Looks like we made it! Four months of the regular season, one weekend of conference championships, and here we are, in the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City getting ready to begin the most excellent tournament of the world’s oldest and greatest sport.
Match Notes: Session I
We’re at the 2024 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championships, and we’ll have an account of all the action here for you in real time!
2024 NCAA Championships Watch Party
Have some time to kill before the wrestling starts? Might I recommend spending an hour watching the latest FloSports Original: Spencer & Austin? I’m admittedly biased but in my humble opinion it rules.
Where Are Brackets?
I’m hoping you came here for the live blog but if you just want the brackets I understand as well. We all crave brackets. Here is the link to the D1 NCAA Championship event page on Trackwrestling. Brackets are very easy to find from there. Sweet sweet brackets.
What About the Schedule?
Sure, right here.
Thursday, March 21
Session 1 – 12:00 pm (Pigtails & Round of 32)
Session 2 – 7:00 pm (Round of 16 & Consolations)
Friday, March 22
Session 3 – 12:00 pm (Quarterfinals & Consolations)
Session 4 – 8:00 pm (Championship Semifinals & Round of 12)
Saturday, March 23
Session 5 – 11:00 am (Placing Matches)
Session 6 – 7:00 pm (Championship Finals)
You may remember everything written above from such hits as Session I Match Notes. That is because I cut and pasted it directly from the award-winning live blog I just finished writing a couple of hours ago.
It is because I have been so busy that I can’t craft a proper preamble for every sessions’ live blog, but don’t think for a second it is because I don’t care. It is because the action is happening so fast and so furious that there is little time to prepare.
So little time that the second round will be begin in less than an hour and I still have plenty of work to do before I can start live blogging, so hold on tight and we’ll be in the midst of more rad NCAA Championship wrestling in no time!
Consolation bracket matches will take place on the outside mats, numbers 1, 2, 7 and 8. Championship side bouts will be inside on mats 3, 4, 5 and 6. We’re going to focus on the Round of 16 championship bouts but you can follow every bout on Trackwrestling (and watch it live on ESPN).
125 Pounds
PSU’s Braeden Davis has Cornell’s Brett Ungar. No scores after three minutes, though Davis was taking ground consistently in the bout. Davis gets an escape in the second to lead 1-0. No more scores now Ungar gets a turn underneath. Davis riding tough, 37 seconds of RT. Davis with over a minute of RT and counting. Ungar gets the escape but with less than 10 seconds in the period so Davis will secure the win 2-1.
All-American Pat McKee of Minnesota vs ASU’s Richie Figueroa. Figueroa strikes first with a takedown after a brief scramble. He has the first points on the championship side of session 2. An escape and another takedown gives Figueroa the 6-1 lead. McKee needs injury time. His left leg has been giving him problems all season unfortunately. McKee able to gut it out and continue. Figs up 9-1 in the second. And Figueroa will win by a major decision to score an extra team point for the Sun Devils.
Fresh off a first round upset is Harvard’s Diego Sotelo taking on Lock Haven All-American Anthony Noto. The Bald Eagle by way of New York scores first to lead the Crimson wrestler 3-1. 6-1 lead for Noto in the second period. Sotelo has a win over Noto this season but Noto now has a 9-1 lead going into the third. Sotelo tried to get a turn on top but Noto will take it 9-1.
Northern Colorado’s Stevo Poulin’s life be like a wrestling match with 2024 NCAA finalist Matt Ramos of Purdue. Ramos takes an early 3-0 lead, now 3-1. 3-2 now in the second period. Stevo riding tough on top in the third. A rideout would send things to OT but now Tamos is out and it’s 4-2 in favor of the Boilermaker. Stevo threatening but Ramos defends. 30 seconds. Ramos will win 4-2 in a hard fought bout.
Lehigh’s true freshman Luck Stanich has a serious test against Nebraska’s veteran Caleb Smith. No scores after one period, Smith escapes in the second to make it 1-0. Stanich underneath to start the 3rd, same score. Now 1-1, riding time not a factor. Sudden victory, and it’s the Husker with a double leg that he finishes for the win. Caleb Smith has the Nebraska fans on their feet!
Drake Ayala of Iowa wastes no time getting the first takedown over Stanford’s Nico Provo. Provo out quickly to make it 3-1. Ayala’s slide by is deadly! Ayala now leads three takedowns to three escapes still in the first. Ayala cruising, another TD in the third and it’s a tech fall victory, to which manny Hawkeye fans cheer.
Eric Barnett of Wisconsin and Jakob Camaoch of NC State in a battle of All-Americans. Barnett with the first score after a scramble and some good balance on top. Barnett is feeling his scrambles today and still leads 3-1 after two periods and a lot of mat wrestling. RT at 1:10 for the Badger. Barnett leads 7-2 in the third. Barnett will take it, 8-2 with riding time, impressive win.
OK State’s Troy Sprately with Virginia Tech’s Cooper Flynn is the last 125lb bout of this round. Sprtatley breaks the goose eggs off the board to amek it 3-0 late in the first. 3-1 still in Sprately’s favor at the end of the second period. Spratley with the escape and 1:46 of RT to lead 4-1 in the third. Spratley makes it official, 7-1 and is moving on to the quarterfinals.
133 Pounds
Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin wasting no time with the first takedown over Ethan Oakley of App State. Three nearfaul for Ragusin, and an escape makes it 6-1 at the end of the period. Ragusin keeps the lead going into the 3rd but now it’s 10-5, Oakley trying to get a turn on top. Oakley can’t get a turn so it’s 11-5 with the RT point and Ragusin wins.
With Sprately still on the mat comes the Cowboy standard bearer Daton Fix to take on Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis. Fix and Bouzakis in a dicey upper body exchange but Fix is too savvy and he gets the takedown and the 3-0 lead. A takedown in the third for Bouzakis makes things interesting but Fix fends off the comeback and wins 5-4 to make his fifth appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Rutgers’ Big Ten champ Dylan Shawver has Bucknells Kurt Phipps. Shawver close to a takedown at the end of the period but Phipps did just enough to keep the double bagels on the scoreboard. Full rideout in the second period so still 0-0 but 120 seconds of RT for the Scarlet Knights. Shawver takes neutral to preserve that RT. Scramble in the third but eventually stalemated. Shawver dinged witfor stalling, on the restart nearly lands a duck under but they scramble. And time runs out on Phipps so it’ll be a gutsy 1-0 win for Dylan Shawver.
Campbell’s Domenic Zaccone will take on the reigning NCAA and UWW world champ Vito Arujau of Cornell. Arujau and Zaccone go tumbling from one end of the mat to the other, no score, but Cornell coaches think there was one in there and throw the brick. No score on the review, but a little while later Arujau corrals Zaccone and now leads 3-1. Arujau will win fairly comfortably by major decision.
Julian Chlebove of Arizona State has Iowa State’s Evan Frost. After a scoreless first, Frost get an escape in the second to lead 1-0. Chlebove gets a turn underneath, same score. 1-1 late in the third. A scramble, takedown for Louisiana’s Evan Frost to win and advance for the Cyclones.
Little Rock’s true frosh phenom Nasir Bailey has UVA’s Nittany Lion slayer Marlon Yarbrough, who upset Aaron Nagao in the first round. Quick shuck by Bailey and he leads 3-0 still in the first. Yarbrough with a reversal, then quick escape by Bailey, or was it? An official review will decide. And it’s ruled just an escape, so 3-1 lead for Bailey. Make that a 4-3 lead for Yarbrough as he hits a double for a takedown. 4-4 with the escape just before the period ends. 5-5 after two periods, Bailey got an escape, then hit for stalling to concede a point to Yarbrough. 3rd period starts in neutral, RT not a factor. Another stall point against Bailey but that gets him going as he gets a feet to back takedown to go up 11-6. Make it 11-7 officially as Little Rock has their first ever quarterfinalist!
Kai Orine of NC State and Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska take the mat. Orine a veteran from Missouri, Van Dee a freshman from Pennsylvania. A tactical bout won by the savvy veteran, Orine wins 1-0.
Bottom of the bracket comes up as the #2 seed Ryan Crookham of Lehigh has #15 seed Brody Teske of Iowa. Teske in on a deep shot but Crookham so hard to score against and they go out of bounds, still zeroes. Crookham on the attack now, he picks up two takedowns and leads 6-2 going into the second. Reversal and rideout in the second gives Crookham an 8-2 lead in the third, now 8-3 after a Teske escape. Teske on the attack, over a minute and a half left on the clock. Iowa fans want more than the single stall call they have so far as Crookham continues to frustrate Teske in scrambles. Crookham gets it done though, 8-3
141 Pounds
Nebraska’s Brock Hardy looking for revenge on Michigan’s Sergio Lemley, who defeated him at Big Ten’s less than a fortnight ago. Hardy leads 3-1 early. No doubt about it this time, Hardy takes it 10-4 and the Husker has his revenge.
Iowa State’s electric Anthony Echemendia taking on Missouri’s also electric Josh Edmond. Ech scores first with a TD, quick escape by Edmond, but Ech right back on the attack to make it 6-1. Echemendia will cruise to an 8-2 victory.
Top seeded Jesee Mendez of Ohio State as the only unranked wrestler in the second round, Isaiah Powe of Chattanooga. Mendez quickly with a 5-0 lead, still ridinglate in the first. Mendez suffocating Powe (figuratively!) leading 9-0 in the second. And there’s the fall! True sophomore Mendez is on to the quarterfinals.
2024 NCAA finalist Real Woods of Iowa has ASU’s Jesse Vasquez. First takedown is earned by Woods. Woods takes a commanding 7-0 lead into the thrid period. Woods leads 12-1 late in the first but Vasquez was threatening and the Sun Devil coaches are challenging in the hopes of more points somewhere in the last exchange (I wasn’t watching closely so I’m assuming, to be fair to everyone). And it was a good challenge as the score is changed to 7-0 in favor of Woods, though Vasquez doesn’t have much time to make up the difference deep in the third period. And Woods will complete the shutout to win 8-0 with the RT point.
Tom Crook of Virginia Tech has Ryan Jack of NC State. This matchup not to be confused with Jack Crook, Tom’s brother who wrestles for Harvard. No confusion about the score right now, Jack leads 13-3 in the second after four takedowns in the first.
Another Big Ten brawl this time between Vance Vombaur of Minnesota and Danny Fonfaro of Indiana by way of Columbia. Epic scramble in the second and it’s Vombaur that comes out on top to lead 4-0. Vombaur gets the rideout to win 5-0 and moves on to the quarterfinals.
North Carolina and Canada’s own Lachlan McNeil has Navy’s Kosh Koderhandt. McNeil strikes first, leads 3-1. Koderhandt comes storming back in the third and ties up the score 5-5. McNeil trying to regain the lead late in the third but the takedown is waived off as time expires. The Tar Heel corner challenges. This could decide the match. The takedown is upheld and McNeil takes it 8-5. A frustrated Koderhandt sprints off the mat, he came so close to the comeback.
PSU’s Beau Bartlett has Rutgers’ Mitch Moore. No scores after a tactical first period. Bartlett escapes in the second to shatter the dinner plates off the scoreboard. Moore gets an escape in the third to knot things but now Bartlett finds another gear and he locks up a cradle, tips Moore over and secures the fall to advance to the quarters and score a couple of bonus points for Penn State.
149 Pounds
Top seeded Husker Ridge Lovett of Idaho takes on Indiana’s Grahm Rooks. Lovett with a quick first takedown. Rooks gets a takedown in the third but otherwise it’s all Ridge who advances 11-4 over his Big Ten rival.
West Virginia’s Ty Watters and Willie McDougald in an all Big 12 battle. A takedown in the first and a reversal and nearfall in the second gives Watters a big 8-0 lead deep in the bout. Watters will take it 9-0. Country roads takes Watters to the quarterfinals.
Jackson Arrington of NC State has Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio. Arrington leading 7-1 and two takedowns to none after two periods. And the Wolfpacker wins it 8-1.
Ethan Fernandez of Cornell toes the line against Iowa State’s Casey Swiderski and scores the first takedown in the first 20 seconds. Swiderski escapes and goes on the attack and this bout is already intense. Ankle pick by Swiderski and the Cyclone takes the lead. Fernbandez retakes the lead 5-4 in the second with an escape. 5-5 now in the third. Swiderski’s pace gets a stall called on Fernandez as things tighten up. No more scores so free wrestling as we go to overtime. Two minutes of scoreless action as the Cyclone fans in attendance wanted another stall call but didn’t get it. A couple of big mat returns gives Swiderski the rideout in tiebreakers so Fernandez will choose neutral. And it’s Swiderksi on a leg as he chews up the clock, then finishes the takedown in the finals seconds to get the 8-5 win officially. A fittingly Metcalfian win as it was Brent in the corner for Casey.
The Ice Man Jordan Williams of OK State has the Georgian bulldog Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech. Henson strikes first and leads 3-1. There will be no clutch heorics from Williams as Henson shuts him down and wins 4-2.
Michigan Austin Gomez, a future Olympian representing Mexico, has Gabe Willochell of Wyoming by way of Edinboro. Gomez races out to a 9-2 lead going into the second period. Head and an arm from Gomez and he’s looking for the fall.
Multiple time All-American Kyle Parco of Oklahoma State has Cody Bond of App Sate. Parco with the first takedown inside the first minute. Parco take a 3-2 lead into the third. Parco will take it by the score of 4-2 and put another Sun Devil in the quarters.
Chance Lamer of Cal Poly has Stanford’s Jaden Abas, both wrestlers with manny family members also in the sport. Lamer leads 1-0 in the second.
157 Pounds
Top seeded and 2024 NCAA finalist Levi Haines of PSU has 16 seed Teague Travis of Oklahoma State. Haines with a 3-0 lead and almost 2 minutes of RT. A three takedown second period gives Haines a commanding lead, now 16-4 in the third, RT locked up. 19-4 makes it a tech-fall for Haines and Penn State has another quarterfinalist.
Unanimous Comeback Wrestler of the Year (unofficial but still unanimous) Peyton Robb of Nebraska has familiar foe Will Lewan of Michigan in another all-Big Ten battle. And Robb comes out guns blazin, he cradles Lewan for near fall than counters Lewan in the second for a takedown and leads 10-2 late in the second. Lewan never quits (there was never a question about whether he would) but Robb holds on for the 11-6 win.
Human Highlight Reel Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech has UNI’s dynamic freshman Ryder Downey. Andonian scores first and leads 3-1 half way through the first period. Andonian keeps the pressure on and takes an 8-2 lead to the third. Downey makes it interesting but Andownian will win 8-6 and move on to the quarters.
Cornell’s acrobatic freshman Meyer Shapiro has App State’s Tommy Askey. Two first period takedowns and 2 minutes of riding time gives Shapiro (pronounced sha-PIE-row) a 6-1 lead. A cradle (and some other scores) later and Shapiro leads 14-2 at the end of two periods. And put it in the books as a 17-2 tech fall for Shapiro.
Brayton Lee of Indiana by way of Minnesota (though he is back in his home state now) takes on Daniel Cardenas of Stanford by way of Colorado. A tactical first two periods turns into a 4-0 lead for Cardenas late in the third. And Cardenas ices it to win 8-0 officially by major decision.
Ed Scott of NC State and Michael Blockhus of Minnesota are in a brawl, which makes sense since Blockhus actually won an MMA fight over the summer before returning to Minnesota. 5-5 after one period. Scott holding on to a 9-7 lead with a minute left in the bout but Blockhus charging forward. And a couple of late scores will counering Blockhis’ attacks and Scott will put it away by a major, 19-8.
Jared Franek of Iowa by way of North Dakota State (and also Fargo, North Dakota) has Ohio’s Peyten Kellar. Franek has has the only takedown but Kellar is keeping it close. Score is 4-2 halfway through the third. But that’s all he needs, Iowa has another quarterfinalist in Jared Franek after a 4-3 win.
ASU’s Jacori Teemer and SDSU’s Cael Swensen wrestle to a 0-0 first period. Teemer and Swensen have one escape apiece late in the match. And we go to overtime. Deep in sudden victory Teemer changes levels and pounces, secured the takedown and the win and the berth in the quarterfinals.
165 Pounds
The 165-pounders signal the halfway point of the period (both the sessions and the entire event will fly by you have no idea even how fast it will go). Peyton Hall of West Virginia has Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor. And a big takedown and nearfall gives Taylor a 5-1 lead after one period. Hall and Taylor trade blows. Back and forth goes the scores but Taylor fends off a last second takedown attempt to win 11-9. Great effort by both wrestlers.
Mizzou’s Keegan O’Toole continues his quest for another NCAA title against App State’s Will Miller. The Wisconsin native has a 9-2 lead in the first. O’Toole now with a 20-7 lead after two periods. Tech-fall imminent. Make that pinfal imminent as O’Toole baits Thompson into grabbing a leg so he could sit the corner, lock up a cradle and collect the pin. Masterful work by Keegan O’Toole.
Wisconsin’s indefatigable Dean Hamiti gets the first takedown on Ohio’s Garrett Thompson. Hamiti pours it on and never looks back, winning 11-0.
Stanford’s Hunter Garvin has NCAA champ David Carr of Iowa State in the Cyclone’s final NCAA tournament. Carr scores first, it’s 3-1. Carr extends the lead and it’s 7-1 now in the third. 10-1 is the final as Carr continues his march to the podium.
Mike Caliendo of Iowa by way of North Dakota State has Bucknell’s Noah Mulvaney, one of several Wisconsin natives who trained at the Askren Wrestling Academy in their high school years. Caliendo leads two takedowns to none after two minutes of wrestling. Mulvaney gets the next two though, and it’s 7-5 in the first. But a takedown and nearfall before the period ends makes it 12-5 for Caliendo. Scratch that, 10-5 after an official review (not sure if a corner threw a brick or not). Caliendo not slowing down though, it’s 17-7 in the second period just like that. 23-9 in the third. Extremely entertaining scrap but Caliendo looks like he has too much for Mulvaney. 26-10 is the final in a tech fall win for Caliendo.
Michigan’s Cam Amine has Izzak Olejnik of OK State by way of Northern Illinois in a battle of 2023 podium placers. Zilches on the scoreboard after 3 minutes. It’s 1-1 and surprise, surprise we’re going to overtime! Good flurry going, and Amine with the counter puts Olejnik on his back and take the bout in sudden victory. Big win for the Wolverines.
Giano Petrucelli of the Air Force as Julan Ramirez of Cornell. Ramirez strikes first with a takedown. Ramirez showing off his quickness with two takedowns and a reversal and it’s 8-2 in the third. 9-3 win for Ramirez.
Penn State’s whirling dervish Mitchell Mesenbrink has Binghamton’s tricky Brevin Cassella. Mesenbrink with the first takedown. Mesenrbink extends his leads to 11-3, now in the second. Cassella able to ride Mesenrbrink for the whole third period but can’t get a turn so it’s a 11-3 win for Mesenrbink.
174 Pounds
Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech by way of New Jersey has Jackson Turley of Rutgers by way of Virginia. No Fear Turley keps things to a 1-0 bout after two periods. Make it 1-1 in the third. But now Lewis solves Turley’s defense and its a 4-1 lead late. 4-2 is the final as Lewis gets the dub.
Carter Starocci of Penn State has another test in Cal Poly’s Adam Kemp, son of living legend Lee Kemp. Just like the first match against Andrew Sparks, Starocci concedes the first takedown but quickly gains the lead. it’s 4-3 in favor of the Nittany Lion still in the first. 5-3 Starocci leads late in the third. Under a minute to go. Kemp attacks but Starocci has no problem sprawling and chewing up clock. One stall warning won’t matter and Starocci moves on to the quarters and is one step closer to a fourth NCAA title.
UNI’s Jared Simmi has Tyler Eischens of UNC by way of Stanford. Eischens followed head coach Rob Koll from northern California to North Cakalaky. And it’s Simma with the come-from-behind victory 6-5 over Esichens.
Columbia’s Lennox Wolak, who, by Ivy League rules, cannot use his final year of eligibility at Columbia, has announced he will transfer to Virginia Tech after the season, has Pennsylvania’s Nick Incontrera. Wolak will win this all-Ivy battle 4-2.
Ohio State’s true freshman Rocco Welsh, who was pressed into service after teammate and All-American Carson Kharchla went down with a season ending injury, has Campbell’s Austin Murphy. Murphy gives Welsh all he could handle but a sudden victory takedown gives Rocco the win and a spot in his first ever quarterfinal round at the NCAAs.
Illinois Edmond Ruth, brother of Penn State legend Ed Ruth, a Alex Cramer of Central Michigan by way of the disgraceful Old Dominion Monarchs, who canceled their wrestling program like cowards. And Ruth takes it 2-1 by dint of two stall calls on Cramer in the third period.
Michigan’s national champ Shane Griffith, who won while at Stanford, saving the wrestling program and several other sports programs in the process, has a 4-1 lead over UVA’s Justin McCoy. And that’s how it ends as well, Griffith with the 4-1 lead.
Army’s Ben Pasiuk has Cade DeVos of South Dakota State. Pasiuk scores the first takedown on the #4 ranked 2 seed. Pasiuk leads 4-2 late in the first. DeVos climbs out of the hole and now has a 9-4 lead deep in the third. You can put it in the books, 10-4 officially, DeVos on to the quarterfinals.
184 Pounds
Shane Liegel of Wisconsin, who started his career at the NCAA D3 level, and may or may not be sick of hearing about that every time he wrestles, has Navy’s David Key. Key leads 1-0 after two periods, Liegel goes underneath to start the third. Now 1-1 with 30 seconds left in regulation. Make that 4-1 as Key with another, –ahem– key takedown to advance to the quarters with a 4-1 win.
Pinning machine Will Feldkamp has top-seeded, top-ranked and undefeated Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa. The relentless Keckeisen stakes himself to a 6-1 lead after two minutes of wrestling. 13-2 now in the second, Keck barely allowing Feldkamp to breathe. Keckeisen leading 16-4 with over 3 minutes of riding time, one takedown away from a tech. And there it is, 19-4 tech-fall and UNI has a quarterfinalist.
Two Big Ten bruisers in Lenny Pinto of Nebraska and Jaden Bullock of Michigan. It’s 1-1 in the third period, riding time not a factor. And Pinto gets dinged for stalling to make it 2-1 Bullock. But Pinto goes berserk mode and muscles up a takedown to take a 4-2 lead with just 12 seconds left in regulation. And Pinto takes it 4-2.
Classic Columbia vs Oregon State rivalry as Aaron Ayzerov has Trey Munoz, respectively. Munoz has a 4-0 lead halfway through the bout. Ayzerov keeps it close but Munoz wins 5-2.
James Conway of Franklin & Marshall, a D3 team in the Centennial COnference but is D1 for wrestling, has Dustin Plott, of Oklahoma State, the winningest wrestling program in division on history. Plott leads 3-1 in the first. Plott extends his lead to 10-1. Plott makes it official with a 17-3 major.
Bernie Truax of Penn State by way of Cal Poly has Missouri’s Colton Hawks. Nada on the scoreboard after three minutes. Hawks escapes in the second to score the first point but Truax takes him down to gain the lead, 3-1. Hawks escapes again and it’s 3-2, a much more natural score for that collection of moves than 2-2, which it would be with 2 point takedowns. Truax adds a point in the third and holds off Hawks to win 4-2.
The red hot TJ Stewart of VA Tech scores two takedowns in the first period over Layne Malczewski of Michigan State. Stewart with another takedown and it’s 9-3 deep in the third. Stewart wins 10-3.
Minnesota’s Isaiah Salazar has Ryder Rogotzke of Ohio State inyet another all-Big Ten bout. No scores after the first period but Rogotzke did get warned for stalling at the end of the period. 1-1 in the third period with 30 seconds left in regulation. And we’re going to sudden victory.
197 Pounds
PSU’s Hodge Trophy frontrunner Aaron Brooks kicks things off for the light heavies against Joey Novak of Wyoming. Brooks goes near-side cradle and has a 5-0 lead after Novak kicks free and bellies out. Arm bar time for Brooks and there’s the fall. Another quarterfinalist and two more bonus points for the Nittany Lions.
Rocky Elam of Missouri looks for revenge against Jacon Cardenas of Cornell, who beat him in a dual meet, in Elam’s hometown of Kansas City. Elam forces three stall calls on Cardenas by the end of the second, then escapes in the third to lead 3-0 in the final period of regulation.
SDSU’s Tanner Sloan looks to join his teammate Cade DeVos in the next round. Rutgers’ John Pozanski will look to stop him. Sloan scores first with a takedown. 6-2 Sloan now still in the first. Sloan will put it in the books as a major decision, 14-4.
Stephen Buchanan of Oklahoma by way of Wyoming has Little Rock’s appropriately named Stephen Little. Buchanan races out to a 6-1 lead after 3 minutes. And Buchanan keeps his foot on the gas all the way through and wins 14-3, major decision.
Lehigh’s Michael Beard has the winner of the Great Alaskan Shootout, Evan Bockman of Utah Valley, who beat fellow Alaskan native Levi Hopkins in the first round. It’s all Beard as he was by major decision.
Stanford’s Nik Stemmet goes at Trent Hidlay of NC State and scores the first takedown, though Hidlay quickly regains his composure and gains the lead with an escape and takedown. Hidlay streamrolls Stemmet the rest of the way, winning 26-10 via tech fall, as Hidlay raises the roof along the way to the quarters.
Virginia Tech’s Andy Smith has Nebraska’s Silas Allred. A tight bout is broken open by a takedown in the third by Silas Allred, but Andy Smith escapes and goes on the attack. Allred keeps him scrambling and will win 4-2. Or does he? There was a review or something but anyway I just checked the bracket and Allred won 4-2.
Binghamton’s Lou DePrez has a 3-0 lead over Garrett Joles of Minnesota. DePrez’s defense holds and he beats Joles 4-1 to give the Bearcats a quarterfinalist.
285 Pounds
Undefeated, top seeded and ranked Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State has Navy’s Grady Greiss, as the final weight class of the day gets underway. Kerkvliet leads 8-0 and has infinity seconds of riding time in the second period. Kerkvliet makes it official with a 9-1 major decision.
Lehigh’s Nathan Taylor toes the line against Oklahoma State’s Konner Doucet. Taylor earns the first takedown. Taylor scores the only takedown of the bout and wins it 6-1, giving Lehigh a third quarterfinalist.
ASU’s Cohlton Schultz has Rutgers’ Yaraslau Slavikouski (pronounced Yaraslav Slavikoffski) who hails from Belarus and graduated from Harvard before transferring to the Banks of the Raritan. Schultz powers Slavikouski around the mat and picks up a couple of stall points to go along with an escape to lead 3-1 in the third. That’s the final, Schultz advances 3-1.
Big Ten bigguns brawl in a bout between Nick Feldman of Ohio State and Bradley Hill of Iowa. Feldman has one takedown, Hill has two escapes, thus Feldman leads 3-2 in the second. Feldman now has three takedowns and leads 10-2 in the third. Feldman smites his Big Ten rival 11-2
Great American Heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force takes on Dorian Crosby of Bucknell. Hendrickson locks up a cradle, Wyatt is probably the most cradley heavy in all of the NCAA, and spots himself a 7-0 lead on Crosby. Another cradle and Air Hendrickson touches down in Pin City for the fall and the 100th win of his career.
Campbell’s Taye Ghadiali has Michigan’s multiple-time All-American Lucas Davison. Davison with a takedown in the first and an escape in the second leads 4-0. Ghadaili wrestled his heart out but Davison was too much for him and the Wolverine by way of Northwestern wins 8-0.
Oklahoma’s Josh Heindselman takes on Mizzou’s Zach Elam in Elam’s hometown of Kansas City (Zach shares a hometown with his brother Rocky. What a coincidence!). After a scoreless first, Heindeselman chose neutral. After a scoreless second, Elam chose bottom and escaped to lead 1-0 in the third. A down-block go-behind to ice it late in the match makes it 4-0. Make it official, and Zach joins his brother (and Keegan O’Toole) in the quarterfinals.
Yonger Bastida of Iowa State already has a 6-1 lead on Lewis Fernandes of Cornell before I could type out their names. Bastida pouring it on, leads 9-2. Bastida going ham, wins by a fall of the technical variety, 20 to 5.
And that will bring our second session championship side bouts to a close! 80 bouts in the books. But don’t worry, we’ll be back tomorrow for the quarterfinals. And then, its Friday night and the celebrated dog bone configuration, featuring the semifinals AND the bloodround. Apologies for the typos, see you then!
Results
Upsets are underlined
125: #1 Braeden Davis, Penn State over #17 Brett Ungar, Cornell Dec 2-1
125: #11 Richard Figueroa, Arizona State over #5 Patrick McKee, Minnesota MD 16-5
125: #23 Anthony Noto, Lock Haven over #29 Diego Sotelo, Harvard Dec 9-2
125: #4 Matt Ramos, Purdue over #21 Stevo Poulin, Northern Colorado Dec 4-2
125: #2 Drake Ayala, Iowa over #16 Nico Provo, Stanford TF-1.5 5:20 19-4
125: #8 Troy Spratley, Oklahoma State over #10 Cooper Flynn, Virginia Tech Dec 8-1
125: #6 Eric Barnett, Wisconsin over #9 Jakob Camacho, NC State Dec 8-2
125: #13 Caleb Smith, Nebraska over #3 Luke Stanich, Lehigh SV-1 4-1
133: #3 Daton Fix, Oklahoma State over #12 Nic Bouzakis, Ohio State Dec 5-4
133: #9 Evan Frost, Iowa State over #17 Julian Chlebove, Arizona State Dec 4-1
133: #5 Dylan Ragusin, Michigan over #20 Ethan Oakley, Appalachian State Dec 11-5
133: #4 Dylan Shawver, Rutgers over #28 Kurt Phipps, Bucknell Dec 1-0
133: #6 Kai Orine, NC State over #10 Jacob Van Dee, Nebraska Dec 2-0
133: #2 Vito Arujau, Cornell over #26 Domenic Zaccone, Campbell MD 11-1
133: #7 Nasir Bailey, Little Rock over #21 Marlon Yarbrough, Virginia Dec 11-7
133: #1 Ryan Crookham, Lehigh over #11 Brody Teske, Iowa Dec 8-3
141: #1 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State over Isaiah Powe, Chattanooga Fall 4:37
141: #8 Brock Hardy, Nebraska over #7 Sergio Lemley, Michigan Dec 10-4
141: #5 Anthony Echemendia, Iowa State over #14 Josh Edmond, Missouri Dec 8-2
141: #4 Ryan Jack, NC State over #13 Tom Crook, Virginia Tech MD 13-4
141: #3 Real Woods, Iowa over #16 Jesse Vasquez, Arizona State MD 8-0
141: #10 Lachlan McNeil, North Carolina over #15 Josh Koderhandt, Navy Dec 8-5
141: #22 Vance Vombaur, Minnesota over #29 Danny Fongaro, Indiana Dec 5-0
141: #2 Beau Bartlett, Penn State over #21 Mitch Moore, Rutgers Fall 5:50
149: #1 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska over #16 Graham Rooks, Indiana Dec 11-4
149: #7 Casey Swiderski, Iowa State over #26 Ethan Fernandez, Cornell TB-1 8-5
149: #6 Ty Watters, West Virginia over #21 Willie McDougald, Oklahoma MD 9-0
149: #4 Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech over #15 Jordan Williams, Oklahoma State Dec 7-2
149: #3 Jackson Arrington, NC State over #14 Dylan D’Emilio, Ohio State Dec 8-1
149: #5 Austin Gomez, Michigan over #20 Gabe Willochell, Wyoming Fall 4:57
149: #8 Chance Lamer, Cal Poly over #9 Jaden Abas, Stanford Dec 7-2
149: #2 Kyle Parco, Arizona State over #17 Cody Bond, Appalachian State Dec 4-2
157: #1 Levi Haines, Penn State over #14 Teague Travis, Oklahoma State TF-1.5 6:42 19-4
157: #12 Peyton Robb, Nebraska over #10 Will Lewan, Michigan Dec 11-6
157: #11 Bryce Andonian, Virginia Tech over #4 Ryder Downey, Northern Iowa Dec 9-6
157: #9 Ed Scott, NC State over #5 Michael Blockhus, Minnesota MD 19-8
157: #3 Meyer Shapiro, Cornell over #22 Tommy Askey, Appalachian State TF-1.5 5:16 17-2
157: #7 Daniel Cardenas, Stanford over #17 Brayton Lee, Indiana MD 8-0
157: #6 Jared Franek, Iowa over #18 Peyten Kellar, Ohio Dec 4-3
157: #2 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State over #13 Cael Swensen, South Dakota State SV-1 4-1
165: #1 Keegan O’Toole, Missouri over #14 Will Miller, Appalachian State Fall 5:58
165: #10 Antrell Taylor, Nebraska over #8 Peyton Hall, West Virginia Dec 11-9
165: #5 Dean Hamiti, Wisconsin over #15 Garrett Thompson, Ohio MD 11-0
165: #2 David Carr, Iowa State over #22 Hunter Garvin, Stanford MD 10-1
165: #3 Julian Ramirez, Cornell over #11 Giano Petrucelli, Air Force Dec 9-3
165: #6 Mike Caliendo, Iowa over #28 Noah Mulvaney, Bucknell TF-1.5 6:23 26-10
165: #9 Cameron Amine, Michigan over #7 Izzak Olejnik, Oklahoma State SV-1 4-1
165: #4 Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State over #13 Brevin Cassella, Binghamton MD 11-3
174: #2 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech over #13 Jackson Turley, Rutgers Dec 5-2
174: #1 Carter Starocci, Penn State over #11 Adam Kemp, Cal Poly Dec 5-3
174: #25 Jared Simma, Northern Iowa over #19 Tyler Eischens, North Carolina Dec 6-5
174: #3 Shane Griffith, Michigan over #16 Justin McCoy, Virginia Dec 5-1
174: #5 Edmond Ruth, Illinois over #32 Alex Cramer, Central Michigan Dec 2-1
174: #6 Rocco Welsh, Ohio State over #28 Austin Murphy, Campbell SV-1 4-1
174: #8 Lennox Wolak, Columbia over #10 Nick Incontrera, Pennsylvania Dec 4-2
174: #4 Cade DeVos, South Dakota State over #12 Benjamin Pasiuk, Army West Point Dec 10-4
184: #1 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa over #10 Will Feldkamp, Iowa State TF-1.5 6:52 19-4
184: #28 David Key, Navy over #21 Shane Liegel, Wisconsin Dec 4-2
184: #6 Lenny Pinto, Nebraska over #13 Jaden Bullock, Michigan Dec 4-2
184: #4 Trey Munoz, Oregon State over #14 Aaron Ayzerov, Columbia Dec 5-2
184: #2 Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State over #29 James Conway, Franklin and Marshall MD 17-3
184: #5 Bernie Truax, Penn State over #9 Colton Hawks, Missouri Dec 4-2
184: #11 Thomas Stewart, Virginia Tech over #20 Layne Malczewski, Michigan State Dec 10-3
184: #3 Isaiah Salazar, Minnesota over #16 Ryder Rogotzke, Ohio State SV-1 4-1
197: #1 Aaron Brooks, Penn State over #18 Joseph Novak, Wyoming Fall 2:21
197: #8 Stephen Buchanan, Oklahoma over #9 Stephen Little, Little Rock MD 14-3
197: #7 Rocky Elam, Missouri over #5 Jacob Cardenas, Cornell Dec 4-0
197: #4 Michael Beard, Lehigh over #24 Evan Bockman, Utah Valley MD 12-3
197: #3 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State over #21 John Poznanski, Rutgers MD 14-4
197: #6 Lou Deprez, Binghamton over #25 Garrett Joles, Minnesota Dec 5-1
197: #11 Silas Allred, Nebraska over #26 Andy Smith, Virginia Tech Dec 4-2
197: #2 Trent Hidlay, NC State over #17 Nikolas Stemmet, Stanford TF-1.5 6:27 26-10
285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State over #27 Grady Griess, Navy MD 9-1
285: #7 Nick Feldman, Ohio State over #28 Bradley Hill, Iowa MD 11-2
285: #6 Nathan Taylor, Lehigh over #11 Konner Doucet, Oklahoma State Dec 6-1
285: #4 Cohlton Schultz, Arizona State over #14 Yaraslau Slavikouski, Rutgers Dec 3-1
285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force over #22 Dorian Crosby, Bucknell Fall 2:46
285: #5 Zach Elam, Missouri over #10 Josh Heindselman, Oklahoma Dec 4-0
285: #8 Lucas Davison, Michigan over #9 Taye Ghadiali, Campbell MD 8-0
285: #2 Yonger Bastida, Iowa State over #15 Lewis Fernandes, Cornell TF-1.5 6:20 20-5
