NCAA National Championship
Novachkov Places Third, DesRoches Eighth in NCAA Championships
3/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
FINAL BRACKETS (pdf)
ST. LOUIS, Missouri – Cal Poly senior Boris Novachkov capped a record-setting collegiate career with a third-place finish at 141 pounds while Ryan DesRoches, also a senior, placed eighth at 174 pounds Saturday at the 2012 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships in the Scottrade Center.
Novachkov (pictured at right) won his takedown-free match for third and fourth place because of a 15-second advantage in riding time in the second overtime after the two wrestlers battled to a 3-3 draw.
Both Novachkov and second-seeded Kendric Maple of Oklahoma earned escapes in regulation as well as the first and second overtime series of periods. In the second overtime, Novachkov escaped in seven seconds while Maple needed 22 seconds. The marathon match spanned 11 minutes – seven in regulation and two for each overtime series before it was decided on a tiebreaker (riding time).
Novachkov, who nearly gave up a takedown in the final seconds of the first sudden death period, had beaten Maple 6-3 in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA Championships.
Earlier on Saturday, Novachkov earned a 7-4 decision over fifth-seeded Hunter Stieber of Ohio State in the wrestleback semifinals.
Novachkov scored a takedown in the first period and an escape and takedown in the second period for a 5-0 lead. The sixth-seeded Mustang clinched the win with a takedown with 1:27 to go in the final period.
Novachkov finishes his senior season with a 34-4 record and his Mustang career with a 121-33 mark. He became Cal Poly's first three-time NCAA Division I All-American by winning a fifth-round wrestleback match Friday and posted a 6-1 mark in the tournament, winning four straight matches after falling in the quarterfinals Friday morning.
Novachkov, who qualified for the NCAA Championships all four years as a Mustang, was second a year ago at 141 pounds and seventh in 2010 at 133 pounds. He won Pac-12 titles as a sophomore and junior, finished second in 2012 and third in 2008.
DesRoches fell 3-1 to Ethen Lofthouse of Iowa in the 174-pound match for seventh and eighth place. DesRoches was seeded sixth while Lofthouse was fifth.
After a scoreless first period, DesRoches (pictured at left) earned an escape early in the second period but Lofthouse scored a takedown with 35 seconds left for a 2-1 lead and added a third-period escape for the 3-1 victory and seventh place.
DesRoches, who won his first 19 matches this season, finished 27-6 in his senior campaign and 110-37 in his four-year Mustang career. The three-time NCAA qualifier earned his first All-American honor this week.
DesRoches was second in the Pac-12 finals three weeks ago following a pair of third-place finishes in 2010 and 2011.
Redshirt freshman Dominic Kastl went 2-2 in the nationals to complete a 14-5 season while senior Ryan Smith lost his two matches at the nationals to close out a 21-13 campaign.
The Mustangs finished 25th as a team with 23.5 points. Penn State captured the national championship with 143 points, followed by Minnesota with 117.5 points, Iowa with 107.5 points, Cornell with 102.5 points and Ohio State with 68.5 points.
Cal Poly wrestling is presented by Meathead Movers.
NCAA Division I National Championships
Results for Cal Poly wrestlers:
141 Pounds
Boris Novachkov (6) dec. Chet Kemmerer (Penn) 5-1
Boris Novachkov (6) dec. Justin LaValle (Old Dominion) 6-4
Boris Novachkov (6) was dec. by Montell Marion (3) (Iowa) 7-6
Boris Novachkov (6) dec. Jimmy Ashnault (12) (Maryland) 6-3
Boris Novachkov (6) dec. Darius Little (8) (North Carolina State) 2-0
Boris Novachkov (6) dec. Hunter Stieber (5) (Ohio State) 7-4
Boris Novachkov (6) dec. Kendrick Maple (2) (Oklahoma) 4-3 (2 OT) (third place)
165 Pounds
Dominic Kastl dec. Cody Yohn (10) (Minnesota) 2-1
Dominic Kastl was dec. by Josh Asper (7) (Maryland) 5-2
Dominic Kastl dec. Gabriel Burak (Northern Colorado) 6-3
Dominic Kastl was dec. by Kyle Blevins (Appalachian State) 6-2 (Kastl eliminated)
174 Pounds
Ryan DesRoches (6) dec. Phillip Joseph (Eastern Michigan) 7-6
Ryan DesRoches (6) dec. Justin Zeerip (11) (Michigan) 5-4 OT
Ryan DesRoches (6) was dec. by Nick Amuchastegui (3) (Stanford) 6-1
Ryan DesRoches (6) dec. Jimmy Sheptock (12) (Maryland) 5-1
Ryan DesRoches (6) was maj. Dec. by Jordan Blanton (7) (Illinois) 11-2
Ryan DesRoches (6) was dec. by Ethen Lofthouse (5) (Iowa) 3-1 (eighth place)
197 Pounds
Ryan Smith was dec. by Sonny Yohn (10) (Minnesota) 2-0
Ryan Smith was dec. by Derek Stanley (Army) 5-2 (Smith eliminated)
Photos courtesy of Randy Martin
