March 20, 2009
St. Louis, Mo. - Stanford wrestlers Luke Feist and Nick Amuchastegui bowed out in today's third session of the NCAA Championships, both falling in the consolation bracket to end their championship runs.
Feist started the day on a high note, battling through three sudden victory periods, four tiebreakers and more than 11 minutes of wrestling to upset Iowa's No. 15 Chad Beatty, 3-1.
Each wrestler registered an escape during regulation, sending the match to overtime tied 1-1. After the first scoreless sudden victory period, each wrestler rode the other out in a pair of tiebreakers. A second sudden victory period was also scoreless, and again neither wrestler could score the winning escape in two 30-second tiebreakers. In the third sudden victory period, Feist got in on a deep shot and finished with the winning takedown in the 12th minute of the bout.
The decision propelled Feist into the fourth round of consolation matches, where he met up with Cornell's Cameron Simez. After his triple-overtime marathon, however, Feist was defeated 12-5 by Simez. The Cornell wrestler picked up a takedown and a two-point near fall in the first period and Feist couldn't catch up.
The Cardinal senior ends his Stanford career with an 83-64 record, with a 24-15 mark coming during his senior season. A three-time NCAA qualifier and four-time Pac-10 placer, Feist leaves The Farm as the ninth-winningest wrestler in school history.
Amuchastegui, who shocked a defending All-American in his opening match yesterday, was edged by No. 16 Roger Smith-Bergsrud of Illinois in a 6-5 decision. Amuchastegui tied the match at four with an escape to start the third frame, but Smith-Bergsrud came up with the winning takedown later in the period.
Amuchastegui concludes his freshman season with a 29-8 record, matching teammate Zack Giesen's 2007 effort as the third winningest rookie in school history. In the course of his notable freshman campaign, the Talent, Ore. led the team with 75 dual points, was the Pac-10 runner-up at 165 pounds and was one of four team members to post 20-win seasons. He upended two ranked opponents during the year, including a stunning upset of fifth-seeded Nick Marable in his first career NCAA Championship match yesterday.
The 2009 championships conclude tomorrow in St. Louis. Stanford totaled 4.5 points at the tournament and will finish 51st in the field.
Stanford Results
NCAA Championships
St. Louis, MO
March 19-21, 2009
165 pounds
Nick Amuchastegui (1-2): dec. No. 6 (No. 5 Seed) Nick Marable (Missouri), 5-2; lost to No. 13 (No. 12 Seed) Jarrod King (Edinboro), 5-1; lost to No. 16 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (Illinois), 6-5.
197 pounds
Luke Feist (2-2): dec. John Hall (Boston University), 6-1; lost to No. 6 (No. 3 Seed) Brent Chriswell (Boise State), 8-4; dec. No. 15 Chad Beatty (Iowa), 3-1 (OT); lost to Cameron Simez (Cornell), 12-5.