Gazette Online NCAA D-I Wrestling Fantasy results

According to the results I now have in my hand, we have a winner in the inaugural Gazetteonline/Crossface Chronicles NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Fantasy Contest. There were 200 entries, which included myself and another staff member, from all over the country. Entries came in from Miami, Fla., to Somerdale, N.J., from Millersville, Md., to Lakewood, Wash, from Live Oak, Texas, to Boise, Ida. and, of course, plenty of entries from the Midwest, including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The winner was Josh Zingher of Binghamton, N.Y. Congrats to Mr. Zingher, who tallied an impressive 144 points out of a possible 160. Zingher is a former Cedar Rapids Washington wrestler and is currently a graduate student at SUNY-Binghamton. Congrats to Mr. Zingher (Pictured left).

Here was Zingher's winning roster (Point total in parentheses):

125 - Angel Escobedo, Indiana (10)

133 -Jayson Ness, Minnesota (16)

141 - Reece Humphrey, Ohio State (10)

149 - Brent Metcalf, Iowa (16)

157 - J.P. O'Connor, Harvard (16)

165 - Andrew Howe, Wisconsin (16)

174 - Jay Borschel, Iowa (16)

184 - Kirk Smith, Boise State (12)

197 - Jake Varner, Iowa State (16)

Hwt. - David Zabriskie, Iowa State (16)

I, on the other hand, finished tied for 110th with 113 points. Here are my picks: 125- Angel Escobedo, Indiana (10), 133 - Dan Dennis, Iowa (12), 141 - Reece Humphrey, Ohio State (10), 149 - Brent Metcalf, Iowa (16), 157 - Matt Moley, Bloomsburg (0), 165 - Andrew Howe, Wisconsin (16), 174 - Jay Borschel, Iowa (16), 184 - John Dergo, Illinois (7), 197 - Jake Varner, Iowa State (16), Hwt. - Zachary Rey, Lehigh (10).

As you can see, my 157-pound pick HURT. I was one of only two to pick Rey of Lehigh at Hwt. That turned out OK.

Cinderella Picks: As far as long shots go, only four wrestlers lower than top-four seeds reached the finals and only six outside the top two if you throw in the 125-pound weight class. Twent-one participants picked Max Askren to win at 184 pounds. Askren was the No. 6 seed. Iowa's Montell Marion and Penn State's Dan Vallimont were also No. 6 seeds  to reach the finals and place second at 141 and 165, respectively. Twent people picked Marion. The lowest seed to reach the finals was Cal Poly's Chase Pami at 157. He finished second.

Sixes Wild: Casey Clark of Cedar Rapids and Lyle Johnson of Sioux Falls, S.D., were the only two to pick both Askren (184) and Marion (141), who both reached the finals. Marion was second. Coralville's Randy Larson was the lone participant to pick Penn State's Dan Vallimont, who placed second at 165.

Cinderella pick: Brandon Aggson earns the "Cinderella Pick" of the tournament. Aggson was the only person to have Cal Poly's Chase Pami, who was the 157-pound runner-up to Harvard's top-seeded J.P. O'Connor.

Here is the rest of the top 10:

1. Josh Zingher, Binghamton, N.Y., 144

2. Vi Schamberger,Cedar Rapids, 141

3. G. Wyatt Schultz, Cedar Rapids, 140

t3. Brad Trow, Ankeny, 140

5. Joe Paulsen, Onslow, Iowa, 139

6. Cory Vaupel, Brandon, Iowa, 138

t6. Scott Klees, Cedar Rapids, 138

t6. Lyle Johnson, Sioux Falls, S.D., 138

t6. Richard Lahman, Cedar Rapids, 138

9. Dick Briggs, Cedar Rapids, 137

t9. T.J. Zahn, Bettendorf, 137

Again, thanks to all for participating and I hope you had fun doing it. Hopefully, this will evolve into a regular feature. If you'd like to know exactly how you did, please email me directly at

kj.pilcher@gazcomm.com and I can let you know. Thanks again.