his back and pinned him, 37 seconds into the third period. It was only the second time Palmer had been pinned this season.
Palmer will continue wrestling on Saturday, when he will meet yet another ranking wrestler, 5th-seeded Tyrone Woodley of
#19 Matt Palmer, 165
Thursday - defeated Justin Nestor, Pitt, 6-3; lost to #1 Troy Letters (1), Lehigh, 10-1
Friday - defeated #11 Nate Yetzer (11), Edinboro, 7-3; defeated #8 Dave Bolyard (9), Central Michigan, medical default; defeated #9 Jacob Klein (7), Nebraska, 2-0; pinned by #6 Jon Sioredas (6), Tenn.-Chattanooga, 5:37.
Anthony Constantino, 141
Thursday - lost to #8 Daniel Frishkorn (7),
Friday - lost to #19 Juan Mora, Cal State Fullerton, 8-5
