Keller Earns All-America, Mocs Finish 20th

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. --- Senior wrestler Matt Keller became the school’s sixth two-time All-America Saturday, placing fourth in the 133-pound weight class at the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships and earning All-America accolades.

Keller, seeded fifth at 133, defeated sixth-seeded Darrell Vasquez of Cal Poly, 5-2 Saturday morning to advance to the third-place match. Top-seeded Nick Simmons of Michigan State scored an 8-0 major decision over Keller, and Keller finished fourth. The McDonald, Tenn., native placed eighth last season for his first All-America status.

Keller ended up with a 5-2 record in the national tournament and concluded the season with a 33-4 overall record.

The Mocs compiled 29.5 team points, the most in the program’s NCAA Division I era, which began in 1978. UTC stands in 20th place with the championship finals still pending, and that would give Chris Bono’s team the top NCAA finish in the Division I era.

UTC tied defending National Champion Minnesota with a national-best nine qualifiers in the Nationals entering the tournament. And the Mocs went farther at Nationals than any year previously in the Division I era.

Six Mocs advanced to the fifth round of the consolations Friday including Javier Maldonado at 125 pounds, eighth-seeded Aaron Martin at 149, Jake Yost at 157 and heavyweight Matt Koz.

Michael Keefe, an All-America in 2005, was one of a handful of unseeded wrestlers to make the championship bracket quarterfinals. After defeating two seeded wrestlers, No. 10 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin and No. 7 Brandon Rader of West Virginia, Keefe was sent to the consolation bracket by second-seeded Derek Moore of Cal State-Davis.

Yost went 4-2 in the tournament. Maldonado, Martin and Koz each were 3-2. T.J. Sayers (165), Lloyd Rogers (174) and Josh Edmondson (184) were eliminated Friday morning.

UTC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Saturday
133 - Consolation semifinals: (5)Matt Keller (UTC) dec. (6)Darrell Vasquez (Cal Poly), 5-2
Third Place match: (1)Nick Simmons (Michigan State) maj. dec Keller, 8-0
(Keller places fourth)