Turner Jackson won his second NCAA crown at the 1976 DII championships.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team finished in second place at the 1976 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships I Fargo, North Dakota. UTC's Randy Batten, Turner Jackson and David Weeks all won individual titles at the tournament.
John Kalvelage and Tim Brennan joined them on the podium with third and sixth place finishes, respectively.
Batten successfully defended his 118-pound championship but had a tough time doing so. He decisioned freshman Brent Hagan of Mankato State 4-0 in overtime after they battled to a 12-12 tie in regulation. Batten, the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 1975 tournament, scored his 12
th point of the match with more than two minutes of riding time.
Jackson breezed through the 158 bracket, opening with pins against Myron Feist (NDSU) and Ed Egan. He beat Chico State's Bob Rinehart (10-4) in the semifinals and Ed Torrejon of Eastern Illinois in the championship match (9-4).
Weeks won five matches to take the 177-pound trophy. He had a tight one in the quarterfinals against SDSU's Mike Neal, winning by a slim 2-0 margin. He dispatched Lincoln's Kevin Burgess in the semis 11-3, but had another close one in the finals against Northern Iowa's Dan Keller. Weeks eventually won that one 3-1.
TEAM SCORES
1. Cal State Bakersfield – 92.5
2. Chattanooga – 88.5
3. Northern Iowa – 83
4. Mankato State – 60
5. North Dakota State – 59.5
Individual Results
118 – Randy Batten – National Champion
Steve Huffman (Michigan Tech) – W-Fall (5:51)
Jene Burris (Chico State) – W-D, 14-8
Rich Molina (Cal State Bakersfield) – W-D, 8-4
Brent Hagen (Mankato State) – W-D, 12-12 (4-0 OT)
134 – John Kalvelage – 3rd Place
Doug Nyeholt (Cal Poly) – W-Fall (2:55)
Bruce McClure (Northern Iowa) – W-D, 5-2
Phil Gonzales (Nebraska-Omaha) – W-D, 3-2
Dave Robinson (Southern Illinois) – L-D, 12-14
Bernie Anderson (Northern Michigan) – W-D, 4-2
142 – Randy Shipley
Larry Shubat (UC Davis) – L-D, 6-8
150 – Dean Smith
Dave Scherer (NDSU) – L-D, 5-8
William Ewing (CW Post) – L-D, 2-6
158 – Turner Jackson – National Champion
Myron Feist (NDSU) – W-Fall (3:54)
Ed Egan (Northern Michigan) – W-Fall (2:16)
Bob Rinehart (Chico State) – W-D, 10-4
Ed Torrejon (Eastern Illinois) – W-D, 9-4
167 - Tim Brennan – 6th Place
John Espana (San Francisco State) – W-Fall (6:36)
John Fortier (Michigan Tech) – W-Fall (7:06)
Jerome Schmitz (St. Cloud State) – L-D, 0-6
David Wadsworth (Salinas State) – W-Fall (1:54)
Ozell Bembry (Florida International) – W-D, 9-3
Flor Rocha (Cal State Bakersfield) – L-D, 4-10
Mark Hattendorf (SIUE) – L-D, 3-4
177 - David Weeks – National Champion
Lester Gatrel (Central Missouri) – W-MD, 14-1
David Byrne (SIUE) – W-D, 8-3
Mike Neal (SDSU) – W-D, 2-0
Kevin Burgess (Lincoln) – W-MD, 11-3
Dan Keller (Northern Iowa) – W-D, 3-1
HWT – Ralph Zigner
Bill VanWorth (Cal State Bakersfield) – L-Fall (3:37)
Jim Busse (UND) – W-Fall (1:16)
Don Erickson (Northern Michigan) – L-D, 3-8
