Rosholt advances to NCAA finals

OMAHA, Neb. — Oklahoma State 285-pounder Jared Rosholt earned a spot in the NCAA championship bout today, where he will face a familiar foe in top-seeded David Zabriskie of Iowa State.

Rosholt, a former state champion at Sandpoint, punched his ticket into the finals with a 3-0 win over No. 4 Zach Rey of Lehigh in Friday night’s semifinal bout. Rosholt (34-2) and Zabriskie have a long history, with Zabriskie (25-2) winning six of their previous nine meetings. Rosholt has claimed victory in three of the last five head-to-head clashes.

“This is perfect. We have a pretty big rivalry,” Rosholt said of his title bout against Zabriskie. “I lost to him at Big 12s and let’s do it again to see who the national champ is. I’m going to do what I’ve done all season and make him wrestle. Let’s not stand around and go to overtime. Let’s get after it and give the fans what they want to see.”

Rosholt scored a decision over Brandon Williamson, of West Virginia in the quarterfinals. The Cowboys are in 5th place heading into the final day.

Former Bonners Ferry wrestling standout Adam Hall, a 157-pounder for Boise State, lost a tough 5-2 decision to Cal Poly’s Chase Pami in the championship quarterfinals.

He bounced back in the sixth round of the wrestle back, scoring a 9-8 decision over Bloomsburg’s Matt Moley, before notching a solid 12-4 win over Central Michigan’s Steven Brown in the wrestle back quarterfinals.

Iowa locked up a third straight team title Friday night at the NCAA championships, sending five wrestlers to the finals and building an insurmountable lead over Cornell.