Bret Baumbach wins individual Pac-12 crown

March 3, 2013, 10:09 p.m.

Redshirt junior wrestler Bret Baumbach won the individual Pac-12 title at 165 pounds with a dominating 7-1 decision over No. 1 seed Seth Thomas on Sunday, simultaneously earning a coveted automatic berth in the NCAA Championships.

Redshirt junior Bret Baumbach (above) is on his way to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. [Hector Garcia-Molina/StanfordPhoto.com]

Just the 15th conference-champion in school history, Baumbach moved to 21-10 on the season with a 4-1 victory over Oregon State’s Holden Packard in the tournament semifinals, held at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz.

That set up a matchup with Thomas in the finals just a few hours later, and Baumbach took full advantage, working Thomas over for the full seven minutes and never truly being threatened.

The win means that Baumbach, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, will return to his home state for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, March 21-23.

Miles Bennett-Smith is Chief Operating Officer at The Daily. An avid sports fan from Penryn, Calif., Miles graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor's degree in American Studies. He has previously served as the Editor in Chief and President at The Daily. He has also worked as a reporter for The Sacramento Bee. Email him at [email protected]

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Bret Baumbach wins individual Pac-12 crown

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