March 20, 2008

ST. LOUIS - North Carolina junior heavyweight Justin Dobies rebounded from an opening-round loss at the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships to post back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket Thursday at the Scottrade Center. Thanks to the two victories, Dobies will be back in action at 11 a.m. Eastern Friday, but Tar Heel junior 165-pounder Keegan Mueller dropped a pair of tight matches to seeded opponents and saw his season come to an end.

Now 31-7 on the season, Dobies will face Indiana's Nathan Everhart in his first match Friday.

After falling to the tournament's No. 8 seed in his first match of the day, Dobies bounced back with a 12-6 win over Mitch Montiero of Cal State Bakersfield in the first round of the consolation bracket. Dobies scored five takedowns in the match and added the riding time point for the six-point victory.

The Garfield Heights, Ohio, product followed with a second straight six-point win, a 9-3 decision over Boise State's Nick Smith. Dobies, the 2008 ACC heavyweight champion, gained control with a pair of first-period takedowns and put the match away with two more takedowns in the third period and the riding time point for his career-best 31st win of the season.

In Dobies' opening-round bout, eighth-seeded Bubba Gritter of Central Michigan jumped out to a 3-0 lead with an escape and a takedown in the second period and went on to post a 5-1 victory.

Despite a No. 12 national ranking, Mueller had a tough opening-round draw in 10th-seeded Michael Cannon of American. The match was tied after two periods, but Mueller suffered a 6-2 loss after Cannon posted an escape and a takedown in the third period and tacked on a point for riding time.

In the consolation bracket, Mueller faced a second straight seeded opponent in No. 7 Jacob Dieffenbach of Oklahoma State, an upset victim in his first bout. Dieffenbach went on to post a 6-3 victory after breaking open a close match with a pair of third-period takedowns. Mueller finishes his season with a 28-6 overall record.