Powell Claims National Title

St Louis, Mo. -- At the 2004 NCAA Championships Jason Powell became the eighth Husker to claim a national title, as he recorded a technical fall over sixth-seed Kyle Ott of Illinois in dominating fashion, 17-2.

Junior Matt Murray’s bid for his first individual title fell short as he lost a heartbreaking decision to Cliff Moore of Iowa, 5-2. Junior Travis Shufelt and sophomore Jacob Klein claimed their first All-American award with seventh place finish in their respective weight classes.

The Huskers finished in fifth place with 74.0 team, as Big 12 rival Oklahoma State claimed their second straight and 32nd team title. The Cowboys finished 41.5 points ahead of second place Iowa with Lehigh and Ohio State tying for third.

In a match featuring a pair of first-time finalists, Powell dominated the sixth seeded grappler from Illinois, scoring three near falls. The match started out slow for Powell, as Ott surprised him with a takedown early on in the first period to take a 2-0 lead.

"That first takedown surprised me," Powell said. "After that, I knew he was ready to go."

After an escape, Powell then took compete control of the match. He took down Ott to give him a 3-2 lead before scoring the the riding time point. With 39 seconds left in the period, Powell turn Ott onto his back for his first three-point near fall to give him a commanding 6-2 lead. With Ott on top to start the second period, Powell scored a reversal to make the score 8-2. Powell then added his second three point near fall of the match to give him a nine-point lead.

With 56 seconds left in second period, Ott was signaled for his second stall warning of the match, which resulted in a point for Powell to extend his lead to 12-2. At the end of the second period, Powell recorded his final near fall of the match. Needing the team points, Powell went for a single leg takedown that turned into a double leg, giving him the technical fall and the title.

"This is the greatest feeling in the world," Powell said. I have wanted to do this ever since I came to Nebraska. It’s the best possible way to end my career."

Powell’s national championship was the first for Head Coach Mark Manning at Nebraska and his second overall as a collegiate head coach.

"Wow," Manning said. "What a way to wrestle in the NCAA finals. He wrestled a tough kid and this just puts an end to a great season and career. Jason has done so much for this team and this program that its nice end for him."

At 141 pounds, Murray and Moore wrestled to a scoreless first period. Before the start of the second period, Murray deferred his option start to the third period with Moore then chose bottom. Moore got onto the board first with an escape nine seconds into the second period to give him a 1-0 lead.

After both wrestlers exchange attempted shots, neither of them was able to score any second-period points. Murray tied the match at one with an escape of his own three seconds into the third period. At the 1:43 mark, Moore gained control of Murray and scored the match’s first takedown to give him a 3-1 lead. Murray cut into Moore’s lead with an escape with 1:16 left in the third period.

After another scramble, Moore gained control of Murray again and recorded his second takedown of the match to take the championships, 5-2.

"It was a good match," Murray said. "I was a little tired because of all the previous overtime matches and got out of my stance a little which lead to the last takedown. I’m just going to use this as motivation to make me work harder in the offseason.

In the morning session, Shufelt, who wrestled the entire tournament with injured ribs that he sustained in his opening round match, defeated 11th-seed Jeff Ratliff of Ohio State, 5-1. Shufelt got on the board first with a takedown at the 1:57 mark in the first period. After a Ratliff escape the match headed into the second period with Shufelt up by one. Shufelt extended his lead to 3-1 with an escape at the start of the second stanza. After a point was given to Shuffled because of an illegal hold by Ratliff, he was able to withstand Ratliff’s attempts and earned the riding time point for the victory.

"It feels good to be an All-American," Shufelt said. "I was disappointed with the loss yesterday so it was important to come back strong today. This defiantly prepared me for next season; I now know what it takes."

The second seventh-place match of the day saw Klein defeat Tim Foley of Virginia, 8-2. Klein avenged an 11-0 loss he suffered to Foley earlier this year at the Virginia Duals. In the first period, Klein jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a takedown and then was able to rid Foley out for the rest of the period. With 56 seconds left in the second period, Foley tied the match at two with a reversal. Tied at two Klein regained the lead with another reversal to make the score 4-2. After a Klein escape he extended his lead to 5-2. Near the end of the third period, Klein added another takedown, plus the riding time point to make the match 8-2.

"Becoming an All-American is what I came out here to do," Klein said. "Finishing seventh is going to push me next year because I want to be higher up on that podium."

The fifth-place finish by the Huskers was the fifth top-five finish in school history and the first since 1995-96.

"A top-five finish is great," Manning said. "Jason Powell ended his career on a great note. Who would of thought that Matt Murray would have been a NCAA finalist. We have come guys hurting right now because they wanted some hardware but this is something we are going to have to build on."

Championship Matches
125) 1) Jason Powell (NU) by technical fall over 6) Kyle Ott (Ill.), 17-2 (5:32)
141) 5) Cliff Moore (Iowa) by decision over 7) Matt Murray (NU), 5-2

Seventh Place Match
149) 3) Travis Shufelt (NU) by decision over 11) Jeff Ratlliff (OSU), 5-1
165) Jacob Klein (NU) by decision over 11) Tim Foley (UVA), 8-2

NCAA Notes
*The win by Powell marks the second straight time that the Huskers have crowed a National Championship in St. Louis. Brad Vering was the last, when he captured the title in 2000.
*Powell ended his Husker career with 17 NCAA Championship wins.
*Powell is the 11th wrestler in school history to record three or more All-American awards.
*Powell becomes the third Husker to capture a National Title in his final season.
*The four All-Americans by the Huskers marks the most since recording four in 2001.
*Matt Murray’s appearance in the finals marked the first time that a first-time Husker participant made it to the championship match.
*The four All-American raises NU total to 72, while the two NCAA finalist making 17.