Catrabone, Richardson go down

There was some rumbling in Buffalo last night.

The titans of college wrestling faced one another in the 1998 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic at the University of Buffalo yesterday night.

The tournament selects the top two wrestlers in each weight class to face off against each other in a dual meet of mammoth proportions.

Michigan sent its two top grapplers - No. 2 Airron Richardson at heavyweight and No. 3 Jeff Catrabone at 167-pounds.

Catrabone, who was not scheduled to compete, was able to wrestle in the meet when top-ranked Joe Williams of Iowa pulled out with an injury. Catrabone faced fourth-ranked Brandon Slay of Pennsylvania, who wrestled in place of No. 2 Mark Smith of Okl

FILE PHOTO Michigan's Airron Richardson (22-2) fell to Cal-Bakersfield's Stephen Neal (24-0) in a 3-1 decision yesterday night at the NWCA All-Star Classis hosted by the University of Buffalo .

ahoma State.

These two All-Stars had met only once before - in last year's NCAA national championship tournament, where Slay defeated Catrabone.

Favored in the match, Catrabone hoped to avoid a similar result this time around.

He did not succeed, however, losing a close 3-1 decision in the final seconds of the bout.

Dead even throughout most of the match, Slay managed an escape in the second period to take the lead, 1-0.

Catrabone evened the score at one point apiece in the third period, but Slay scored a takedown with two seconds remaining in regulation to take the victory.

It was one of only three upsets in the meet, and Catrabone's second loss of the season.

Richardson suffered the same fate as his teammate, losing 3-1 to top-ranked Stephen Neal of Cal-State Bakersfield.

Neal scored early in the match with a takedown in the first period, and an escape in the second period put him up 3-0. Richardson's third-period escape was the only point he could muster.

The loss was also only Richardson's second on the season, with both defeats coming at the hands of Neal.

02-03-98