Fresno State Athletics
Abas Wins Third Wrestling National Championship
3/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 23, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - Senior Stephen Abas won his third 125 division title at the NCAA Championships in Albany, N.Y., Saturday. No. 1 seeded Abas beat seventh-seeded Luke Eustice of Iowa by an 8-4 decision in the finals.
Abas scored two quick takedowns in the first period, both which were followed by Eustice escapes. Abas chose bottom to begin the second period, and scored an escape to put the score at 5-2. He scored his last takedown midway through the second period and Eurdice got an escape before the end of the period. Eurdice chose bottom and got his fourth escape, but was unable to close the three point gap. With over one minute of riding time, Abas earned one extra point to elevate the score 8-4.
"I knew I had to score points quick because the guys from Iowa are very well conditioned and I knew he was going to be coming at me the entire time," said Abas.
Abas' 5-0 run at the NCAA Championships included a 2-0 victory over Boston's Jose Leon in the first round and an 11-1 major decision over Michigan State's Chris Williams in the second round. Abas beat eighth-seeded Shawn Williams of Oregon 8-4 in the quarterfinals and Chris Fleeger of Purdue 14-5 in the semifinals.
Abas becomes Fresno State's first ever three-time national champion and second four-time All-American. Abas' brother and Bulldog assistant coach, Gerry, was Fresno State's first four-time All-American. Abas is the 40th wrestler in NCAA history to win three national titles.
Abas finishes the season with a perfect 35-0 record. He won 12 matches by fall, three by technical fall and nine by major decision. Last year Abas finished the season with a 34-0 record, complete with a 13-10 victory of Iowa's Jody Strittmatter in the NCAA finals in Iowa City, Iowa.
Abas finishes his Fresno State career with a 144-4 record. He has won 106 consecutive matches in the 125 division and 95 consecutive matches regardless of division. Abas holds almost every wrestling record at Fresno State. He is first in career wins (144), career win percentage (.973), and season win percentage (1.000).
The Bulldog wrestling team will return to Fresno late Sunday evening. Log on to www.gobulldogs.com to get the most up to date information regarding Fresno State's three-time national champion.
