DE High School Dual Meet and Tournament Wraps

[dawrestling]

rom: Virginia Tech Athletics <webmaster@hokiesports.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 9:11 PM
Subject: VT Wrestling: Program record six Hokies earn All-American honors on Friday
To: wrestling_media@hokiesports.com


Wrestling
Program record six Hokies earn All-American honors on Friday
Six Tech wrestlers still alive heading into final day of NCAA Championship
Read the story
- hokiesports.com to go


http://www.hokiesports.com/wrestling/recaps/20160319aaa.html


NEW YORK CITY – The Hokies currently sit alone in fourth place at the 2016 NCAA Championship with 69.5 points and six wrestlers still alive. For the first time in program history, Tech will finish the season with six wrestlers earning All-American honors.

The Hokies continued their winning ways in Friday’s evening session, winning ten matches and giving the six All-Americans a shot at sixth place or better on Saturday.

At 141 pounds, Chishko won two decisions to become one of two members of this year’s squad to win All-American honors in their first trip to Nationals. The other, McFadden, picked up another bonus victory with a 10-2 major decision in the fifth consolation round over Anthony Perotti of Rutgers as well as a decision in the fourth round.

Epperly earned the other bonus win of the evening session, a 10-2 victory in the fifth round over Alex Meyer of Iowa.

Haught and Brascetta both won two matches Friday night, giving Brascetta the third All-American honors of his career and the first for Haught.

Walz dropped a hard fought battle in the semifinals at heavyweight, a 10-6 decision to second-seeded Kyle Snyder of Ohio State, and is still alive in the consolation rounds starting tomorrow morning.

Saturday morning’s action will be streamed live on ESPN3 and will get underway at 11 a.m.

FRIDAY EVENING’S RESULTS AND SATURDAY MORNING’S OPPONENTS AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

125: #2 seed Joey Dance
First Round: def. Alfredo Rodriguez (SIUE), 8-2
Second Round: lost to #15 seed David Terao (American), 5-3
Consolations: lost to. Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion), 4-3

141: #7 seed Solomon Chishko
First Round: def. Mike Pongracz (UTC),9-3
Second Round: def. Logan Everett (Army), TF 16-1
Quarterfinals: lost to seed Joey McKenna (Stanford), 6-1
Consolations: def. Seth Gross (SDSU), 10-3
Consolations: def. Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 7-0
Consolations: vs. #4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) – SATURDAY MORNING

157: #8 seed Nick Brascetta
First Round: def. Russell Parsons (Army), 9-4
Second Round: def. #9 seed Richie Lewis (Rutgers), 7-6
Quarterfinals: lost to #1 seed Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), 6-3
Consolations: def. Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 3-2.
Consolations: def. Thomas Gantt (NC State), 8-4
Consolations: vs. #15 Chad Walsh (Rider) – SATURDAY MORNING

165: #14 seed David McFadden
First Round: def. Cooper Moore (UNI), fall 4:44
Second Round: lost to #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 8-3
Consolations: def. Casey Fuller (Edinboro), 3-1
Consolations: def. Geno Morelli (Penn State), MD 13-3
Consolations: def. Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 6-2
Consolations: def. Anthony Perotti (Rutgers), MD 10-2
Consolations: vs. #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) – SATURDAY MORNING

174: #8 seed Zach Epperly
First Round: lost to Casey Kent (Penn), 3-2
Consolations: def. Rustin Barrick (Bucknell), TF 17-2
Consolations: def. #10 seed Michael Ottinger (Central Michigan), MD 17-6
Consolations: def. Brian Harvey (Army), MD 14-4
Consolations: def. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), medical forfeit
Consolations: def. Alex Meyer (Iowa), MD 10-2
Consolations: vs. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) – SATURDAY MORNING

184: #5 seed Zack Zavatsky
First Round: def. Andrew Romanchik (Ohio), 9-3
Second Round: def. Hayden Zillmer (NDSU), 3-1
Quarterfinals: lost to. #13 Pete Renda (NC State) , 4-3
Consolations: lost to #10 Nate Brown (Lehigh) – 2-1

197: #6 seed Jared Haught
First Round: def. Sam Wheeler (CSU), 6-2
Second Round: lost to Patrick Downey (ISU), fall
Consolations: def. Chip Ness (UNC), 5-1
Consolations: def. #14 Zach Nye (UVA), 2-1
Consolations: def. #8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) , 5-4
Consolations: def. Conner Hartmann (Duke), 5-2
Consolations: vs. #3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) – SATURDAY MORNING

285: #3 seed Ty Walz
First Round: def. Tanner Hall (ASU), 5-2
Second Round: def. Joseph Goodhart (Drexel), MD 16-5
Quarterfinals: def. Brooks Black (Illinois), 4-1
Semifinals: lost to. #2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), 10-6
Consolations: vs. #4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) – SATURDAY MORNING

 

[dawrestling]

-------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nicholas Reith <nbreith@umail.iu.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 9:09 PM
Subject: Indiana Wrestling: Jackson Falls Short of National Championship Berth
To: "nbreith@indiana.edu" <nbreith@indiana.edu>


Jackson Falls Short of National Championship Berth

The All-American will wrestle for a shot at third-place Saturday morning


Updated Brackets (PDF)

Consolation Semifinals on ESPNU


March 18, 2016


NEW YORK – In one of the most anticipated rematches of the 2015-16 wrestling season, Indiana junior Nate Jackson faced Penn State freshman Bo Nickal in the NCAA Semifinals. Jackson handed Nickal his only loss of the season in their dual meet earlier this year, a 7-6 decision. This time around, Nickal edged Jackson in a 4-3 decision to send the Hoosier junior into a battle for third-place.

Jackson lunged to an early lead with the first takedown in the first period. Nickal broke Jackson's hold before the end of the period, but Jackson led 2-1 after three minutes.

In the second period, Jackson snapped out of the referee's position, extending his lead to two points. Nickal squared the tally with his only takedown of the bout, and Jackson's first yielded takedown of the tournament.

Nickal's escape at the start of the third period proved to be the decisive point in the bout. Jackson nearly clinched the title berth with a shot on the edge of the mat, but the grapplers slid out of bounds before he was awarded the takedown.

Jackson (34-8) moves to the consolation semifinals, where he'll face Penn's Casey Kent (34-9). A win in that bout would advance Jackson to the third-place match, where he would face the winner between Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) and Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech). The fifth session begins at 11:00 a.m. ET and will stream live on WatchESPN.


--
Nick Reith
Media Relations Assistant
Indiana University Athletics
Primary Contact: Field Hockey,
Wrestling, Water Polo
C: 317-371-6079
Email: nbreith@indiana.edu

 

[dawrestling]

----- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jake Ricker <rick0127@umn.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 9:08 PM
Subject: Wrestling: Two Gophers Become All-Americans at NCAAs
To: Jake Ricker <rick0127@umn.edu>


Contact

Jake Ricker

rick0127@umn.edu

(612) 625-4802


Two Gophers Become All-Americans at NCAAs

Michael Kroells and Brett Pfarr are both guaranteed All-America finishes at the NCAA Championships after their performances on Friday


The Gophers continued a streak more than three decades long on Friday when 197-pounder Brett Pfarr and heavyweight Michael Kroells secured top-eight finishes at the NCAA Championships in New York City. Minnesota has now produced at least one All-American in 31 consecutive seasons, a run that spans the duration of head coach J Robinson’s 30-year tenure at the helm of the program.



Minnesota wrapped up its second day at Madison Square Garden tied for 21st with 19.5 team points. Both Pfarr and Kroells will wrestle on Saturday, the tournament’s final day, looking to help Minnesota improve on that position.



“You want your leaders to lead,” said Robinson. “By becoming All-Americans, the rest of the team can look at them, look at their work ethic and what they do, and hopefully the younger guys take it to heart and go do [next season] what these guys did.”



Pfarr began his day with a quarterfinal bout against unseeded but nationally ranked Patrick Downey (Iowa State). Pfarr defeated Downey to close out the dual season, 12-1, and had similar success on Friday night, taking down his opponent four times and cruising to a 12-3 victory. The win assured Pfarr of his first career All-America finish and his place as the 93rd All-American wrestler in Minnesota history.



“It feels great,” said Pfarr immediately after his win over Downey. When asked about hearing the Gopher fans’ reaction to his win from the stands, he added, “That was really exciting. I love when the fans get rowdy. That’s why I love to wrestle. I love to put on a good show for our fans, my family and my teammates.”



In his semifinal contest later in the evening, Pfarr lost to J’Den Cox (Missouri) on a third-period pin. After falling behind early, Pfarr pressed for a big move late in the match, which led to Cox scoring the pin. Pfarr will take on Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) in tomorrow’s consolation semifinals.



“For Brett tomorrow, he’s got to let this [loss] go, which he’s good at, come back tomorrow and get third. Third now becomes first,” said Robinson. “The higher you place tomorrow, the better you’re going to feel 20 years from now.”



Just as he did last year, Kroells had a long second day at the NCAA Championships following a defeat in the second round on Thursday. To earn his All-America medal, Kroells had to win his first three matches on Friday. Kroells began the day with a 6-1 victory over Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) before knocking off Nathan Butler (Stanford) 5-1. To clinch his All-America placement in the tournament, Kroells needed to defeat Brooks Black (Illinois) for a third time this season. Tied at two in the third, Kroells scored a late takedown and rode out Black to win, 4-2, and secure his second All-American season in as many years.


“It’s great to carry on that Minnesota heavyweight tradition,” said Kroells. “There was a little bit of pressure after I lost that first [match yesterday], but I knew I could come back and get into it.



“There’s no more satisfying feeling to win a big match and you have your fans there to support you,” he added.



Kroells, the 51st multiple-time All-American in Minnesota history, further extended a lineage of elite heavyweights at Minnesota under Robinson by becoming the program’s 19th All-American heavyweight in the past 24 seasons.



“Part of our success at heavyweight is the kids we recruit, like Michael,” said Robinson. “Winning breeds winning. That attitude is the most important thing. We have heavyweights that are coming here because they want to duplicate that winning, they want to be All-Americans … and we have a great legacy of doing that.”



In his consolation quarterfinal match, Kroells fell to Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State), 8-5. That defeat put Kroells’ in tomorrow’s seventh-place match, where he’ll face off with Max Wessell (Lehigh) for the fourth time this season. The two have alternated victories, with Wessell winning the most recent contest yesterday evening.



Minnesota had four wrestlers still in the tournament field when Friday began, but both Tommy Thorn and Nick Wanzek were eliminated during the midday session.



Thorn picked up his second win of the tournament late Friday morning by controlling his 141-pound match with Mike Longo (Appalachian State) from the opening whistle on his way to a 10-0 major decision. In the next round of wrestlebacks, Thorn fell to Kevin Jack (NC State), 3-1.



At 174, Wanzek hoped to upset Zac Brunson (Illinois) for the second time in the past month after defeating the Illini grappler, 13-10, in Champaign during the dual season. In a much lower-scoring affair, a late shot by Wanzek allowed Brunson to score a takedown and a four-point near fall to blow open a 3-2 match and eliminate Wanzek in a 9-2 decision.



Full match-by-match results are available at: z.umn.edu/wrncaa2



The last day of the 2015-16 Division I wrestling season will start with Session V of the NCAA Championships at 10 a.m. Central on Saturday morning. This early session will include consolation semifinal matches, as well as third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches. Starting at 7 p.m., the final session will wrap up the tournament by hosting all 10 title bouts.



Session V will be broadcast on ESPNU while Session VI will air on ESPN. All matches on all mats can also be streamed live on WatchESPN.

 

[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brian Reinhardt <bcreinha@ncsu.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 9:03 PM
Subject: NC STATE WRESTLING: Gwiazdowski Wins 88th Straight and Advances to Third Straight NCAA Final
To:

FULL RECAP ON GOPACK.COM

#WrestleNYC: Gwiazdowski Wins 88th Straight and Advances to Third Straight NCAA FinalNC State ties school record with three All-Americans, all will be in action tomorrow

NEW YORK, N.Y. - For the third straight year, NC State heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski will be wrestling for an NCAA title. The two-time defending NCAA champion will have his final collegiate bout will take place in his home state, at Madison Square Garden, and will be the featured and final match on ESPN tomorrow night.

Winner of 88 straight now, Gwiazdowski advanced past tonight’s semifinals with a 3-2 win over #5 Adam Coon of Michigan, a rematch of last year’s championship match. Gwiazdowski scored a takedown in the first period, the lone of the match for either wrestler.

“It was the fourth time we wrestled, so again real familiar and I knew what he was going to come with and I know what I’m capable of doing,” said Gwiazdowski. “I have a lot of motivation, I looked in the crowd, people I know and people that I didn’t know were coming and are here, and that just pushes me to work hard and try to do my best.”

In his four wins to the finals this weekend, Gwiazdowski outscored his opponents 43-7, and has not been taken down this tournament, all the points came on escapes.

Gwiazdowski will face #2 Kyle Snyder of Ohio State in tomorrow night’s finals. The 285-pound match will be the final match of the night tomorrow night, with the finals starting at 8 p.m.

“I want to wrestle the best guy,” said Gwiazdowski. “If you want to be the NCAA champ you have got to wrestle the best guy, so we are the two best guys at this point. So tomorrow night we will find out and either way I think it’s good for the media attention, also for both of us.”
Gwiazdowski is joined by fellow redshirt senior Tommy Gantt (157 pounds) and junior Pete Renda (184) as All-Americans based on their performances at this weekend's NCAA Championships. The three All-Americans ties the NC State school record, also reached in 1992.

SESSION 4 RESULTS - SEMIFINALS
184: #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. #13 Pete Renda - 9-4
285: #1 Nick Gwiazdowski dec. #5 Adam Coon (Michigan) - 3-2

After a 3-0 start and earning All-American honors, with upsets of the #4 and then #5 seeds, Pete Renda suffered his first loss. Renda fell to #1 and defending national champion Gabe Dean of Cornell 9-4. Dean scored a pair of first period takedowns, and after his reversal to start the second was up 6-2. Dean added another takedown, paired with an escape to start the third and a ride time point for the 9-4 final.

Renda will return to action tomorrow morning against #9 Matthew Miller of Navy, with Renda guaranteed at least a fifth place finish at 184 pounds.

WRESTLEBACKS - Round of 12
141: #8 Joey Ward (UNC) dec. #3 Kevin Jack - 3-2
157: #2 Tommy Gantt dec. #12 Brian Murphy (Michigan) - 6-2

WRESTLEBACKS - Consolation Quarterfinals
157: #8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) dec. Tommy Gantt - 7-4

Redshirt senior Tommy Gantt became NC State’s third All-American at the 2016 NCAA Championships with a 6-2 win over #12 Brian Murphy of Michigan. After a scoreless first period, Murphy had an escape as the lone point entering the third. Gantt’s final period included an escape and two takedowns - the winner with 58 seconds left - and with the ride time point he claimed the 6-2 win.

Gantt fell in his second match of the night, dropping a 7-4 contest to #8 Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech. Bascetta scored both takedowns of the first period and was up 4-2. After a Gantt escape closed it to 4-3, Brascetta scored another takedown, and both wrestlers exchanged escape points to make the final 7-4

In Gantt’s last trip to the NCAAs back in 2014, he was one win away from All-American honors. Gantt will return to action tomorrow, and wrestle #6 Joseph Smith of Oklahoma State in the 7th/8th place match at 157 pounds.

After earning All-American honors last year as a freshman, Kevin Jack fell one win short in 2016. He fell to #8 Joey Ward of North Carolina 3-2. Ward scored the bout’s only takedown, in the first period. Jack escaped in the first and again to start the second to tie it 2-2. But Ward chose neutral to start the third, and with no more scoring, Ward’s 1:02 of ride time gave him the final point.

UP NEXT
NC State will have three wrestlers in action tomorrow. Gwiazdowski will be wrestling in the finals starting at 8 p.m. on ESPN. Gantt and Renda will both be in the consolation round, wrestling for top-eight spots at each weight.

--


Brian Reinhardt
Director of Athletics Digital Communications
(919) 515-8953 (office)
(919) 819-8317 (cell)
brian_reinhardt@ncsu.edu

Visit www.GoPack.com
"All electronic mail messages in connection with State business which are sent to or received by this account are subject to the NC Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties."

 

[dawrestling]

rom: Brewer, Christopher J<christopher-brewer@hawkeyesports.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 8:59 PM
Subject: Iowa Wrestling recap -- Hawkeyes make reservations for 3 in NCAA Finals
To:




University of Iowa Wrestling

Athletic Communications Contact: Chris Brewer


Reservations for 3 in NCAA Finals

Gilman, Clark, Sorensen advance to national championship bouts


NEW YORK CITY -- TheUniversity of Iowa advanced three wrestlers to the finals of the 2016 NCAA Championships on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.


Thomas Gilman (125), Cory Clark (133), and Brandon Sorensen (149) won their respective semifinal matches and will compete for national championships Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) inside the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”


It is the first time since 2012 that Iowa has had three wrestlers in the finals (Matt McDonough, Montell Marion, Derek St. John). The Hawkeyes have had at least one NCAA finalist in 27 consecutive seasons.


Clark is making his second straight appearance in the finals. He was runner-up last season, but worked his way back onto the main stage with a 4-3 decision over third-seeded Zane Richards. Richards struck first with a first-period takedown, but Clark struck last, scoring the final two points with a takedown nine seconds left in the period.


“I knew that I was wearing on him,” Clark said. “I was able to really get him to start thinking defense, and once a guy starts thinking defense, that's when you get to the leg and you finish.”


Gilman pinned the defending national champion in sudden victory to reach the NCAA finals for the first time in his career. He was tied, 1-1, with top-seeded Nathan Tomasello after seven minutes of regulation, and ended the Ohio State sophomore’s 43-match win streak halfway through the first overtime period.


“I hooked his head with my foot and made an adjustment there,” Gilman said. “That's something -- if you look at my career, that something I've really done well is making adjustments, not only day-to-day or year-to-year, but within the match itself. And that's what good wrestlers do. They make adjustments within the match.”


Sorensen’s second period takedown was the difference in his 4-2 decision against Oklahoma State’s sixth-seeded Anthony Collica.


“The match ended up coming down to a takedown,” Sorensen said. “Again, I don't like it to be that way. I don't like to be tight. But that's what happened, and you've got to come out on top, and that's what I did. I'm moving on to the finals.”


The Hawkeyes are in third place entering Saturday’s All-America round. Alex Meyer (174), Sammy Brooks (184), and Nathan Burak (197) are all still competing on the back side of the bracket. Meyer won four consecutive consolation matches to advance to the All-America round for the first time in his career. Brooks defeated fourth-seeded Dom Abounader in the Round of 12 to advance to his first All-America round. Both wrestlers lost in the consolation quarterfinals and will wrestle for seventh place in their respective brackets.


Burak fell to top-seeded Morgan McIntosh in the 197-pound semifinals. He will compete in the consolation semis Saturday morning.


“We won five matches in a row and then we lost three, so we’ve got to pick ourselves up as a team and go forward,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “The bottom line is we have two seventh place matches, a guy in the top six that has a chance at getting third, and he's a senior, and we have three in the finals.”


Penn State leads the team race with 114 points. Oklahoma State (79.5), Iowa (77.5), Virginia Tech (69.5), and Ohio State (68) round out the top five.


The All-America round begins Saturday at 10 a.m. (CT). The finals begin at 7 p.m. (CT). ESPN will televise the finals. ESPN3 will stream the All-America round.


SEMIFINAL RESULTS

125 - #4 Thomas Gilman (IA) pinned #1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State), 7:37 SV1

133 - #2 Cory Clark (IA) dec. #3 Zane Richards (ILL), 4-3

149 - #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA) dec. #11 Anthony Collica (OKST), 4-2

197 - #1 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) dec. #4 Nathan Burak (IA), 4-2


CONSOLATION RESULTS

174 - #13 Alex Meyer (IA) dec. #9 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State), 7-2

174 - #8 Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) major dec. #13 Alex Meyer (IA), 10-2

184 - #2 Sammy Brooks (IA) dec. #4 Dom Abounader (Michigan), 13-7

184 - #9 Matthew Miller (Navy) pinned #2 Sammy Brooks (IA), 2:34


FINAL MATCHUPS

125 - #4 Thomas Gilman (IA) vs. #3 Nico Megaludis (PSU)

133 - #2 Cory Clark (IA) vs. #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell)

149 - #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA) vs. Zain Retherford (PSU)


CONSOLATION MATCHUPS

197 - #4 Nathan Burak (IA) vs. Patrick Downey (Iowa State)


SEVENTH-PLACE MATCHUPS

174 -- #13 Alex Meyer (IA) vs. #7 Cody Walters (Ohio)

184 -- #2 Sammy Brooks (IA) vs. #10 Nate Brown (Lehigh)


Attendance: 18,309

 

[dawrestling]

From: Hundley, Bobby <hundley@email.unc.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 8:48 PM
Subject: Ward Earns All-America Status Friday At MSG
To:


WRESTLING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
MARCH 18, 2016
CONTACT: Bobby Hundley, bhundley@unc.edu

NEW YORK --- North Carolina's Joey Ward knocked off NC State's Kevin Jack to become an All-American at 141 pounds on day two of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday at Madison Square Garden. Ward, the No. 8 seed, beat third-seeded Jack in the round of 12 to give Carolina an All-American for the fourth consecutive season.

It was the first career All-America honor for Ward, who was making his third appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Cincinnati, Ohio, redshirt junior won a pair of matches Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to top-seeded Dean Heil of Oklahoma State Friday morning. Ward then took on Jack in the blood round for a spot on the podium.

Jack won the regular season meeting 5-3 in Raleigh, needing overtime to knock off Ward. The NC State sophomore also defeated Ward in last year's round of 16 as an unseeded wrestler. But the Tar Heel took control of Friday's showdown early, scoring a takedown inside the first minute of the bout. After an escape made it 2-1, Ward started the second period on top and rode Jack long enough to bank 1:02 of riding time. That proved to be the difference, with Ward keeping Jack at bay in the final period to win 3-2.

Ward then met Old Dominion's Chris Mecate in the consolation semifinal, where he dropped a 4-2 decision in sudden victory overtime. Ward will face Lehigh's Randy Cruz, the No. 16 seed, Saturday morning for seventh place.

Three other Tar Heels were in action Friday. John Michael Staudenmayer opened the day with a 7-1 win over fifth-seeded Max Rohskopf of NC State. Staudenmayer trailed 1-0 in the dying seconds of the match, but got a takedown and a four-point near fall to avenge a pair of 1-0 losses from earlier in the year. Staudenmayer finished one round shy of the 165 blood round with a 3-2 loss to Stanford's Jim Wilson.

Alex Utley (184) and Chip Ness (197) both lost their first match of the day and were eliminated in the second consolation round.

Carolina stands in a tie for 35th place entering Saturday with nine team points. Penn State holds a commanding lead in the race for the team title with 114 points, well ahead of Oklahoma State (79.5) and Iowa (77.5).

Bobby Hundley
Assistant Director, UNC Athletic Communications
bhundley@unc.edu
919-843-5678 (O)
919-428-0893 (M)

 

[dawrestling]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: James Warnick <James.Warnick@uvu.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 8:28 PM
Subject: UVU WRE: Rauser achieves goal, locks up All-America status at NCAA's
To: James Warnick <James.Warnick@uvu.edu>


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: http://wolverinegreen.com/news/2016...-america-status-at-ncaa-s.aspx?path=wrestling

Rauser achieves goal, locks up All-America status at NCAA’s

March 18, 2016

Updated Brackets (PDF) | Results

NEW YORK CITY –Trailing No. 6 George DiCamillo of Virginia 5-0 heading into the final period, Utah Valley University seniorJade Rausermanaged to reel off eight unanswered points to knock off the seeded foe in the Round of 12 at the 2016 NCAA Championships to secure All-American status at Madison Square Garden on Friday evening.By locking up the All-American honors, Rauser (24-8) becomes just the second UVU wrestler in program history to achieve such a feat. The Wolverine 133-pounder will join former 125-pound standout Benjamin Kjar, who placed fourth at the NCAA's in 2011."It feels awesome. When the final whistle blew and I realized that I had won the match, I couldn't believe it," Rauser said. "This has always been the ultimate goal. I told my teammates that I didn't have any other choice than to come back with the hardware. I still have one more match, but this is just a phenomenal way to end my career."Needing a win over DiCamillo (29-5) to secure his All-America status in his first bout on Friday evening, Rauser found himself trailing the UVA three-time NCAA qualifier by a score of 5-0 heading into the final period. UVU's first-ever four-time NCAA qualifier then came out determined in the final stanza as he managed to take DiCamillo down for two and promptly followed that up by locking DiCamillo's shoulders to the mat for a four-point nearfall to take a 6-5 lead. With the clock winding down and DiCamillo holding riding time advantage, Rauser managed to tilt DiCamillo one more time for a last-second two count to pick up a two-point nearfall to win the bout by a score of 8-6 right at the buzzer.In his following match to determine what spot he would wrestle for on Saturday, Rauser then once again looked for a late comeback win against the No. 7 seed from Nebraska Eric Montoya. Trailing 7-6 with the clock winding down, the Wolverine senior looked to have secured a last-second takedown but Montoya (28-9) managed to roll through the maneuver to land a takedown of his own just before the clock expired to take the bout by a score of 9-6.With the loss, Rauser will now enter the seventh-place match on Saturday against the eight seed and now two-time All-American from Iowa State Earl Hall (32-9). Rauser will enter Saturday's final match with a 4-2 record during his 2016 NCAA Championship run."Jade has been focused all tournament long. I'm just really proud of him and pleased for him that he was able to achieve his goal," head coachGreg Williamssaid. "It's very emotional. What an achievement after working so hard. We're all very excited for him."After dropping his first bout of the tournament to the two seed and now three-time All-American Cory Clark of Iowa on Thursday morning, Rauser won four straight matches in the wrestlebacks to secure his All-America finish. During the four-match winning streak, Rauser defeated a pair of seeded grapplers in the sixth-seeded DiCamillo and No. 9 Mack McGuire of Kent State (5-3), as well as No. 16 Nathan Kraisser of Campbell (17-4) and No. 18 Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State (12-4).Fellow Wolverine seniorChasen Tolbert(125 pounds) too competed for UVU at the NCAA Championships but had his 2016 run come to a close on Thursday with a 1-2 record. Following a 6-1 win over Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske in the Pigtails, Tolbert then dropped a pair of bouts to the three-time All-American third-seeded Nico Megaludis of Penn State (18-5) and Sean Fausz of North Carolina State (7-4) to have his season and outstanding collegiate career come to a close. Tolbert, who made his second straight appearance at the NCAA Championships this weekend, finishes his UVU career in the top-10 in all-time victories at Utah Valley with a 65-36 career record.Saturday's medal round/session V of the NCAA Championships will begin at 11 a.m. ET/9 a.m. MT and will be televised live on ESPNU. The tournament will then conclude with the championship finals on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT.UVU's 2016 NCAA Championship Results133 -Jade Rauser(4-2)Champ. Round 1 - #2 Cory Clark (Iowa) overJade Rauser(UVU), MD 8-0Cons. Round 1 -Jade Rauser(UVU) over Gary Wayne Harding (OK State), MD 12-4Cons. Round 2 -Jade Rauser(UVU) over Nathan Kraisser (Campbell), MD 17-4Cons. Round 3 -Jade Rauser(UVU) over #9 Mack McGuire (Kent State), Dec. 5-3Cons. Round of 12 -Jade Rauser(UVU) over #6 George DiCamillo (Virginia), Dec. 8-6Cons. Round of 8 - #7 Eric Montoya (Nebrask) overJade Rauser(UVU), Dec. 9-6125 -Chasen Tolbert(1-2)Champ. Prelims -Chasen Tolbert(UVU) over Brandon Jeske (ODU), Dec. 6-1Champ. Round 1 - #3 Nico Megaludis (PSU) overChasen Tolbert(UVU), MD 18-5Cons. Round 1 - Sean Fausz (NC State) overChasen Tolbert(UVU), Dec. 7-4Session IV Attendance – 18, 309


-UVU-


JamesWarnick
Utah Valley University
Asst. Sports Information Director
O: 801-863-6231
C: 801-376-0814
E: James.Warnick@uvu.edu
T: @WolverineGreen
WolverineGreen.com

 

[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Meredith Rieder <mrieder@duaa.duke.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 8:15 PM
Subject: Duke WRES: Hartmann Makes History; Secures 3rd All-America Award
To:


Hartmann Makes History; Secures 3rd All-America Award

March 18, 2016

NEW YORK - Duke University redshirt senior Conner Hartmann made history Friday night at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships, becoming the first Blue Devil in program history to earn three All-America honors. Hartmann will wrestle in the seventh-place match Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

Hartmann, facing unseeded Ryan Wolfe of Rider, used a stellar third period to come away with the 7-0 decision. Scoreless after two periods despite quality shots from both wrestlers, Hartmann was the first on the scoreboard with an escape to start the period. Wolfe turned in a couple quality shots, but Hartmann was able to come out the backend for the takedown that made it 3-0. Hartmann quickly turned Wolfe and nearly got the pin as time ran out and resulted in just the four nearfall points for the 7-0 win.

The victory over Wolfe clinched a spot on the podium for Hartmann and set him up for a rematch against Virginia Tech's Jared Haught.

Undefeated against Haught in his career, Hartmann couldn't find a way to score on Haught. The Hokie 197-pounder scored a takedown in the first period and never let Duke's three-time All-American finish a shot en route to the 5-2 victory over No. 5 Hartmann. He will wrestle Patrick Downey of Iowa State for seventh place Saturday. Hartmann needs one more win to join the 30-win club at Duke.

Mitch Finesilver joined Hartmann in the Friday evening wrestling, marking the first time Duke has had two wrestlers advance to that point in the championships.

Finesilver, seeded 14th at 149 pounds and up against No. 9 seed Justin Oliver of Michigan, saw his season come to an end in a narrow 6-5 decision.
Oliver scored a pair of takedowns in the first period to take a 4-2 lead into the second session. Finesilver, in the top position, rode out the enter two-minute stanza and then added an escape 30 seconds into the third period to pull within one point, 4-3.

The sophomore tried to score, but it was Oliver with the successful shot for the 6-3 lead before Finesilver escaped to make it 6-4. Finesilver attacked with fury in the final 30 seconds, resulting in a stalling penalty to Oliver, but ultimately came up short in the setback.

Finesilver finishes his season with a 31-9 overall, becoming just the 12th Blue Devil to reach 30 wins in a season. His 31 wins are tied for eighth in Duke single-season history.
Duke is in35th place with nine points heading into the final day of competition.

#GoDuke

 

[dawrestling]

NEW YORK -- Chris Mecate flattened Nebraska's Anthony Abidin in just 1:34 in the consolation blood round Friday evening before a sold-out 17,899 fans at Madison Square Garden to secure his second-straight All-American finish at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. With the fall, Mecate became ODU's first two-time All-American since James Nicholson recorded top-eight finishes in 2008 and 2011.

In the quarterfinals on Friday morning, Rutgers' No. 4 Anthony Ashnault broke a 3-3 deadlock in the final thirty seconds by securing a takedown to defeat Mecate, 5-4. After pinning Abidin of Nebraska in the consolation round of 12, the redshirt senior from Highland, California went on to secure a 4-2 OT victory over No. 8 Joey Ward of UNC in the next round and can now do no worse than sixth place.

Brandon Jeske got off to a strong start Friday morning by knocking off Virginia Tech's second-seeded Joey Dance, 4-3, in the third round of consolations. Jeske used a second period takedown and two escapes to complete the upset over the former All-American. In the following round, despite a valiant effort, Jeske was upended by Lehigh's No. 7 Darian Cruz, 2-1 tiebreaker. Cruz was able to manage an escape in the second set of 30-second tiebreakers to advance.

Jack Dechow avenged his MAC Championship finals loss to Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan during Friday morning's third consolation round, securing a takedown in sudden victory to win, 3-1 OT. In the following round, Lehigh's No. 10 Nate Brown earned a riding time point in the final period to defeat Dechow, 2-1.

Mecate will wrestle in Saturday morning's consolation semis against Stanford's No. 2 Joey McKenna. The winner will go for third place later that session, while the loser will compete for fifth.

As a team, ODU is in 25th place with 16.5 points.

Full brackets are available on TrackWrestling or on NCAA.com.

ODU Results -- Day 2

Cons. Round 2 - Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) 21-13 won by decision over Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) 29-3 (Dec 4-3)
Cons. Round 3 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 31-6 won in tie breaker - 1 over Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) 21-13 (TB-1 2-1)

Quarterfinal - Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) 32-3 won by decision over Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 23-7 (Dec 5-4)
Cons. Round 4 - Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 25-7 won by fall over Anthony Abidin (Nebraska) 21-15 (Fall 1:35)
Cons. Round 5 - Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 25-7 won in sudden victory - 1 over Joseph Ward (North Carolina) 22-6 (SV-1 4-2)

Cons. Round 2 - Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) 21-5 won in sudden victory - 1 over Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) 29-14 (SV-1 3-1)
Cons. Round 3 - Nate Brown (Lehigh) 24-5 won by decision over Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) 21-5 (Dec 2-1)


--
Tristan Warner
Old Dominion University
Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant (WREST, MGOLF, WGOLF)
Jim Jarrett Athletic Administration Building
4509 Elkhorn Avenue
Norfolk, Virginia 23529
Office: (757) 683-3395
Cell: (717) 571-1206
www.ODUSports.com

 

[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Roger Sepich <rsepich@niu.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 8:02 PM
Subject: NIU Wrestling: Shawn Scott Concludes NCAA Run in Round of 12
To: Roger Sepich <rsepich@niu.edu>





March 18, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


NIU Wrestling: Shawn Scott Concludes NCAA Run in Round of 12

Scott won two more matches on Friday to finish NCAAs with a 4-2 record.


Full NIU results from NCAAs listed below.




NEW YORK CITY – Shawn Scott’s thrilling last-second heroics continued twice more on Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden during the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships, but the Northern Illinois University wrestler came up one win short of All-American honors after losing in Round-of-12 action.

Following his two triumphs on Thursday, Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) defeated two more opponents in his consolation bracket at 197 pounds on Friday to become the first NIU wrestler since Matt Mougin in 2013 to advance to the beloved “Blood Round” session at nationals on Friday night in front of a raucous crowd at the World's Most Famous Arena.

Scott showed off his incredible talent on top in both of his victories. He started his day by defeating Josh DaSilveira of Arizona State by 3-2 decision with the help of a riding time point. The NIU redshirt junior then secured a late takedown and two back points in the final 30 seconds of his contest against No. 16 Kyle Conel of Kent State, defeating Conel for the second time this postseason to advance to the Round of 12 – just one win from becoming NIU wrestling’s 11th all-time Division I All-American.

However, Scott was unable to replicate that third-period heroics against Patrick Downey of Iowa State in the Blood Round. Downey used a first-period takedown and a second-period reversal to grab an early 5-1 lead, but Scott recorded two escapes to pull within 5-3. He was close on several occasions in the third to tallying a crucial two-point takedown, but Downey held on and ended Scott’s tournament.

NIU wrestling head coach Ryan Ludwig thought Scott's performance highlighted a season of improvement for the Huskies in 2015-16.

“He came here with the attitude and mindset to make his opponents earn their victories – and that’s what he did. He definitely won’t apologize for his aggressive style. He can be proud of the way he competed,” Ludwig said of Scott. “We learned some things against the nation’s elite here. We’ll evaluate and begin looking forward to next season. I’m also grateful for all of the hard work my assistant coaches have put in over this season to contribute to the gains of our program. NIU wrestling has a very bright future.”

He also praised the leadership of Scott, who was designated as team captain as a junior this season and excelled in his second trip to the NCAA Championships.

“Shawn does things the right way. That’s why he does well. He’s a leader for us vocally and in the way he lives wrestling and trains hard,” Ludwig added regarding Scott. “He set a great example for our entire team this week. Shawn doesn’t like taking time off either, so he’ll be back in the wrestling room preparing for next season shortly."

With Scott scoring all of their points, the Huskies finished the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships with 3.0 points to tie for 50th place with Northwestern. Scott’s four wins at nationals also marked the most by an NIU wrestler since Pat Castillo also tallied four victories at NCAAs in 2008.

NIU Results at the 2016 NCAA Championships

Austin Eicher, 133 pounds
No. 14 Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland) dec. Eicher (NIU), 7-3
Joey Palmer (Oregon State) dec. Eicher (NIU), 6-0

No. 13 Steve Bleise, 141 pounds
Seth Gross (South Dakota State) dec. Bleise (NIU), 6-3
Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) maj. dec. Bleise (NIU), 13-5

Andrew Morse, 157 pounds
No. 2 Thomas Gantt (NC State) tech. fall Morse (NIU), 21-4
Greg Flournoy (George Mason) dec. Morse (NIU), 7-6

Shawn Scott, 197 pounds, 3 team points, Round of 12
Scott (NIU) dec. John Bolich (Lehigh), 2-1 in pigtail
Scott (NIU) dec. No. 9 Reuben Franklin (CSU-Bakersfield), 8-5
No. 8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) dec. Scott (NIU), 3-2
Scott (NIU) dec. Josh DaSilveira (Arizona State), 3-2
Scott (NIU) dec. No. 16 Kyle Conel (Kent State), 5-1
Patrick Downey (Iowa State) dec. Scott (NIU), 5-3

--NIU--


RJ Sepich
NIU Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant:
WSOC, WREST, WTEN, WT&F/XC
Email: RSepich@niu.edu; RJSepich@gmail.com
Cell: (724) 822-3107
Twitter: @RJSepich
www.niuhuskies.com
NIU Huskie Athletics
We develop CHAMPIONS, in the classroom, in competition and in life.

 

[dawrestling]

rom: Jurich, Julie <jjurich@athletics.pitt.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 7:12 PM
Subject: Pitt Wrestling: Session 4: Forys Finishes 3-1 at NCAA Championships
To:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 18, 2016

Contact: Julie Jurich


Session 4: Forys Finishes 3-1 at NCAA Championships

The sophomore ends one win short of becoming an All-American


NEW YORK – Sophomore Dom Forys season came to a close Friday night at Madison Square Garden when the Pittsburgh native dropped a 13-7 decision to Iowa State’s Earl Hall in the consolation round.


Forys capped off his successful sophomore campaign by going 3-1 on the national stage and finishing 28-4 overall. As a freshman, Forys competed at 125 pounds and went 0-2 a year ago in St. Louis.


“I'm proud of Dom,” head coach Jason Peters said. “He worked hard and gained great experience this year, but unfortunately he didn't reach his goal. Dom will be the first one in the room working to build for next season and this adversity will help fuel him through the off season.”


Wrestling for All-America status, Forys came up just one win short of accomplishing the feat.


Forys fell behind early on as a Hall takedown and four-point nearfall would put him up 6-0 in the first. An escape and takedown by Forys cut Hall’s lead in half. Hall escaped late in the second, extending his lead to 7-3 entering the third. Forys opened with a reversal, but a Hall escape and takedown gave him a 10-5 edge. Forys then escaped recording his sixth point of the match. Hall followed with an escape and a takedown which be his final points. Forys escaped with time running out, but it wouldn’t be enough.


The Panthers finished the regular season 10-7 overall and 2-3 in conference competition.

Julie Jurich Assistant Director of Media Relations

Men’s Soccer, Wrestling, Women’s TennisUniversity of Pittsburgh | Department of Athletics
Petersen Events Center | 3719 Terrace St., Room 2092 | Pittsburgh, PA 15261
jjurich@athletics.pitt.edu
Cell: (412) 652-5585 | Office: (412) 648-8245

website | map


INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN MAY INCLUDE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION SUBJECT TO PROTECTION UNDER FEDERAL LAW. THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL. RE-DISCLOSURE OF THIS INFORMATION IS PROHIBITED ABSENT SPECIFIC WRITTEN CONSENT OR AS OTHERWISE PERMITTED BY LAW OR REGULATION.

 

[dawrestling]

-------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Melissa Mckeown <mckeown@american.edu>
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 7:06 PM
Subject: Terao Drops NCAA Semifinal Match to Third-Seed Megaludis
To:


Terao Drops NCAA Semifinal Match to Third-Seed Megaludis
Senior captain will wrestle twice on Saturday

NEW YORK – Suffering his first loss of the tournament, American University senior captain David Terao dropped an 8-2 decision in the semifinals of the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships being held at Madison Square Garden.

Terao, the 15th seed at 125 pounds, came up short against third-seed Nico Megaludis of Penn State. Megaludis will make his third appearance in the NCAA finals, while Terao was the Eagles’ first semifinalist since 2012.

Megaludis scored first, registering a takedown in the first period, while a quick escape by Terao brought the score to 2-1. Megaludis extended his lead to 5-1 in the second period, scoring an escape and a takedown to pull ahead.

In the final period, Megaludis accumulated enough riding time to secure an extra point before Terao scored another escape. However, Megaludis registered a late takedown to account for the final margin.

“David fought hard for that whole seven minutes, but we just couldn’t seem to get any of our positions going,” said American head coach Teague Moore. “We can’t hang our head about it—David battled the whole match, and he’s coming back tomorrow, so we’ve got a good opportunity to climb the podium.

“If we go out and wrestle to our best positions, I think we’re going to be able to join those high-achieving AU Eagles who have been here before.”

Terao will wrestle twice in Saturday’s first session, beginning with the consolation semifinals against UNI’s Dylan Peters. The winner of that match will advance to the third-place bout, while the loser will compete for fifth-place.

Action resumes Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Session IV Results
125: (3) Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. (15) David Terao, 8-2

-------------------------------------------------
MELISSA McKEOWNAssistant Director of Athletic Communications
American University
o: 202.885.3030
c: 719.213.1509
e: mckeown@american.edu

 

[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nebraska Wrestling <mail@neulionnetwork.com>
Date: Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 12:31 AM
Subject: Article: Dudley Finishes Runner-Up at NCAA Championships
To: dawvoice3@gmail.com


Click here to view as a web page.

The Huskers earned their second consecutive top-10 team finish.
Dudley Finishes Runner-Up at NCAA Championships
Courtesy NU Athletic Communications
Sat, March 19, 2016
New York, N.Y. – Two-time All-American TJ Dudley fell to top-seeded Gabe Dean of Cornell, 5-3, in the 184-pound NCAA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Dudley, a junior from Irmo, S.C., wrestled Dean to a scoreless first period before going on bottom to start the second frame. Dudley escaped to take a 1-0 lead before Dean took him down in a call that was challenged by Nebraska. The call stood on the mat, making the score tied 2-2 entering the third period.

Dudley started the third stanza on top, where he allowed Dean to escape. Dean added a takedown to build a 5-2 advantage. Dudley escaped to cut the lead to 5-3, but couldn’t earn a takedown in the final minute.

Dudley was the 23rd NCAA finalist in Husker history. He finished his third NCAA Championships with a 4-1 record and went 24-7 overall this season. Dudley captured his second All-America honor after finishing eighth at 184 pounds last season.

As a team, Nebraska finished eighth with 58 points, marking the 20th top-10 finish in program history. By finishing eighth, the Huskers earn the best team finish since 2009 when they took fourth. Penn State captured the team title with 123 points, while Oklahoma State (97.5) and Ohio State (86) rounded out the top three.

Earlier in the day, All-Americans Eric Montoya (133) and Austin Wilson (165) each won in the medal round. Montoya finished fifth at 133 pounds and Wilson took seventh place at 165 pounds. With three All-Americans, Nebraska increased its program total to 101.

NCAA Championships
March 17-19, 2016
Madison Square Garden
New York, N.Y.

125 pounds
First Round: #13 Tim Lambert (NEB) major dec. Zachary Fuentes (DREX), 14-3
Second Round: #4 Thomas Gilman (IOWA) major dec. #13 Tim Lambert (NEB), 12-4
Consolation Second Round: #13 Tim Lambert (NEB) dec. Sean Fausz (NCST), 7-2
Consolation Third Round: #11 Ronnie Bresser (ORST) dec. #13 Tim Lambert (NEB), 5-4
Finish: DNP (2-2 record)

133 pounds
First Round: #7 Eric Montoya (NEB) major dec. Zachary Davis (NAVY), 19-6
Second Round: #7 Eric Montoya (NEB) dec. #10 Johnni DiJulius (OHST), 2-0
Quarterfinals: #2 Cory Clark (IOWA) dec. #7 Eric Montoya (NEB), 4-0
Consolation Fourth Round: #7 Eric Montoya (NEB) pin #12 Ryan Taylor (WISC), 3:23
Consolation Quarterfinals: #7 Eric Montoya (NEB) dec. Jade Rauser (UVU), 9-6
Consolation Semifinals: #4 Cody Brewer (OKLA) dec. #7 Eric Montoya (NEB), 9-3
Fifth-Place Match: #7 Eric Montoya (NEB) dec. #5 Jordan Conaway (PSU), 7-4
Finish: 5th (5-2 record)

141 pounds
First Round: #9 Rick Durso (F&M) tech. fall Anthony Abidin (NEB), 16-1
Consolation First Round: Anthony Abidin (NEB) dec. Jameson Oster (NW), 12-9
Consolation Second Round: Anthony Abidin (NEB) tech. fall Logan Everett (ARMY), 16-0
Consolation Third Round: Anthony Abidin (NEB) pin Jordan Laster (PRIN), 4:42
Consolation Fourth Round: #12 Chris Mecate (ODU) pin Anthony Abidin (NEB), 1:35
Finish: Round of 12 (3-2 record)

149 pounds
First Round: #7 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) major dec. Joseph Galasso (CORN), 8-0
Second Round: #7 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) major dec. #10 Mike DePalma (KENT), 10-1
Quarterfinals: #2 Brandon Sorensen (IOWA) sudden victory-2 #7 Jake Sueflohn (NEB), 4-2
Consolation Fourth Round: #12 Geo Martinez (BSU) dec. #7 Jake Sueflohn (NEB), 7-5
Finish: Round of 12 (2-2 record)

157 pounds
First Round: #13 Edwin Cooper Jr. (IOWA) dec. Tyler Berger (NEB), 8-3
Consolation First Round: Tyler Berger (NEB) dec. Aaron Walker (CIT), 7-4
Consolation Second Round: Tyler Berger (NEB) dec. May Bethea (PENN), 7-4
Consolation Third Round: Tyler Berger (NEB) major dec. Bryce Steiert (NIU), 12-2
Consolation Fourth Round: #8 Nick Brascetta (VT) dec. Tyler Berger (NEB), 3-2
Finish: Round of 12 (3-2 record)

165 pounds
First Round: #10 Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. Cody Wiercioch (PITT), 6-0
Second Round: #10 Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. #7 Anthony Perrotti (RUT), 4-1
Quarterfinals: #2 Isaac Jordan (WISC) dec. #10 Austin Wilson (NEB), 3-1
Consolation Fourth Round: #10 Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. #13 Jim Wilson (STAN), 4-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: #6 Steven Rodrigues (ILL) sudden victory-1 #10 Austin Wilson (NEB), 3-1
Seventh-Place Match: #10 Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. #7 Anthony Perrotti (RUT), 4-2
Finish: 7th (4-2 record)

174 pounds
First Round: #16 Micah Barnes (NEB) dec. Jack McKeever (BING), 4-0
Second Round: #1 Bo Nickal (PSU) dec. #16 Micah Barnes (NEB), 7-2
Consolation Second Round: #16 Micah Barnes (NEB) major dec. Sean Mappes (CHAT), 13-3
Consolation Third Round: Casey Kent (PENN) pin #16 Micah Barnes (NEB), 5:30
Finish: DNP (2-2 record)

184 pounds
First Round: #7 TJ Dudley (NEB) major dec. Garet Krohn (STAN), 10-2
Second Round: #7 TJ Dudley (NEB) dec. #10 Nate Brown (LEH), 7-3
Quarterfinals: #7 TJ Dudley (NEB) dec. #2 Sammy Brooks (IOWA), 9-6
Semifinals: #7 TJ Dudley (NEB) major dec. #14 Willie Miklus (MIZZ), 12-4
Finals: #1 Gabe Dean (CORN) dec. #7 TJ Dudley (NEB), 5-3
Finish: 2nd (4-1 record)

197 pounds
First Round: #8 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) dec. Phil Sprenkle (LOCK), 2-0
Second Round: #8 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) dec. Shawn Scott (NIU), 3-2
Quarterfinals: #1 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) major dec. #8 Aaron Studebaker (NEB), 16-4
Consolation Fourth Round: #6 Jared Haught (VT) dec. #8 Aaron Studebaker (NEB), 5-4
Finish: Round of 12 (2-2 record)

Heavyweight
Pigtails: Collin Jensen (NEB) dec. Ryan Solomon (PITT), 8-2
First Round: Collin Jensen (NEB) dec. #10 Joe Stolfi (BUCK), 9-2
Second Round: #7 Amarveer Dhesi (ORST) major dec. Collin Jensen (NEB), 12-4
Consolation Second Round: Mike Hughes (HOF) dec. Collin Jensen (NEB), 8-2
Finish: DNP (2-2 record)




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[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Melroe, Andrew B. <MelroeA@missouri.edu>
Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 10:23 PM
Subject: Cox Becomes @MizzouWrestling’s Second Two-Time National Champion (Final Team Scores, Brackets, Cox Quotes Attached)
To:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Saturday, March 19, 2016

MIZZOU WRESTLING - @MizzouWrestling | MIZZOU ATHLETICS - @MizzouAthletics

CONTACT – Andrew Melroe (melroea@missouri.edu)

Cox Becomes @MizzouWrestling’s Second Two-Time National Champion
J’den Cox joins Ben Askren as the only two #TigerStyle wrestlers to win two titles

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Junior J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) became the second-ever two-time NCAA National Champion in Mizzou Wrestling history with a 4-2 win over Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. on Saturday. Cox joined Ben Askren (2006, 2007) as the only Mizzou grapplers to finish a season atop of their weight class twice during their career.


Cox and McIntosh, two of arguably the most technical wrestlers in the nation, finished the first period scoreless. Cox nearly had a takedown near the end of the period, but McIntosh escaped Cox’s grasp and got out of bounds for a restart. Cox and McIntosh traded escape points to start the second and third periods, respectively. McIntosh escaped with under a minute left in the match, tying the score, 1-1. At the time of the escape, Cox had just under a minute of riding time. With the buzzer nearing, Cox got both of McIntosh’s legs to secure the takedown and the victory, 4-2 (point for riding time).


“I believe I had a great outing here at NCAAs this year. Definitely improved from the last few years. Dedication for this title goes to everyone who has ever had my back,” said Cox. “Everyone who has always been there for me. Not just when times are great, but when everything's going wrong and things are hard. People who have your back like that and the people who are always there, that you consider family, even though they're not blood, those are what this dedicates to because this was not easy.”


The hometown Tiger finishes the season 33-1, and is now 108-5 on his career. Cox recorded seven technical falls on the season, tied for fifth most in a season in program history. For his career, Cox has 14 technical falls, fourth most in Mizzou history and 24 major decisions, sixth most.


#TigerStyle finished the tournament in sixth place with 74.5 team points. Mizzou finished with four All-Americans, fourth most in program history (five in 2009, 2013, and 2015). Redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) and redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) joined Cox earning the esteemed award. Mayes finished third in the tournament, while Lewis finished fourth and Miklus sixth.


Cox became the fourth three-time All-American in school history, following Ben Askren (2004-07), Max Askren (2008-10), and Drake Houdashelt (2013-15). Cox won the National Championship in 2014 in Oklahoma City, Okla., and placed fifth last season in St. Louis, Mo.


The Tiger junior became the 24th member of Mizzou’s 100-win club with a 16-7 major decision victory in Mizzou’s 19-14 win over Nebraska in the NWCA National Duals Series on Feb. 21. Cox reached the century mark in 105 matches, the fastest to 100 wins in program history. Cox also owns the best win percentage of any wrestler in program history over 100 wins at .955 (108-5), slightly ahead of Ben Askren’s mark of .950 (153-8).


Mizzou now claims seven National Champions and 64 All-Americans in program history. In addition to Cox and Ben Askren each winning two titles, Max Askren claimed gold in 2010, Mark Ellis in 2009, and Drake Houdashelt in 2015. Next season’s NCAA Wrestling Championships will return to St. Louis, Mo., March 16-18 at the Scottrade Center.


For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.comand follow the team on 651-343-3272

O: 573-882-7167

melroea@missouri.edu

@AndrewMelroe

 

[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Basford, Michael<basford.16@osu.edu>
Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 9:43 PM
Subject: WR: CHAMPS! Snyder, Martin Win NCAA Titles
To:




March 19, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ohio State wrestling contact:
Mike Basford / basford.16@osu.edu WR: CHAMPS! Snyder, Martin Win NCAA TitlesBuckeyes finish third overall in team standings


RELATED INFO: Martin Quotes | Snyder Quotes | Complete Brackets | Championship Central | 2015-16 Schedule | 2015-16 Roster | Big Ten Wrestling | Wrestling Camps | Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram


NEW YORK, N.Y. - Two champions. A third-place overall team finish. The final night of the NCAA Championships was marked by a pair of dramatic wins for the Buckeyes’ Kyle Snyder and Myles Martin, who cemented their place in program history before a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden and national TV audience on ESPN.


Snyder and Martin won the 20th and 21st individual titles in program history and join a list of 13 other Buckeyes who stood at the top of the podium. As a team, Ohio State’s third place finish is its ninth top-10 showing in the past 10 years and fifth time in the top five (fourth time in the top three).


Martin put an exclamation point on what was an unforgettable true freshman campaign with an 11-9 victory over top-seed Bo Nickal of Penn State. The first true freshman national champion in program history, Martin trailed 4-3 in the second period before a wild six-point sequence put him ahead and a crowd of over 17,000 at Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.


Martin took down Nickal near the edge of the mat and then turned him on his back, racking up four near-fall points to go ahead 9-4. That was the score as the third period started, and an escape gave Martin a 10-4 advantage. Nickal tried to play catch-up the rest of the period, but it was to no avail. Martin is the first No. 11 seed to win a title since 1979.


“I figured I would go out there and wrestle and compete as hard as I can,” said Martin. “I’ve been doing it at practice. I did it all during the year. If I just stick to what I do best, and just have fun, that's the main thing about it, have fun and just wrestling position, and I competed and I was able to win.”


It was a fitting end to the season for Martin, who spent the first two months as a redshirt competing at open tournaments. He had faced Nickal three times previously, most recently in the Big Ten semifinals in which Nickal won by pin. Martin is also just the 15th true freshmen to win the national title in the 86 year history of the event.


“I’m just happy the way I competed throughout the whole tournament,” said Martin. “The coaches were so happy I got All-American, but I wasn't really thinking about it. I was thinking about the next match, keep competing, competing hard.”


In the most highly-anticipated bout of the championships, Snyder and NC State’s Nick Gwiazdowski didn’t disappoint. After a scoreless first period, Gwiazdowski grabbed a 3-0 lead thanks to an escape and takedown. Snyder quickly countered with a escape and the escaped again to start the third period.


Midway through the period, Gwiazdowski took Snyder down to build a 5-3 lead, but the World champion finally finished off a shot on Gwiazdowski’s legs with 11 seconds to go in regulation to send the bout into sudden victory. Quickly into the extra session, Snyder attacked again and took Gwiazdowski down for the winning points, which was upheld by video review. It snapped Gwiazdowski’s 88-match winning streak, the longest in the nation.


“It was a fun match,” said Snyder. “I think it will go down as one of the most exciting heavyweight matches in NCAA history. And obviously I'm happy that the end result was to get my hand raised. But I think I improved as a wrestler throughout the match, too, and that was fun.


“I felt good in overtime. I knew that the momentum was running towards my way. I've been in that situation before where I needed to score. And I kind of had that low single off of the overtime in my head. It’s something that's been working for me this whole season. And then in overtime, I knew it was just getting stingy and gritty with my takedown. When I get to a leg I have to finish, can't get in any funny business. I was able to get my hips under me and score that takedown.”


OHIO STATE WRESTLING
2016 NCAA Championships | Session VI
Madison Square Garden | New York, N.Y. | Attendance: 19,270


TEAM STANDINGS (Top 10)
1. Penn State - 123.0
2. Oklahoma State - 97.5
3. Ohio State - 86.0
4. Virginia Tech - 82.0
5. Iowa - 81.0
6. Missouri - 74.5
7. Cornell - 67.0
8. Nebraska - 58.0
9. Illinois - 50.5
9. Michigan - 50.5


174: No. 11 Myles Martin
Championship Final: Martin decision over No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) 11-9


285: No. 2 Kyle Snyder
Championship Final: Snyder decision over No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) 7-5 (SV-1)



MIKEBASFORD

Assistant Director | Ohio State Athletics Communications

Fawcett Center 6th floor | 2400 Olentangy River Rd. | Columbus, OH 43210


O 614.292.0134

C 908.892.8951

F 614.292.8547

basford.16@osu.edutwitter.com/MikeBasford_OSU

OhioStateBuckeyes.com

THE PEOPLE. THE TRADITION. THE EXCELLENCE.

 

[dawrestling]

rom: Brian Reinhardt<bcreinha@ncsu.edu>
Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 9:06 PM
Subject: NC STATE WRESTLING: Gwiazdowski’s Finishes Runner-up to Conclude All-American Career
To:

FULL GOPACK.COM RECAP

#WrestleNYC: Gwiazdowski Finishes Runner-up to Conclude All-American CareerNC State Finishes 11th, with a school-best tying three All-Americans

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A four-time All-American, two-time national champion, and 2016 NCAA runner-up, Nick Gwiazdowski’s NC State wrestling career came to an end in the finals of the 2016 NCAA Championships.

In a battle of the top two seeds, Gwiazdowski fell to Kyle Snyder of Ohio State, the reigning World Freestyle Champion, 7-5, in extra time in the final bout of the championships.

The two heavyweights battled through a scoreless first period. Gwiazdowski started the second down, and escaped in eight seconds. He then countered a Snyder shot with the bout’s first takedown, and was up 3-0 before Snyder escaped late in the period.

Snyder chose down to start the third, and his escape brought the score to 3-2. Snyder again went for a shot, and Gwiazdowski countered once again to take a 5-2 lead midway through, followed by a Snyder escape with 59 seconds left.

With 20 seconds left, Snyder connected on his first takedown of the match, and held the ankle to ride out the period and send it into the OT tied 5-5.

In the extra time, Snyder got in on Gwiazdowski’s ankle and double-hooked his thighs for the match winning take down.

Gwiazdowski finishes his career a four-time All-American, first at Binghamton then last three at NC State. He is only the fourth Wolfpack wrestler to earn three All-American honors, and the first since 1991-93 (Chris Kwortnik and Sylvester Terkay).

Gwiazdowski was the lone ACC wrestler to reach the 2016 NCAA finals.

Gwiazdowski teamed with redshirt-senior Tommy Gantt (8th place - 157 pounds) and junior Pete Renda (3rd place - 184 pounds) to give NC State three All-Americans this year.

NC State's three All-Americans tie as the most in school history (1992). The Wolfpack has not had an All-American in three straight years since 1991-93, and the total of six All-Americans over the last three seasons is the most in a three-year span since 1991-93.

As a team, NC State finished in 11th place, the best finish since a school-best seventh in 1993. This season marks the sixth time that NC State has finished 11th or higher at the NCAA Championships. Over the last three seasons, NC State has finished 19th in 2014, 16th in 2015 and 11th this season.

--


Brian Reinhardt
Director of Athletics Digital Communications
(919) 515-8953 (office)
(919) 819-8317 (cell)
brian_reinhardt@ncsu.edu

Visit www.GoPack.com
"All electronic mail messages in connection with State business which are sent to or received by this account are subject to the NC Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties."

 

[dawrestling]

------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kelli Grashel <KG3@athletics.wisc.edu>
Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 9:03 PM
Subject: UW WRES: Jordan finishes as national runner-up at 165 pounds
To: Kelli Grashel <KG3@athletics.wisc.edu>


Jordan finishes as national runner-up at 165 pounds
Junior ends season with a 29-1 record

On the Web: http://go.wisc.edu/27da86

NEW YORK CITY – Junior Isaac Jordan put the cap on an incredible season as he finished as a national runner-up for the Wisconsin wrestling team at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Urbana, Ohio, native’s bid for a perfect record was halted by three-time national champion Alex Dieringer (33-0) of Oklahoma State and Jordan finished with a stellar 29-1 record on the season.

Jordan dropped a 6-2 decision to Dieringer at 165 pounds but held the four-time All-American to his tightest match of the tournament, just being edged by four points. Jordan was Wisconsin’s first finalist since 2014.

Oklahoma State’s Dieringer registered a takedown at the 1:25 mark in the first period to go up 2-0 after one period. Dieringer, who ended his collegiate career an 82-match win streak, escaped at the start of the second period to lead 3-0.

Later in the second period, Dieringer added another takedown but this time Jordan was able to escape to make the score 5-1.

Jordan escaped one more time in the third period as Dieringer clinched the close decision with the riding time point, 6-2.

Jordan became a three-time All-American after defeating Nebraska’s Austin Wilson in the quarterfinals (3-1) and is the 13th Badger to earn the distinction three times.

Jordan finished the NCAA tournament with a 4-1 record and the best finish of his career. He brought home the Big Ten title for the second-consecutive year at 165 pounds.

The Wisconsin junior had a 10-0 dual record on the season and went 9-0 in Big Ten duals. Jordan also went 8-0 against ranked opponents in the regular season.

Wisconsin has had 15 individual runner-up finishes in program history.

UW finished in 23rd place in the team standings with 20.0 team points. Fellow Big Ten Conference member Penn State took the national title with a total of 123.0 team points.


Kelli Grashel

Athletic Communications Assistant |University of Wisconsin

Softball, Wrestling, W Basketball, Football

Office - 608-262-8216 | Cell - 608-445-4086

 

[dawrestling]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Virginia Tech Athletics <webmaster@hokiesports.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 8:40 PM
Subject: VT Wrestling: Hokies finish in program-best fourth place at 2016 NCAA Championship
To: wrestling_media@hokiesports.com


Wrestling
Hokies finish in program-best fourth place at 2016 NCAA Championship
Tech sets multiple records in Madison Square Garden
Read the story
- hokiesports.com to go


http://www.hokiesports.com/wrestling/recaps/20160319aac.html


NEW YORK CITY - The Hokies finished in fourth place at the 2016 NCAA Championship, earning a spot on the team trophy platform for the first time in program history on Sunday. Additionally, the six All-Americans in this year's squad is the new program ! record for most in a single season. Redshirt senior Nick Brascetta became the second three-time All-American in Virginia Tech history and finished third in his final trip to Nationals. Of the eight Tech grapplers that made the trip to Madison Square Garden this week, seven will return with five of the All-Americans staying on next year's roster. The Hokies fourth place finish at this year's championship is the best finish of an ACC team in the conference's history, topping a fifth place finished by UNC in 1982.

The Hokies wrap up a season that saw the team win back-to-back ACC dual meet titles, achieve an undefeated 5-0 mark in league compeittion, Ty Walz win the first Cliff Keen Las Vegas championship, a victory over Michigan in the newly revamped National Duals Championship series and a final mark of 16-2.

 

[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brewer, Christopher J <christopher-brewer@hawkeyesports.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 8:33 PM
Subject: Iowa Wrestling -- Gilman, Clark, Sorensen finish runner-up at NCAA Championships
To:




University of Iowa Wrestling

Athletic Communications Contact: Chris Brewer


Hawkeyes Shutout in NCAA Finals

Gilman, Clark, Sorensen finish runner-up at NCAA Championships


NEW YORK CITY -- TheUniversity of Iowa wrestling team finished the 2016 NCAA Championships with three silver medals and six All-America honors, placing fifth overall with 81 points.


The Hawkeyes had a chance to move up the leader board with three national finalists competing Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, but all three came up empty in the gold medal round.


Thomas Gilman dropped a 6-3 decision at 125 pounds, Cory Clark lost 7-6 at 133, and Brandon Sorensen fell 10-1 at 149.


“We take this stuff personal. I’m not miserable because we were 0-3, I’m miserable for Gilman, Clark and Sorensen, and also nine other qualifiers that didn’t perform the way they probably wanted to,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “I think our fans expect more, I know we expect more.”


Gilman forced the action early against Penn State’s Nico Megaludis, but was tripped up on his own single-leg attempt in the first period and found himself wrestling from behind the final six minutes. Gilman finished the season 28-2, with both losses to Megaludis.


“I had never beaten that guy before and I felt like I had him and out-wrestled him,” Gilman said. “The scores didn’t show that though. I didn’t put any points on the board. I can’t just out-wrestle my opponents; I have to outscore them too. That’s hard to swallow. I was too aggressive in a couple spots and that was the difference. I am not taking anything away from him though, he is a tough competitor.”


Clark walked off the mat as an NCAA runner-up for the second straight year. He finished his junior season with a 26-2 record, earning his third All-America honor.


“I just didn’t get the job done, not very satisfied or happy with the results,” Clark said. “I have to take it like a man and move forward. I need to get my head straight, let my body recover and then get back to work.”


Sorensen lost for just the second time this season, both times to Penn State’s Zain Retherford. Sorensen finished the season 29-2, earning his second All-America honor in as many seasons. He placed fourth as a redshirt freshman in 2015.


“I’m going to be training all year, 365 days for this,” Sorensen said after the match. “We have this coming up again next year, and it seems like it’s a long time, but it’s not, it’s short. We have a lot of work to do.”


Penn State won the team title with 123 points. Oklahoma State was second with 97.5, and Ohio State was third with 86.


The Hawkeyes return five All-Americans in 2016-17, including NCAA finalists Gilman, Clark, and Sorensen, and first-time All-Americans Alex Meyer and Sammy Brooks.


CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS RESULTS

125 - #3 Nico Megaludis (PSU) dec. #4 Thomas Gilman (IA), 6-3

133 - #1 Nahshon Garrett (CORN) dec. #2 Cory Clark (IA), 7-6

141 - #1 Dean Heil (OKST) dec. #14 Bryce Meredith (WYO), 3-2

149 - #1 Zain Retherford (PSU) major dec. #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA), 10-1

157 - #1 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) dec. #3 Jason Nolf (PSU), 6-5

165 - #1 Alex Dieringer (OKST) dec. #2 Isaac Jordan (WISC), 6-2

174 - #11 Myles Martin (OSU) dec. #1 Bo Nickal (PSU), 11-9

184 - #1 Gabriel Dean (CORN) dec. #7 Tim Dudley (NEB), 5-3

197 - #2 J’Den Cox (MIZZ) dec. #1 Morgan McIntosh (PSU), 4-2

285 - #2 Kyle Snyder (OSU) dec. #1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCST), 7-5 (SV)

 

[dawrestling]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chad Beyler <beyler2@illinois.edu>
Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 8:32 PM
Subject: @IlliniWrestling Isaiah Martinez Repeats as NCAA Champion
To:


FIGHTING ILLINI WRESTLING


Isaiah Martinez Repeats as NCAA Champion

Takedown with 12 Seconds Left Seals 6-4 Decision


New York City, N.Y. — New York City, N.Y. — In “the most famous arena in the world,” Isaiah Martinez (32-1) won a match for the ages, a constant battle, that resulted in the Illini redshirt sophomore winning his second NCAA Championship in as many seasons. With the match tied 4-4 and fewer than 20 seconds left in regulation, Martinez drove into No. 2 Jason Nolf (33-2), for a takedown with 12 seconds left to repeat as champion. Martinez’s national championship is the 24th in Fighting Illini wrestling history, and he is the third Illini to repeat as national champion. Moreover, it’s the 15thtime in Illinois history, and second for Martinez, that an Illini has won both the Big Ten and NCAA titles in the same season.


“Wow,” exhaled Martinez. “I'm extremely pleased just with the win, especially against a competitor like that. He's definitely special. And he gave me a hell of a fight. I just knew if it came down to the end, I was going to get it done. And looked up at the clock with, maybe 20 seconds to go. Coach is screaming, go get one. And I said I need to do this right now to seal up the match. And thank God I got my head through the hold, got enough to get the takedown.”


After splitting their previous two meetings, the style of tonight’s rubber match proved to resemble that of the first meeting, a match that was wrestled at a fast pace with both grapplers taking shots at one another. However, tonight it was Martinez who was the aggressor over the course of the seven-minute bout.


Martinez set the tone early in the bout with a quick takedown to put Nolf on his heels. However, the Penn State freshman regained his composure and used an escape and a takedown to forge ahead, 3-2. As the first period came to a close, Martinez escaped the grasps of Nolf to knot the score at 3-3 after three minutes of action.


“I was just trusting in my athleticism,” said Martinez. “The hip-over position, that barrel roll on my hand like side car wheel, it's something I've been doing since I was real young. So I have a lot of confidence in that position. Even if it looks like I'm going to my back, I feel like I have really good core strength, so I'm able to pull myself over so that's how I got out. I missed the first one. He almost put me on my back when the game got away with ten seconds to go. We've been doing that since I was young.”


After a Martinez escape to start period two, he and Nolf settled in, each wrestle staging attacks, but failing to land anything. The same remained true for most of the third period, save for an opening escape by Nolf, to send the grapplers headed for overtime like they did at Big Ten Championships two weeks ago. With both grapplers having their endurance tested, Martinez maintained his aggressiveness as the period neared its close. With 20 seconds left, his coaches gave him the green light to take one last shot at Nolf. Sensing Nolf was wearing down, Martinez attempted to duck under Nolf and drive through, a move that hadn’t worked previously in the match.


“That duck, it works better when guys are chasing me and they're tired,” explained Martinez. “So he was really coming after me, elbows open. I pulled on one side and went to that side I pulled on, he fell right down on his face and I just covered him. So it's kind of harder to get at the beginning of the match. It's more of a duck step and lift. But as the match progresses the guy gets a little more worn out. It's a duck, guy falls on his face, I just cover.”


Martinez’s move proved victorious as he drove through Nolf and took him to the mat for the takedown with just 12 ticks left on the clock. Martinez then rode out the Nittany Lion for the remaining 10 seconds to seal his title.


“The way he was driving into me, I just felt it,” said Martinez. “I think my coaches saw this: When it got to about 30 seconds to go I was towards the out-of-bounds line, and I really started picking my hand up, digging inside, pulling, pulling, and digging. And as the clock started ticking down, he was reaching because I was slapping his hands down real hard. And I just felt it right away, pulled it and ducked. I was confident that if we went to overtime I was ready. I was prepared. My lungs felt good. My body felt good.”


This season’s title comes on the heels of his undefeated (35-0) season last year, the first by a freshman since, now Penn State Head Coach, Cael Sanderson completed the feat in 1999 at Iowa State. In the time since, Martinez has had to overcome multiple obstacles on his way to defending his title. First, Martinez dealt with the loss of his father right as the season was about to commence. Later into the season, the Illini grappler was riding a 54-match winning streak when he got pinned by Jason Nolf at Huff Hall on January 23. In the time between that match and Big Ten Championships, Martinez and coaches admitted he was caught up in the loss and let him get away from what got him there.


“It feels good,” said Martinez. “Just dealing with all the adversity, I mean, Mark talked about this a lot and my coaches talk about it a lot, they know just kind of what I had to go through. It wasn't just the loss of my father. There were a lot of things that happened this year that were bumps in the road. I try not to disclose those things too much because I don't like making excuses for myself. But it was tough this year. It was hard dealing with a lot of adversity. But I'm glad I stuck with it and got the job done this year.”


As arguably the most successful Illinois wrestler through their first two seasons, Martinez (67-1) has already won back-to-back Big Ten and NCAA Championships. Last season, Martinez was named Big Ten, Intermat and Amateur Wrestling Freshman of the Year.


As a team, Coach Heffernan’s squad saw the team score the 10th-most points (50.5) at Big Ten Championships in Illinois history. The 50.5 points tied Michigan for ninth-place, the best finish for Illinois since 2012-13 and second most with Heffernan at the helm.


The Orange & Blue were spearheaded by three All-Americans, Isaiah Martinez, Zane Richards, and Steven Rodrigues. The three All-Americans tie for the most since Coach Heffernan led four wrestlers on to the podium in 2012.



Complete Illini Results:


133: #3 Zane Richards

Champ. Round 1: won by decision over Joey Palmer (ORST), 5-4

Champ. Round 2: won by decision over #14 Geoffrey Alexander (MD), 9-5

Quarterfinals: won by major decision over #6 George DiCamillo (UVA),12-4

Semifinals: lost by decision to #2 Cory Clark (Iowa), 4-3

Cons. Semifinal: won by decision over #5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State),3-2

3rd-Place Match: loses by decision to #4 Cody Brewer (OU), 9-4

Zane Richards Places 4th

157: #1 Isaiah Martinez

Champ. Round 1: won by tech fall over Robert Henderson (UNC), 16-0