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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 21, 2004 Ex-North Valley star Gentry bags NCAA title Staff, wire reports ST. LOUIS — Championships are nothing new for Matt Gentry. But they are for the Stanford wrestling program. Gentry, a former North Valley star, became Stanford’s first-ever national titlist Saturday at the NCAA championships. He decisioned Jake Percival of Ohio University, 4-2, at 157 pounds in the only finals match pairing unbeaten wrestlers. Advertisement Gentry (41-0) had already made history before the victory because Stanford had never before had a finalist. Percival dropped to 38-1, but he had lost an exhibition match to Gentry earlier this year, 13-10, in the finals of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association All-Star Classic at Cedar Falls, Iowa. Gentry, a junior who is studying pre-medicine, said a mix of brain and brawn is helpful. "My athletics helps my academics and my academics helps my athletics," Gentry said. "It gives me focus, desire and a good work ethic. "It’s a great experience, quite an honor. Stanford athletics is an amazing program, and I feel grateful to be able to wrestle for them." He used a reversal to score the deciding points against Percival, the No. 4 seed. "If I’d given up the escape," he said, "it would have been tied, and with the reversal, you can go up by one. I wanted to win. "I love close matches. Those are the ones you look back on and are proud of. If I could, I would wrestle those every day." Gentry won two state championships and made it to the finals three times while at North Valley. He captured the 103-pound title as a sophomore in 1998 and the 135 crown in 2000. After redshirting his first year at Stanford, Gentry was named to the Amateur Wrestling News all-rookie team and the Pac-10 Conference newcomer of the year after compiling a 35-11 record as a freshman. The 35 wins was a school record. He went 32-10 as a sophomore, and is now 108-21 in his career. Gentry said he hoped his win brings attention to West Coast wrestling, particularly that of top recruits. "A lot of kids have concerns that they need to be in a top-10 program to be a national champion," said Gentry. "I think I disprove that." In other highlights, Jesse Jantzen became the first Harvard winner since 1938, while Oklahoma State wrapped up its second straight team title. The Cowboys won one of three finals, their only less-than-dominating day, but entered the championship round with a 41½ -point lead and won by that margin for their 32nd title. Oklahoma State’s Chris Pendleton beat Ben Askren of Missouri, the only freshman in the finals, 11-4 at 174 pounds. "A lot of people wanted to see us fall," Pendleton said. "We just had to come out and earn it." Pendleton wrestled right after top-seeded Tyrone Lewis was upset 5-2 by second-seeded Troy Letters of Lehigh at 165 pounds, and avenged his only loss of the season in the Big 12 championships to Askren. "It breaks my heart to see a guy like Tyrone not win the national title when he’s the best wrestler, hands down, in college wrestling," Pendleton said. "I just had to put it out of my mind and focus on my match." Iowa was a distant second with 82 points. Lehigh and Ohio State tied for third at 77½ , Nebraska was fifth at 74. Ten schools won one individual championship apiece. Greg Jones of West Virginia (184), Damion Hahn (197) of Minnesota and heavyweight Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State each won their second championships. Jantzen (38-1), the top seed at 149, won for Harvard as John Harkness, the only other Crimson champion, watched from the third row. Jantzen gave Harkness a nod and a wave after decisioning second-seeded Zack Esposito of Oklahoma, 11-4. "It’s incredible and it’s a big relief," Jantzen said. "It’s been a goal of mine since my freshman year, and if you set your mind to it, you can do it." Jones (26-0) also finished unbeaten with a 10-5 decision over Ben Heizer of Northern Illinois at 184. Jones won at 174 two years ago but did not place last year at that weight class before moving up. Oklahoma State also got third-place finishes from Johnny Thompson at 133 and Jake Rosholt at 184, a fifth from Johnny Hendricks at 157 and a seventh from heavyweight Will Gruenwald to win consecutive championships for the first time since 1989-90. At 125, top-seeded Jason Powell (26-2) became the first Nebraska champion since 1995 with a technical fall in the second period over fifth-seed Kyle Ott of Illinois. Powell, who finished third last year, ran up a 17-2 lead after Ott got an early takedown. "It’s the best possible way to go out," Powell said. "I have to say it was the very best match I’ve ever had." Zach Roberson of Iowa State continued the momentum from a semifinal upset of top seed Travis Lee of Cornell at 133 in the semifinals, beating Josh Moore of Penn State 7-3. Iowa got a winner at 141, clinching second place, when Cliff Moore decisioned Matt Murray of Nebraska 5-2 in a mostly defensive struggle matching the fifth and seventh seeds. Moore also beat the top seed in the semifinals, ending an unbeaten season for Virginia’s Scott Moore. Moore finished third with a 50-1 record and 34 pins. Hahn, the defending champion and top seed at 197, decisioned 10th-seeded Ryan Fulsaas of Iowa 6-2. Fulsaas the lowest seed in the finals, has a 58-43-11 career record. Hahn is the third two-time winner in school history, and one of those he joins is professional wrestler Verne Gagne (1948-49). In a rematch of the Big Ten championship, Rowlands decisioned Pat Cummins of Penn State 6-2 at heavyweight. Rowlands won in 2002 and finished sixth last year after an injury. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers