2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships Final Team Standings
2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships Final Brackets
Matt Magill of New York University recorded a thrilling victory in the consolation bracket as he ended his NYU career at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships on Friday, March 11, at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Competing at 165 pounds – a weight class that featured eight former All-Americans and two National Champions – Magill had a difficult draw in his opening bout, as he was forced to take on #1 seed Josh Terrell of Dubuque University. Terrell, who went on to win the National Championship in the class, earned an 8-0 major decision victory.
Sent to the consolation bracket, Magill bounced back with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Jordan Graham of Augustana College. In the first period, Magill recorded a takedown, but Graham escaped and then notched a takedown of his own, giving him a 3-2 lead. A scoreless second period kept it at 3-2 heading into the third and final period.
Trailing by a point, Magill chose the down position, hoping for an escape or reversal. Graham maintained the advantage for most of the period, accruing enough riding time to give him another point had the bout ended then. But with roughly 30 seconds remaining, Magill recorded the two-point reversal he needed and then held the advantage long enough to erase Graham's riding time and earn a 4-3 win.
“Matt knew the scenario and knew what he had to do,” said assistant coach Corey Luce. “He got the reversal and won the match. Just to get that one win at the national tournament is big."
Magill's third match of the day pitted him against Joseph Hambleton of Cornell College. In a close match, Magill ultimately fell by a final score of 5-2, ending up two wins short of being named All-American for the second straight year.
“Overall, even though we didn't place where we wanted to at the NCAA's, this last match doesn't define the career Matt Magill has had at NYU,” said Luce.
“The past 4 years Matt has been one of the greatest wrestlers the school has ever had, and coming into the tournament with essentially one hand and still getting a huge victory shows the kind of heart and fight that he has. Many wrestlers would have just stopped wrestling with that injury, but Matt battled through it and was able to make it all the way to the NCAA's.”
Magill ends his career having made two NCAA appearances, including earning All-America honors last year as a junior and being the fifth NYU wrestler with over 100 career wins.
In the team standings, NYU finished tied for 48th out of the 60 competing teams. With 117 points, Wartburg College captured its third National Championship in the last four years.
