Moore and Sulzer Finish All-America Seasons at NCAA Championships

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March 23, 2013

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DES MOINES, Iowa – Jedd Moore (R-Sr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) and Nick Sulzer (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) wrapped up their All-America seasons Saturday in the medal round at the 2013 NCAA Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Moore took sixth place at 157 pounds, while Sulzer claimed eighth place at 165 pounds.

Virginia finished with 23.5 team points and stands in 21st place in the team competition heading into the championship session this evening. UVa will earn a top-25 standing for the third time in the last four years.

“It was a fantastic season for our program,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. “We had two All-Americans, beat three ranked teams in duals, competed in the National Duals event and went down to the final match in contention to win the ACC championship. There are so many positives, but we still have work to be done and we’ll get back at it on Monday. I’m already excited to get started working for next season.”

Moore and Sulzer became the 14th and 15th All-Americans in Virginia wrestling history last night. It marks the fifth time in program history that multiple UVa wrestlers have earned All-America honors in the same year. Both will step onto the podium this evening during the championship session.

Moore (33-9) finished sixth after dropping a pair of bouts to seeded foes Saturday. He beat the No. 4 seed (James Green of Nebraska) and No. 5 seed (Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech) in advancing yesterday. He finishes his Virginia career with 90 wins, becoming the 15th wrestler in Virginia history to reach the 90-win plateau.

In his opener Saturday, Moore fell 12-2 to No. 6 seed Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State. Moore was taken down on a double leg midway through first period but quickly escaped. Dieringer again took Moore down later in the period and rode him out. Dieringer took the top position in the second and tilted Moore three times – twice for two back points and the final for three back points to roll out to a commanding 11-1 lead.

Moore lost in the fifth-place bout, 10-2, to No. 10 seed Roger Pena of Oregon State. Pena took Moore down quickly in the first period and then rode tough in building 2:36 of riding time. After going neutral in the second, Moore was taken down 25 seconds into the period and was ridden for the rest of the period.

Pena chose bottom in the third and promptly reversed Moore. He cut Moore loose for an escape point and then took him down again. Moore escaped and defended well until Pena took him down with two seconds remaining to secure the major decision.

Sulzer (27-11) fell 8-5 in a tiebreaker to No. 11 seed Cody Yohn of Minnesota in the seventh-place bout. He is just the second UVa sophomore to earn All-America honors (Chris Henrich in 2009).

Sulzer jumped out to a 4-3 lead after two periods but was in control throughout. He shot in for a double leg in the first period for a takedown, and did it again in second to help build 1:17 in riding time; Yohn escaped both times and Sulzer was hit for a penalty point on his second stall warning to make it 4-3 after two periods.

Sulzer chose neutral in the third period, but Yohn took him down with 35 seconds remaining. He maintained control and erased the riding-time edge, but Sulzer wiggled free for an escape point just before the buzzer. The two battled through a scoreless sudden-victory period. Yohn rode out Sulzer in the tiebreaker period; Sulzer allowed Yohn to escape to start the second 30-second period and then was taken down off his own shot and Yohn rode him out to finish off the 8-5 win.

Team Standings After Session V
1. Penn State, 114.5
2. Oklahoma State, 111.5
3. Minnesota, 99.0
4. Iowa, 69.0
5. Cornell, 61.0
6. Missouri, 56.5
7. Ohio State, 55.5
8. Oregon State, 48.5
9. Virginia Tech, 43.5
10. Illinois, 41.5
10. Iowa State, 41.5
12. Nebraska, 38.0
13. Edinboro, 37.5
14. Oklahoma, 34.5
15. Northern Iowa, 34.0
15. Pittsburgh, 34.0
17. Northwestern, 32.5
18. Central Michigan, 30.5
19. Boise State, 29.0
20. The Citadel, 27.0
21. Virginia, 23.5
22. North Carolina, 21.5
23. Wyoming, 20.5
24. Kent State, 20.0
25. Lehigh, 18.5