Posted on Wed, Mar. 08, 2006
METRO WRESTLING DUAL
Kansas wins bragging rights
Bowen�s OT heavyweight victory caps comeback from 11-0 deficit
By BOB LUDER
The Kansas City Star
With the team title on the line, the spirited crowd at the Kansas City Kansas Community College gymnasium started yelling in unison at the beginning of the heavyweight match.
�Levi! Levi! Levi!�
Of course, both wrestlers were named Levi, so it was difficult to determine who was for which.
It wasn�t hard to tell which Levi the fans were standing and cheering for at the end, however. Levi Bowen�s takedown of Raymore-Peculiar�s Levi Thompson about 30 seconds into overtime gave him a victory and allowed Kansas to come from behind and defeat Missouri 27-25 on Tuesdya night in the 14th annual Metro Classic Wrestling Dual.
The win by Kansas broke a three-year win streak for Missouri.
�That�s what I like,� an exhausted but jubilant Bowen, who�s from Ottawa High, said afterward. �In the final seconds of the third (period), I got him jacked up on double under-hooks. After that, I knew I could get him in the overtime.
�I wasn�t about to lose this for us.�
Kansas trailed the entire night until Bowen�s victory. Missouri, in fact, won the first three matches and took an early 11-0 lead. Kansas spent the rest of the evening playing catch-up.
�We knew if we kept it close, we�d have a shot in the end,� said Kansas coach Jeremy Goebel of Tonganoxie.
Jacob Nay of Oak Park, who finished second last month at the Missouri state meet at 125 pounds, helped get Missouri off to a quick start with a 9-1 victory over Kenneth Livengood of Blue Valley North in the 119-pound match. Nay said he knew he needed a fast start against the Kansas state champion.
�I�d never wrestled him, but I knew he was real good,� Nay said. �I knew he has a good motor on him. I knew I had to get an early lead.�
Nay did just that with two quick takedowns and then held on for a dominating win.
�I thought it was a good match,� Nay said.
Kansas began to rally when Josh Sharp of Fort Scott proved too tough for Oak Grove�s Jacob Gaston in a 15-6 major decision at 125 pounds.
Then, in the 130 match, Blue Valley�s Tyler Madl slammed Cody Miller of Winnetonka to the mat so hard during the first period that Miller needed a timeout to have a trainer check his ribcage. Miller finished, but Madl came away with a 9-4 win that closed Missouri�s lead to 11-7.
�I didn�t mean to slam him that hard,� Madl said. �I felt him try to come around on me, so I just picked him up. All my body weight came down on him.
�I thought I had him stuck (pinned). I�m pretty upset about that.�
One of the most exciting matches of the night came at 135 pounds. Park Hill�s Eric Graham brought a 33-0 record against Andy Hurla of Aquinas, and Graham led 3-1 with only about 15 seconds left. But Hurla broke free and tied the score on a reversal and then scored a takedown in the final seconds, snatching a 5-4 victory between fellow state champions.
�I knew I had to get a reversal; I just went for it,� Hurla said. �I felt him weakening a little, so I thought I could get a takedown.
�I went from nothing to hero, so I felt pretty good.�
Pretty good? Hurla felt so good he did his own little victory dance around the ring.
�They talk a lot of smack,� he said. �We take this pretty seriously.�
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