March 18, 2011

Session III Brackets

PHILADELPHIA - Utah Valley University senior Benjamin Kjar (125 pounds) will become UVU's first-ever wrestling All-American as he defeated the No. 5 seed and two-time All-American from Minnesota Zachary Sanders 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Friday morning at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Kjar will advance to this evening's semifinals to take on the No. 1 seed and two-time All-American from Arizona State Anthony Robles.

The semifinals (Session IV) of the NCAA Championships will be aired live tonight at 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT on ESPNU. Kjar's match vs. Robles will be the opening bout.

After a scoreless first period in the quarters, Kjar took the upper hand in the match over Sanders as he jumped out to a 3-0 lead with an escape and takedown. Sanders then managed to pick up an escape to get on the scoreboard but Kjar answered with another takedown right before the end of the period to take 5-1 lead heading into the final period. In the third Sanders got another escape point and a late stalling call on Kjar awarded him another but Kjar did what he had to do to hold the lead and get the huge win.

With the win Kjar has guaranteed himself an All-American finish at this year's championships. More than 17,000 fans at the Wells Fargo Center erupted when Kjar picked up the upset and even more cheered him on when they announced that Kjar will become UVU's first-ever All-American.

Kjar is also the only unseeded wrestler to reach the semifinals at this year's championships.

Also in action this morning was fellow UVU senior Flint Ray (133) in the wrestleback brackets. In his first bout of the day Ray kept his All-American hopes alive as he picked up a decisive 7-0 win over Nebraska's Ridge Kiley. Ray scored a takedown in the first, a reversal in the second and a takedown in the third as well as picked up a riding time point as he controlled the match for 3:48 seconds to win.

With the win over Kiley, Ray then took on Michigan's Zac Stevens. With Ray trailing 2-1 in the second period Ray flipped Stevens on his back in the center of the mat and quickly pinned him (4:40). Ray is now 3-1 at nationals this weekend.

With Ray's two wins this morning in the wrestlebacks, he is just one win shy of too assuring himself All-American status. Ray will take on the No. 8 seed and one-time All-American from Cornell Mike Grey this evening.

The medal rounds (Session V) will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. ET/9 a.m. MT and will be aired live on ESPNU. The finals (Session VI) will be held Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. MT and will be on ESPN.

Watch more video of Ben Kjar on flowrestling.org