Henrich Finishes Third at NCAA Championships

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia’s Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) finished off a historic season Saturday with a pair of wins as he took third place in the 174-pound weight class at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb.

With just the championship session remaining, Virginia has finished with 34 team points, good for 15th place in the team standings. It also marked the most points Virginia ever has accumulated in the NCAA Championships. UVa finished with a program-best 15 individual wins from seven wrestlers and earned the top finish of any ACC school this season.

The first two-time All-American in program history, Henrich finished his standout season with a 35-3 record, including a 5-1 record this year at the NCAA Championships. He became the fourth Virginia wrestler to earn a top-three finish, joining Henry Jordan (second at heavyweight, 1957), Steve Garland (second at 125 pounds, 2000) and Scott Moore (third at 141 pounds, 2004). He also was the highest-placing wrestler from the ACC this season.

Henrich, the third seed at 174 pounds, clinched third place with a 10-1 major-decision domination of Nebraska’s Stephen Dwyer, the No. 4 national seed. After taking a 2-1 lead into the second period, Henrich scored a two-point nearfall in the second period to grab a 4-1 advantage. He scored an early reversal in the third, then rode Dwyer for the rest of the period while securing a three-point nearfall in the process. He accumulated three minutes, 28 seconds of riding time to earn the riding time point in the 10-1 victory.

Henrich opened the day with a thrilling 5-3 win in sudden victory time over Central Michigan’s Ben Bennett, the No. 7 seed. Henrich scored the winning takedown with just 12 seconds remaining in sudden victory time. The victory also was his 100th career triumph.

With 101 career wins, Henrich is tied for seventh in career wins in Virginia history with Jason Mutarelli (1991-95) and needs just 16 wins next season to become Virginia’s al-time wins leader.

Team Standings (through Session V)
1. Iowa, 122.5
2. Cornell, 86.0
3. Oklahoma, 69.0
4. Iowa State, 67.0
5. Wisconsin, 66.5
15. Virginia, 34.0

Virginia Results
125 Pounds
First Round: No. 4 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) pinned Ross Gitomer, 2:59
Wrestleback Rd. 1: Gitomer dec. Eric Morrill (Edinboro), 3-1 (SV)
Wrestleback Rd. 2: Gitomer major dec. Jonathan Childress (Liberty), 11-1
Wrestleback Rd. 3: Gitomer dec. Joseph Langel (Rutgers), 3-2
Wrestleback Rd. 4: No. 2 Troy Nickerson (Cornell) dec. Gitomer, 4-0

141 Pounds
First Round: Derek Valenti dec. Ivan Lopouchanski (UNC Greensboro), 4-1
Round of 16: No. 2 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) dec. Valenti, 3-1
Wrestleback Rd. 3: No. 5 Zack Bailey (Oklahoma) major dec. Valenti, 15-2

149 Pounds
First Round: No. 11 Desmond Green (Buffalo) dec. Shawn Harris, 9-8
Wrestleback Rd. 2: Harris major dec. Brandon Butcher (George Mason), 8-0
Wrestleback Rd. 3: Nicholas Bertucci (Purdue) major dec. Harris, 11-3

157 Pounds
First Round: Danny Gonsor dec. Tyson Reiner (Northern Iowa), 9-4
Round of 16: No. 4 Cyler Sanderson (Penn State) dec. Danny Gonsor, 4-2
Wrestleback Rd. 3: Kurt Kinser (Indiana) dec. Harris, 6-0

174 Pounds
First Round: No. 3 Chris Henrich major dec. Dave Rella (Ohio State), 8-0
Round of 16: Henrich dec. Byron Sigmon (UNC Greensboro), 9-3
Quarterfinals: Henrich dec. No. 6 Mike Benefiel (Oklahoma State), 5-4
Semifinals: No. 2 Jay Borschel (Iowa) dec. Henrich, 10-9
Wrestleback Semis: Henrich dec. No. 7 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), 5-3 (SV)
Third Place: Henrich major dec. No. 4 Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska), 10-1

184 Pounds

First Round: No. 9 Phil Keddy (Iowa) major dec. Mike Salopek, 11-3
Wrestleback Rd. 1: No. 10 Mike Pucillo (Ohio State) dec. Salopek, 2-0

197 Pounds
First Round: No. 5 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) pinned Brent Jones, 3:19
Wrestleback Rd. 2: Jones pinned Erik Schuth (Ohio), 1:03
Wrestleback Rd. 3: Jones major dec. Logan Brown (Purdue), 11-2
Wrestleback Rd. 4: Jones pinned Tyler Sorenson (South Dakota State), 0:30
Wrestleback Rd. 5: No. 8 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota) dec. Jones, 4-2

285 Pounds
First Round: Tucker Lane (Nebraska) dec. Jack Danilkowicz, 2-1
Wrestleback Rd. 2: Danilkowicz dec. Odie Delaney (The Citadel), 5-3 (SV)
Wrestleback Rd. 3: No. 10 Dominick Russo (Rutgers) pinned Danilkowicz, 6:18