Fresno State Athletics
Wrestlers Compete at NCAA Championships
3/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 17, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - Tim Cornish at 157 pounds has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the wrestlebacks at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Cornish drew Cal State Bakersfield's Nathan Vasquez in the first round and lost 6-2. But he immediately began making his mark in the wrestlebacks, taking out P.J. Boccia of Appalachian State 6-2 in the first round before upsetting 12th-seeded Joe Carr of West Virginia 6-5.
Cornish's impressive run continued against No. 4 seed David Kieldgaard, against whom Cornish scored a 9-6 victory by decision. In tonight's quarterfinal wrestleback match, he will take on Edinboro's Shaun Shapert, who was defeated in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket by 11th-seeded Corey Wallman 4-0.
Also competing for Fresno State in the NCAA's were Paris Ruiz (133) and Ralph Lopez (141). Ruiz, the No. 8 seed, won his first match over Brandon York of Maryland by major decision 12-2. He was then upset in the second round by Brad Byers of North Carolina by fall at 1:18. Ruiz moved into the wrestlebacks, where he met up with Jason Nagle of Pennsylvania and won 6-0. But in the next round, he was defeated by Kelly Revells of Eastern Illinois, who earned a 5-3 sudden victory.
Lopez had a tougher time, falling in the first round to No. 10 seed Jason DeBruin of Hofstra 4-2. In his first wrestleback match, Shane Cunanan of Oregon State scored a 6-4 sudden victory over Lopez.
Iowa State is the leader going into tonight's session, having garnered 57 points. Four-time defending national champion Iowa is tied for second with 50 with fellow Big Ten school Minnesota. The action gets underway this evening at 4:30 p.m. PST.
