Missouri clinches five All-Americans, Ellis to wrestle for NCAA Championship
Junior Mark Ellis works for control on Kent State's Jermal Porter during their semifinal match Friday at the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis. Ellis won 5-2 and will face Duke's Konrad Dudziak in Saturday's national championship bout.
Junior Mark Ellis became MU's first wrestler since Ben Askren in 2007 to advance to the NCAA Final by defeating Kent State's Jermail Porter. Ellis gave up the first takedown, but was able to get an escape followed by another takedown. Ellis then took down in the second period and got another escape, which is all he needed. Ellis defeated Porter 5-2, and will now wrestle Duke's Konrad Dudziak for the national championship. Dudziak defeated No. 1 seed Zabriskie of Iowa State in his semi-final bout.
"I just had to stay focused (after giving up the first takedown)," Ellis said. "I just had to stay focused and I knew I'd eventually get a takedown. I can't let (Dudziak) stop my dreams of becoming a national champion."
Ellis' match will be broadcast live on ESPN on Saturday night.
"He's bigger than me," Dudziak said of Ellis. "It's going to be a tough match. He's got home town advantage, people are going to cheer for him, and I look forward to it."
Senior Raymond Jordan wrestled the No. 1 seed, Steve Luke of Michigan, in the semi-finals. Luke struck first, scoring an escape in the second period. Jordan then got an escape in the third period to tie it up. The match went to double overtime. Jordan escaped just three seconds into the period, but gave up a takedown at the end of the period, which ended up being the difference in a 4-2 Luke win.
"He's super strong," Luke said of Jordan. "I didn't realize how strong he really was until we first tied up, and it was like tying up with a brick wall. He's huge!"
Junior Max Askren wrestled two-time finalist Jake Varner of Iowa State. Varner scored the first takedown and that was just the beginning of his dominance over Askren. Varner defeated Askren 8-3.
Senior Michael Chandler and junior Nick Marable both won their wrestle-back matches on Friday night to bring MU's number of All-Americans to five, a school record.
Marable had a long road to get to All-American status. Marable defeated Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich 3-2 to clinch All-American, but had to get by Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer in his previous match to get to Patrovich. The match against Dwyer went to two double-overtimes, but Marable was able to score a reversal and two back points to get the win. After the match, the Nebraska crowd booed Marable as his hand was raised, and he responded by holding up five fingers to them, in lieu of Marable's five straight wins over Dwyer. Marable then lost to Northern Iowa's Moza Fay 4-2 and will now wrestle for seventh place.
"Marable's overcome a lot with a concussion," MU Coach Brian Smith said. "He's coming back and battling and placing for us; doing it for the team and for himself."
Chandler nearly saw his career come to an end, but was able to hang on for a 6-5 win against Hofstra's Jonny Bonilla-Bowman to clinch his status as an All-American. He then won his second match of the night 13-5 to clinch at least a top six finish.
"There's nothing that I can do about the match against Leen," Chandler said. "Right now, my number one goal is to take third. I've got a returning national champ from two years ago in the morning, and hopefully I can get another shot at Leen for third after that."
Jordan, Askren, Marable and Chandler will all finish wrestling in Saturday morning's session, while Ellis will compete in the final dual of the tournament on Saturday night. Missouri currently stands in seventh place in the team standings, with Ohio State leading the pack.
Junior Mark Ellis celebrates with assistant coach and former MU wrestler Ben Askren after his semifinal victory against Kent State's Jermal Porter.
Raymond Jordan battles the clinch with Michigan's Steve Luke during their semifinal match at the NCAA Tournament in St. Loius. Luke defeated Jordan 4-2.
Senior Michael Chandler flips Hofstra's Jonny Bonilla-Bowman during their consolation match at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Chandler's victory over Bonilla clinched him All-American status.
Junior Nick Marable picks up Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich during their consolation match at the NCAA Tournament in St. Loius. Marble defeated Patrovich 3-2 and also became an All-American.