March 16, 2001

IOWA CITY - Sean Gray had a chance to advance to the championship of the 141-pound weight class, but gave up six points in the second period to top-ranked Doug Schwab of Iowa en route to an 11-9 loss Friday night in the 2001 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Gray wrestled Schwab at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Jan. 29 in Lancaster, Pa. In that match, he held a 5-1 lead on Schwab, but ran out of gas late, losing 12-7. Friday night's semifinal ran much the same course as that January meeting.

Gray came out strong, getting an early takedown for the 2-0 lead. Schwab reversed him to tie it up, but then Gray escaped and got a takedown to take a 5-2 lead into the second period. The second period was all Schwab - who has now won 39 consecutive matches - as he got an escape, a takedown and three near-fall points to take an 8-5 lead to the final stanza. Gray started the third with an escape, but Schwab took him down for a 10-6 lead. Gray escaped and got a takedown with less than 30 seconds left to cut the lead to one. With the takedown, Gray got a cradle hold on Schwab, but was unable to turn him over because he was right on the out-of-bounds line and rolled him out when he tried to turn him over. Gray was forced to let Schwab escape in hopes of a late takedown to tie it up, but was unable and Schwab moved on to the finals.

Gray (30-3) must now face the only other wrestler to defeat him this year - Eric Larkin of Arizona State - in the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning. If Gray wins, he will wrestle for third place later on Saturday. Should he lose, he will wrestle for fifth. Gray is guaranteed of finishing no lower than sixth. Larkin beat Gray earlier this season in the Las Vegas Open, 11-3.

Chris Martin and Scott Justus both lost in their respective consolation matches, falling one match short of All-America status. Martin, the seventh seed at 165 pounds, lost a 5-2 decision to third-seeded Steve Blackford of Arizona State. He trailed 2-1 after two periods and then gave up a late takedown late to wrap up his brilliant career at Tech. Martin - who was an All-American last year - finishes his career as the career victories leader in both overall and dual meets. He finishes with a 126-27 overall record and a 58-5 dual meet record.

At 184 pounds, Justus came close, but couldn't get a score late as he fell to Kyle Hanson of Northern Iowa, 6-4. Hanson led 2-1 after one period and 5-1 after two periods. Justus got an escape and a takedown late to cut it to one, but had to let Hanson loose and couldn't get the takedown he needed to tie it up. Justus, a sophomore, finishes the season at 20-9.

Gray will be back in action on Saturday morning in the first session, which begins at 8 a.m., Central Time.