There comes a time when you compete as hard as you can and then be happy with your accomplishments.
Boise State's wrestling team earned the highest finish in school history at the NCAA National Championships yesterday when the Broncos finished ninth in Philadelphia. Coach Greg Randall's team scored 57.5 points, just one point behind eighth-place Lehigh, 3.5 behind perennial power Minnesota and 5 behind Arizona State. Penn State won the national title with 107.5 points. The #9 finish tops the 10th-place finish the Broncos managed in 1999.
Still, it must have been disheartening to finish behind fellow Pac-10 school Arizona State, a team the Broncos thought they had vanquished in winning the Pac-10 Championship just two weeks ago. ASU brought far less wrestlers to the party than Boise State's record 10, but the Sun Devils who were there came to wrestle. Anthony Robles and Bubba Jenkins both brought home national championships to Tempe and the success of that pair plus Levi Cooper was enough to offset Boise State's 10 participants, many of whom did not win.
What Boise State did do was earn three All-America honors.
Bronco senior Andrew Hochstrasser led the charge with a second-place finish yesterday at 133 pounds. Hochstrasser roared through the tournament, scoring the lion's share of the team's bonus points until he met his nemesis Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State. Oliver surprised Hochstrasser with a takedown just 12 seconds into the match and that early shot appeared to throw the Bronco star out of rhythm. Oliver scored his third win of the season over Hochstrasser 8-4 to capture the national title.
Hochstrasser became the sixth Bronco to reach a national final and the fourth to place second. He joins the select company of Scott Barrett (126 pounds in 1982), Kirk White (165; 1999), Larry Quisel (157; 2000), Ben Cherrington (157; 2006) and Kirk Smith at 184 pounds last season. The two-time All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier Hochstrasser finished his career with a 98-14 record, sixth in Boise State history.
The other Broncos in action had a good day as well, with Jason Chamberlain capturing third place at 149 pounds and Adam Hall taking fifth at 157. Chamberlain scored a 3-1 win in overtime over #5 Jamal Parks of Oklahoma State as his dramatic takedown with 28 seconds remaining in sudden victory allowed Chamberlain to advance to the consolation final. It was a sweet victory for Chamberlain, who avenged his only loss of the season (to Parks). Jason took on #8 Ganbayer Sanjaa of American in the third-place match. American was a team that Boise State was chasing in an attempt to land fifth place and the Broncos could not lose if they hoped to move up. Chamberlain kept Boise State's hopes alive with a 3-0 victory. Chamberlain, one of the bright returners for next season, concludes the year 29-2.
Bronco senior Adam Hall avenged a championship round upset to #8 Jason Welch of Northwestern by coming back strong in a rematch. Welch had ended Hall's individual dream of a national title with a takedown in the final seconds of their match Friday night but this time it was no contest. Hall built a 2-0 lead heading into the third period and ended any Welch hopes for another upset with a takedown in the third. A riding time point gave Hall a 5-1 victory and fifth place. Hall (30-2 this season) finishes his career as a two-time All-American and second all-time in career wins with a record of 122-18. Only Tyler Sherfey (124-39) has a better career record.
Promising heavyweight J.T. Felix got a couple of wins in Philadelphia and Alan Bartelli and Jacob Swartz also scored a win. But in the end, it was too many injuries and too many missed opportunities that kept Boise State from a higher finish. For the seniors, they leave a legacy of incredible individual and team success and have a strong record to be proud of. For the returning Broncos, they have something to shoot for.
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