The Big Time

Blue rocks to tune of three All-Americans

CLEVELAND - For the eighth straight year, the Michigan wrestling team returned from the NCAA tournament with at least one All-American. And for the third straight year, one of those honorees was 167-pounder Jeff Catrabone. He, along with teammates Bill Lacure and Airron Richardson, closed out his Michigan career with All-American honors as the team finished 12th at the tournament with 39.5 points.

"Bill, Airron and Jeff came here together, and for the past four seasons they have been the heart and soul of Michigan wrestling," assistant coach Joe McFarland said. "For them all to finish and leave as All-Americans - well, that's a great way to g

SARA STILLMAN/Daily For four long years, Bill Lacure graced the mats as one of Michigan's finest wrestlers. Last weekend, he bowed out at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. Lacure finished as an All-America selection, joining teammates Airron Richardson and Jeff Catrabone, who garnered similar honors.

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Catrabone finished third in the 167 bracket with a 5-1 record. His only loss came in the semifinals to eventual champion Joe Williams from Iowa. Seeded fifth in the tournament, it took a sudden-death win over No. 2 seed Mark Smith of Oklahoma State for Catrabone to finish third. With the score tied at four at the end of the first overtime, Smith chose the down position to begin the tie-breaker. In the up position, Catrabone had to deny Smith an escape for 30 seconds. As the clock ticked down, Catrabone held Smith's ankle as the two crept toward the out of bounds area. The Cowboy coaches and fans thought Smith had escaped, but it was ruled after time had expired, and Catrabone was named the third-place winner.

"When he won the coin toss and chose down, I knew it would be tough," Catrabone said. "He has great hips, and I knew if I held him there he'd just turn one way or the other and get out. So I went low, picked an ankle and held on for dear life. I heard the referee count down the seconds, and I had just enough room to finish out the clock."

Catrabone's victory earned the Wolverines nine points, but more important for the tournament, it denied No. 1 Oklahoma State the extra points necessary for a victory. The Cowboys finished third in the tournament behind Iowa and Minnesota by only 2.5 points. When the referee ruled Smith's escape had come after time expired the Iowa fans cheered louder than the small Michigan contingency, and Smith stormed off the mat, flicking off the boisterous Hawkeye fans.

Lacure also reached the third-place bout, but fell to West Virginia's Mike Mason, 6-4, in overtime. Mason was the same wrestler that beat Lacure to oust him from the championship bracket. The All-American honor was the second for Lacure, who had also placed in the top eight two years ago as a sophomore.

"Bill's back was bothering him most of the week," McFarland said. "But that wasn't any excuse, he wrestled hard and both times he was right in there with Mason down to the last second."

With the other two seniors having reached the third-place bout, Richardson appeared to be headed toward the finals as he faced off with Iowa State's 11th seed, Trent Hynek, in the semifinals. But Richardson was taken down early in the third period and upset by the Cyclone, 4-3. Richardson was seeded second in the heavyweight bracket and breezed through the first three rounds of the tournament before falling. Richardson had beaten Hynek the previous two times they faced off, but the senior said he just wasn't aggressive enough.

"I was really disappointed to lose that match," he said. "I blame myself, because I went there with the wrong strategy. But I knew if I thought about that match a lot, I wouldn't be able to get back and win the fifth-place match."

Richardson was able to clear his head and beat third seed Jason Gleasman of Syracuse to capture fifth place and the second All-America honor of his career. Gleasman had also been upset by Hynek in the championship bracket.

"I'm proud to finish fifth here and to have been the Big Ten champ this season, but I came here feeling I had a realistic chance to be the National Champion, and I lost that dream. But it's still nice to know that I finished out my wrestling career with a win."

The three seniors weren't the only Wolverines at the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore Joe Warren posted a 2-2 record in his first visit to the tournament. He won his first-ever match at the tournament, but lost his second against eventual All-American Jason Buce of Oregon State. Then in the wrestlebacks, he fell to the hands of another eventual All-American, Carl Perry of Illinois.

"Joe wrestled great here," McFarland said. "He is only a sophomore and this was his first trip here. I love his attitude, and he is a real competitor. I'm sure he'll be back here again because he got a taste of the NCAAs and I know he's hungry for more now."

But as Warren will work in the off-season and hope to next year return to the tournament, it was the final trip for the seniors.

"This weekend was just bittersweet for me," Catrabone said. "I'm happy and I'm proud, but I'm sad too. It was my last time ever wrestling in the maize and blue uniform and that's tough to swallow. But I'm appreciative of everything and I had a lot of great memories in this singlet. Between the people I met and my athletic career, I don't think my college experience could have been any better."

As their careers came to an end, so did the melancholy 1997-98 season for the Wolverines in which they lost teammate Jefferey Reese. Reese was honored with a moment of silence before the start of competition on Thursday, and was memorialized by the Michigan wrestlers with his initials on their singlets.

"This season has been trying for all of us. But we got through it together. We represented him all season right here (slapping the JLR initials on his thigh).," Catrabone said. "And I know Jeff is up there somewhere watching us compete - and he is happy."

03-23-98