Slay earns All-American status at NCAAs

No. 6 seed Brandon Slay makes it to the 167-pound finals before falling to the No. 1 seed at Nationals. This past weekend, captain Brandon Slay became a NCAA finalist, an accomplishment no Penn wrestler has achieved since 1943. Slay also won All-American honors, the first since 1964, breaking what Penn coach Roger Reina calls a "dry spell." In the first round of the 167-pound championship, Slay, a No. 6 seed, defeated Purdue's Davion Peterson easily, 13-5. That night, in the second round, Slay faced 11th-seed Mike Uker of Iowa in a highly emotional match. In front of 15,000 Iowa fans, the Penn junior was almost pinned in the first period and found himself in a 5-0 deficit. "I remember looking up and I knew that I definitely didn't want to be there," Slay said. "But I was able to fight back and take him down." "From that point on, he was the crowd favorite and was getting Iowa fans to root for him," Reina said. Slay eventually fought back to win, 12-11. In the quarterfinals, Slay took the third seed, Jeff Catrabone of Michigan, to sudden death where he eventually won, 3-1. Slay then faced the second seed, Wisconsin's Kevin Wilmot, who took Slay to overtime. But Slay prevailed, 4-3. In Saturday's finals, with a national record of attendance in amateur wrestling's history, Slay met Oklahoma State's No. 1 Mark Branch. The first period went scoreless, and both wrestlers were called for stalling. In the third period, Branch performed a counterattack as Slay was in control on a takedown move and took the lead, 3-2. Later in the period, Branch was warned for stalling but was not given a second warning despite failing to initiate any attacks on Slay. "I initiated the most offense in the match," Slay said. "The takedown he scored was defensive. If the refs had given him that point, I am confident I would have taken him down." The second warning against Branch would have given Slay a penalty point, bringing the match into overtime; Branch, however, managed to ride out the rest of the time on the clock, giving him the national title. "I think the stalling call was there," Reina said. "But it usually takes a little more to get that call against an athlete like Branch." Branch is ranked No. 1 and has been undefeated all season. He won the 1994 national title as a freshman, was a finalist in 1995 and a finalist due to injury default in 1996. The Quakers performance this weekend at the national championships, highlighted by Slay's performances, proved to the wrestling world that Penn's program is one to be reckoned with. "I'm really excited for the wrestling program," Slay said. "It will help people believe in the team, for those on the team and in the future, that you can go to one of the best schools in the country and still accomplish your goals and make it to the finals and become All-American at the national championships." Other Penn wrestlers did not fair as well as hoped. Seniors Sean O'Hara (134 pounds), Bart Murphy (150) and sophomore Andrei Rodzianko (190) attended their first national championships ever but lost in their first rounds. Joey Allen also did not advance in the heavyweight division. In his first match, the Penn senior faced the fourth seed, Bryan Stout of Clarion, who won, 6-1. Penn sophomore Brett Matter, who was seeded eighth, made it to the quarterfinals before falling to the No. 1 seed and eventual champion, Cary Kolat of Lock Haven. Kolat is a three-time finalist and last year's champion as well. Matter finished in the top 12. Finally, senior Clinton Matter won his first round match easily but faced 12th-seeded Jim Straight of Edinboro in the second round. Straight scored a one-point escape in the 30-second double overtime, giving him the win. Junior Ben Hatta (118) did not qualify, because he failed to make weight. Although some Penn performances were disappointing, the Quakers can only take from this national championships a lesson learned. "Our goals and expectations were much higher than what we accomplished," Reina said. "They are a group of pioneers who help pave the way for those who will participate in '98. "We are at the same time proud of Brandon, yet feel pain of our disappointments." The NCAA Championships will be televised on ESPN Wednesday at midnight.

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