Virginia Wrestling Takes 15th Place at NCAA Championships

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team finished off its historic season Saturday night with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championships at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The finish was the second-best ever for Virginia, topped only by a 10th-place finish in 1957. The Cavaliers finished with 34 team points, marking the most points Virginia ever has accumulated in the NCAA Championships.

Following the completion of matches Saturday evening, Virginia’s Brent Jones (R-Sr., Burke, Va.) earned the 2010 Gorrarian Trophy, which is presented to the wrestler who pinned the most opponents in the least amount of time at the championships. The award has been presented every year since 1961. Jones recorded a pair of pins in the competition and needed just one minute, 33 seconds to do so. He is the second Virginia wrestler to earn the coveted award, joining Scott Moore, who won the distinction in 2004. Jones is the seventh wrestler from an ACC school to claim the award.

Virginia’s Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) concluded his season Saturday with a pair of wins as he took third place in the 174-pound weight class. Henrich wrapped up All-America honors for the second straight season as he became the first two-time All-American in Virginia 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 at NCAAs, 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.

UVa finished with a program-best 15 individual wins from seven wrestlers and earned the top finish of any ACC school this season.

In addition to its strong NCAA finish, Virginia also won the ACC Championship this season – UVa’s first ACC crown since 1977. Six of the eight Cavaliers who competed at NCAAs are slated to return, as are 2009 NCAA competitors Jedd Moore and Nick Nelson, who will come back from redshirt seasons.

Final Team Standings
1. Iowa, 134.5
2. Cornell, 90.0
3. Iowa State, 75.0
4. Wisconsin, 70.5
5. Oklahoma, 69.0
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