ST. LOUIS -- University of Iowa sophomore Cory Clark recorded a 7-5 win over Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon on Friday night to advance to the 133-pound finals of the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Clark was one of six Hawkeye wrestlers to advance to the medal round of the national tournament. Thomas Gilman (125), Brandon Sorensen (149), Mike Evans (174), Nathan Burak (197), and Bobby Telford (285) all wrestled to All-America honors.
Iowa sits in second place with 73 team points, trailing first-place Ohio State by 13.5. Cornell (66.5), Edinboro (64.5), and Missouri round out the top five.
"We're 13.5 points down so we need to be ready to go first thing tomorrow morning," said Brands. "Points are hard to get, so when you can get them you go get them. There is still a lot of work to do."
Clark advanced to the finals of the national tournament for the first time in his career. He trailed Gulibon, a seventh-seed from Penn State, 2-0 early in the second period before rattling off six unanswered points to build a 6-2 lead.
"I knew I had to come out hard and ready to wrestle," said Clark. "He is a familiar opponent I've wrestled a couple times. He's really explosive, and when he goes, he goes."
Clark allowed an escape and a takedown in the final seconds but used 1:39 of riding time to earn the final 7-5 decision. He will wrestle Oklahoma's 13th-seeded Cory Brewer in the finals. It is the first meeting between the two.
"I know in order for me to win the national title, I've got to wrestle at my very best, and I'm sure he's thinking along the same lines," Clark said.
Freshman Brandon Sorensen and senior Bobby Telford both won four matches Friday on the backside of the bracket to secure All-America honors. Telford is an All-American for the third time. Sorensen is a first-timer.
"There's definitely still work to do, so we'll go from there and we'll see what happens," Sorensen said. "I'm shooting for third and so let's go it."
Evans and Gilman dropped into the consolation round following semifinal losses. Both wrestlers return to the mat Saturday in the consolation semifinals. Burak was 1-1 on the backside of the bracket and will wrestle for seventh place for the second straight year.
The medal round begins Saturday at 10 a.m. (CT).The Saturday morning session is televised on ESPNU and streamed online at ESPN3.
The Championship finals will air live on ESPN at 7 p.m. ESPN3 will stream both the morning and evening sessions.
Notes: Attendance was 18,761.
SEMIFINAL RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 - Zeke Moisey (WVU) pinned #6 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 0:52
133 - #3 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #7 James Gulibon (PSU), 7-5
174 - #2 Matt Brown (PSU) dec. #3 Mike Evans (Iowa), 1-0
FINAL MATCHUPS
133 - #3 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. #13 Cody Brewer (OU)
ROUND OF 12 RESULTS
149 - #4 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) major dec. #7 Sal Mastriani (VT), 9-1
184 - #3 Blake Stauffer (ASU) dec. #9 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 7-2
197 - #6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. Canaan Bethea (PENN), 10-3
285 - #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. #7 Blaize Cabell (UNI), 4-0
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
149 - #4 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Daniel Neff (LH), 4-3
197 - #2 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) dec. #6 Nathan Burak (Iowa), 5-3
285 - #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. #9 Michael Kroells (MINN), 2-0
CONSOLATION SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
125 - #6 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. #2 Nahshon Garrett (CORN)
149 - #4 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. #5 Chris Villalonga (CORN)
174 - #3 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. #1 Robert Kokesh (NEB)
285 - #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs. #5 Connor Medbery (WIS)
7th PLACE MATCHUPS
197 - #6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. #8 Max Huntley (MICH)
TEAM SCORES
1. Ohio State - 86.5
2. IOWA - 73
3. Cornell - 66.5
4. Edinboro - 64.5
5. Missouri - 60
6. Penn State - 58
7. Oklahoma St. - 55.5
8. Michigan - 51
9. Minnesota - 49
Nebraska - 49
Clark was one of six Hawkeye wrestlers to advance to the medal round of the national tournament. Thomas Gilman (125), Brandon Sorensen (149), Mike Evans (174), Nathan Burak (197), and Bobby Telford (285) all wrestled to All-America honors.
Iowa sits in second place with 73 team points, trailing first-place Ohio State by 13.5. Cornell (66.5), Edinboro (64.5), and Missouri round out the top five.
"We're 13.5 points down so we need to be ready to go first thing tomorrow morning," said Brands. "Points are hard to get, so when you can get them you go get them. There is still a lot of work to do."
Clark advanced to the finals of the national tournament for the first time in his career. He trailed Gulibon, a seventh-seed from Penn State, 2-0 early in the second period before rattling off six unanswered points to build a 6-2 lead.
"I knew I had to come out hard and ready to wrestle," said Clark. "He is a familiar opponent I've wrestled a couple times. He's really explosive, and when he goes, he goes."
Clark allowed an escape and a takedown in the final seconds but used 1:39 of riding time to earn the final 7-5 decision. He will wrestle Oklahoma's 13th-seeded Cory Brewer in the finals. It is the first meeting between the two.
"I know in order for me to win the national title, I've got to wrestle at my very best, and I'm sure he's thinking along the same lines," Clark said.
Freshman Brandon Sorensen and senior Bobby Telford both won four matches Friday on the backside of the bracket to secure All-America honors. Telford is an All-American for the third time. Sorensen is a first-timer.
"There's definitely still work to do, so we'll go from there and we'll see what happens," Sorensen said. "I'm shooting for third and so let's go it."
Evans and Gilman dropped into the consolation round following semifinal losses. Both wrestlers return to the mat Saturday in the consolation semifinals. Burak was 1-1 on the backside of the bracket and will wrestle for seventh place for the second straight year.
The medal round begins Saturday at 10 a.m. (CT).The Saturday morning session is televised on ESPNU and streamed online at ESPN3.
The Championship finals will air live on ESPN at 7 p.m. ESPN3 will stream both the morning and evening sessions.
Notes: Attendance was 18,761.
SEMIFINAL RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 - Zeke Moisey (WVU) pinned #6 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 0:52
133 - #3 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #7 James Gulibon (PSU), 7-5
174 - #2 Matt Brown (PSU) dec. #3 Mike Evans (Iowa), 1-0
FINAL MATCHUPS
133 - #3 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. #13 Cody Brewer (OU)
ROUND OF 12 RESULTS
149 - #4 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) major dec. #7 Sal Mastriani (VT), 9-1
184 - #3 Blake Stauffer (ASU) dec. #9 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 7-2
197 - #6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. Canaan Bethea (PENN), 10-3
285 - #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. #7 Blaize Cabell (UNI), 4-0
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
149 - #4 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Daniel Neff (LH), 4-3
197 - #2 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) dec. #6 Nathan Burak (Iowa), 5-3
285 - #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. #9 Michael Kroells (MINN), 2-0
CONSOLATION SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
125 - #6 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. #2 Nahshon Garrett (CORN)
149 - #4 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. #5 Chris Villalonga (CORN)
174 - #3 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. #1 Robert Kokesh (NEB)
285 - #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs. #5 Connor Medbery (WIS)
7th PLACE MATCHUPS
197 - #6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. #8 Max Huntley (MICH)
TEAM SCORES
1. Ohio State - 86.5
2. IOWA - 73
3. Cornell - 66.5
4. Edinboro - 64.5
5. Missouri - 60
6. Penn State - 58
7. Oklahoma St. - 55.5
8. Michigan - 51
9. Minnesota - 49
Nebraska - 49
