VonOhlen Heads to Omaha for NCAA Wrestling Championships
3/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 15, 2010
Air Force freshman Cole VonOhlen will head to the 2010 NCAA Championships, being held in Omaha, Neb., this week, March 18-20. VonOhlen, the NCAA West Regional runner-up at 141 pounds, is the lone Falcon competing at this year's national tournament.
About the NCAA Championships...
This year, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The event, in its 80th year, is being hosted by the University of Nebraska and the Omaha Sports Commission. Top-ranked and undefeated Iowa will look to win the team title for the third-straight season. Meanwhile, four individual champions and seven runners-up from 2009 return to this year's tournament.
Watch the Action...
Fans who are unable to make it to Omaha to see the championships in person will still be able to catch the action online and on television. The first two sessions, which take place on Thursday, will be broadcast live on ncaa.com/wrestling.
Meanwhile, the final four sessions are all slated to be televised. On Friday, coverage will begin at 9:30 a.m. (CT) and 6:00 p.m. on ESPNU. Saturday's medal rounds, scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., will also be aired on ESPNU, while the championship bouts, slated to start at 6:30 p.m., will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Last Time Out...
Air Force finished fifth at the 2010 NCAA West Regional, scoring 37.5 points to place ahead of South Dakota State and Northern Colorado. The Falcons were led by a trio of runner-up finishes, with freshman Cole VonOhlen (141) and seniors Tyler French (174) and Stephen Larson (HWT) all placing second at their respective weight classes.
With three automatic NCAA bids handed out at 141 pounds, VonOhlen earned a spot at this year's national tournament by virtue of his second-place showing.
The Bracket...
In his first match of this year's NCAA Championships, Cole VonOhlen is slated to take on sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Montell Marion. Marion, a sophomore from Iowa, enters this weekend with a 28-7 overall record after placing third at the Big Ten Championships.
VonOhlen is also one of only two true freshmen in the 141-pound bracket this year. The other true freshman is top-ranked and top-seeded Kyle Dake of Cornell, who owns a 29-2 overall record on the season.
Against the Best...
This season, Cole VonOhlen has faced nine of the 32 other qualifiers at 141 pounds, carrying a 6-6 overall record against the field. Among his top victories are a technical fall over 11th-ranked Adin Duenas of Cal State Fullerton and a 10-0 major decision against Cal State Bakersfield's Elijah Nacita, currently ranked 13th in the nation.
Only one of VonOhlen's seven losses this year has come against a wrestler not competing in this week's championships. Early in the season, VonOhlen dropped a close decision to Nebraska-Omaha's Mario Morgan, the runner-up at the Division II wrestling championships last weekend.
In the National Rankings...
With an overall record of 31-7, Cole VonOhlen is currently ranked 18th in the nation at 141 pounds in the latest Intermat poll. In addition, VonOhlen is rated 19th by D1 College Wrestling and 20th by WrestlingReport.com. He is also ranked 10th at 141 pounds in the Takedown Wrestling Media Dual Impact Index.
What a Season...
Freshman Cole VonOhlen has gotten his career at Air Force to a spectacular start, earning an NCAA bid in his first season. He becomes the first Air Force freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Jake Kriegbaum, an at-large qualifier at 141 pounds in 2005.
In addition, VonOhlen, ranked 18th in the nation at 141 pounds, enters this week's championships with a 31-7 overall record. He is the first Falcon to post more than 30 wins in a single season since 2005, when Beau Tresemer compiled a 32-13 overall record for the year.
AF All-Time All-Americans...
This year, Cole VonOhlen will strive to join the ranks of such decorated individuals as Don Henderson, Terry Isaacson, Kirt Donaldson, Ken Donaldson, Bob Orwig, Terry Parham, Scott Frohardt and Kevin Hoy--Air Force's All-American wrestlers.
Among the group of eight All-Americans in Air Force history are one national champion (Henderson), three NCAA runners-up (Isaacson, Ken Donaldson and Hoy) and two multiple All-America performers (Isaacson and Hoy).
