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| Former Octorara wrestler Mike Letts, rear, has Ohio State's Nick Heflin in trouble during their bout Friday at the Wells Fargo Center. (Photo by Bill Rudick) |
Letts, a senior at the University of Maryland, over came a loss in the NCAA's championship quarterfinals to Iowa's Jon Reader earlier in the day to post a convincing win over Ohio State's Nick Heflin to gain the All-American status.
Here's the Daily Local article focused on Letts' capstone achievement. An article from the University of Maryland's own athletic site follows.
PHILADELPHIA -- Coming out of high school, former Octorara stand-out Mike Letts was one of the top recruits in the country after winning a pair of state championships. After heading to Maryland to wrestle for the Terps, it figured to just be a matter of time before Letts reached the upper echelons at the next level. But reality had other ideas.
"It's been a long time coming," said an elated Letts following a 6-2 win over Ohio State's Nick Heflin that guaranteed him status as an All-American at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Pressed into action as a true freshman, Letts won an ACC title, but came up short at Nationals. Sophomore year, Letts repeated as ACC champ, but finished a mere one win short of the podium. After a redshirt year, during which he brought home a medal from the Junior World Championships in Turkey, everyone figured this would be the year. But an injury robbed him of his postseason, and he could do nothing but watch as guy after guy he had beaten stood on the podium as an All-American.
"It seems like forever even just since I've been to nationals," said Letts. "I've been sitting two years just waiting to get back here, and it's been five years waiting to become an All-American."
Letts' day didn't get off to the best start. Squared off against top-seeded Jon Reader of Iowa State in the championship quarterfinals at 174, Letts simply couldn't penetrate his shots, and Reader, tough on top, punched his own ticket to the semis with an 8-2 win over Letts.
The round of 12, as it's called, is often thought to feature the most intense and inspired wrestling of the entire tournament. You win, you're an All-American. You lose, especially if you're a senior, like Letts, and your tournament and career come to a rapid close, and you're left with a lifetime of what-ifs.
Letts wasted no time in grabbing control of his match with Heflin, pushing the Buckeye 174-pounder back and back before attacking on a single and converting it near the edge of the mat.
Midway through the first, Letts tacked on three points to his lead, working a tilt for a five count, and making it a 5-0 match.
"I can't tell you how excited I was to get that tilt," said Letts. "I knew it probably meant the match."
While Helflin did manage a pair of escapes, the match, in reality, was over after the tilt. More than mere back points, Letts' dominance on top, including the tilt, led to over three minutes of riding time, and absurd advantage at this level. The riding time point made it a 6-2 final.
While Letts has cemented status as an All-American, his work isn't done. There are still several more bouts to come to determine just how high on the podium he'll be standing.
"I felt a definite sense of relief," said Letts. "Now I can just go out and wrestle, and see how many more I can win."
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All-American Terrapins: Three Terps Pick up Top Honors
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -The University of Maryland wrestling team jumped up in the team standings in Day Two of the 2011 NCAA Championships Friday at Wells Fargo Center thanks to a trio of Terps advancing through the consolation bracket and earning All-America status. As a team, Maryland has 34.5 points and is tied with the Wolverines of Michigan for 15th place.
Josh Asper (165 pounds), Mike Letts (174) and Spencer Myers (Heavyweight) all progressed in the second day to clinch All-America honors, tying a record of most top-eight finishers in Maryland history.
“I’m excited about how the day finished,” said head coach Kerry McCoy. “Three All-Americans is a great achievement. We had some tough matches in the morning and we bounced back really well to get those guys through. I’m excited and we have to finish strong tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.”
Narrowly losing in last season’s All-American match last season, Asper fought hard to ensure a top finish on Friday.
After suffering a close 3-1 loss to fifth-seeded Colt Sponseller of Ohio State, the fourth-seeded Asper shut out Clarion’s Bekzod Abdurakhmonov 6-0 to guarantee All-American status. In the consolation quarterfinals, the Parkton, Md., native silenced Lehigh’s Brandon Hatchett 4-0 to advance to the wrestleback semifinals, where he’ll face second-seeded Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. Regardless of Asper’s finish on Saturday, the sophomore can place no lower than sixth at 165 pounds.
A true freshman, Myers won five consecutive matches to earn All-America status. After finishing Thursday night with a pin over VMI’s Joshua Wine, Myers continued his hot streak by first topping 12th-seeded Eric Bugenhagen of Wisconsin 3-2 before earning a win over Iowa State’s Kyle Simonson. Next, Myers convincingly defeated 11th-seeded Tucker Lane of Nebraska 9-2 to set up a quarterfinals matchup against eighth-seeded Anthony Nelson of Minnesota.
After a scoreless first period, Nelson chose bottom against Nelson and escaped to pick up the one-point advantage. In the third, Myers countered by choosing down and quickly escaping to tie it up 1-1, sending the bout to overtime. Deciding to stick with what had been working, Myers chose down once again and was able to pull the upset by escaping Nelson’s grasp to earn the 2-1 overtime win. Myers will square off against fifth-seeded Dom Bradley of Missouri Saturday morning for the right to compete in the third-place match.
The ACC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, Letts handled 10th-seeded Nick Heflin of Ohio State 9-2 to add All-America honors to his resume.
One of Maryland’s senior captains, Letts followed his championship-quarterfinals loss to top-seeded Jonathan Reader of Iowa State by controlling Heflin throughout the bout. Thanks to a takedown and three-point nearfall, Letts scored five in the first and followed in the third with four additional points, including one from accrued riding time.
In the consolation quarterfinals, Letts fell to fourth-seeded Colby Covington setting up the Parkesburg, Pa., native in the seventh-place match Saturday morning. Letts will challenge eighth-seeded Ben Bennett of Central Michigian.
Kyle John, Maryland’s other Friday competitor was eliminated from the tournament after suffering a 7-5 defeat at the hands of Virginia Tech’s Jesse Dong, who similarly claimed the 157-pound ACC title.
The tournament will resume Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. and will air live on ESPNU as well as ESPN3.com. Saturday evening’s finals will be broadcast on ESPN.
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