OMAHA, Neb. – San Francisco State heavyweight Steve Franklin (Middletown, Calif., Santa Rosa JC) finished in sixth place on Saturday after posting a 1-2 mark on the second day of competition at the 2010 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at Sapp Fieldhouse on the University of Nebraska-Omaha campus.
Franklin opened with his team-leading 14th pin of the year, dispatching Pittsburgh-Johnstown’s Christopher Dempsey with 54 seconds elapsed in the first period of the consolation quarterfinals. The Gator senior experienced a reversal of fortune in the ensuing match, however, as Dustin Finn of Central Oklahoma came up with a victory by fall at the 2:18 mark. Then in the fifth-place bout, Franklin dropped a close 5-3 decision to Western State’s Charlie Alexander.
Despite the two losses, Franklin (31-12) earned All-America honors for the second-year in a row, as the top eight placers in each weight class receive such distinction. SF State now has 82 wrestling All-Americans in program history, including 56 during head coach Lars Jensen’s 27-year tenure.
Franklin also concluded his illustrious Gator career with 33 pins, which is one shy of Matt Blevin’s standard of 34 for the most in school history, while his 86 overall victories is tied for sixth all-time.
In the team standings, SF State finished in 26th place with 12 points, while host school Nebraska-Omaha won its second consecutive national title and fifth overall with 131 points, comfortably ahead of Augustana-SD (72 pts.), Nebraska-Kearney (67 pts.), Upper Iowa (67 pts.) and Wisconsin-Parkside (55.5 pts.), which rounded out the top five.
Final Brackets