Wrestling

N/A

Tag Type
League
Slug
college-wrestling
Short Name
Wrestling
Visible in Content Tool
On
Visible in Programming Tool
On
Root
NCAA
Featured
Off
Auto create Channel for this Tag
Off
Parents
NCAA
Primary Parent
NCAA
Primary Color
#095ba5
Secondary Color
#ffffff

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2021: Results, Updated Standings After Saturday

Mar 21, 2021
Iowa's Spencer Lee, top, takes on Arizona State's Brandon Courtney during their 125-pound match in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday, March 20, 2021, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Iowa's Spencer Lee, top, takes on Arizona State's Brandon Courtney during their 125-pound match in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday, March 20, 2021, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Penn State's reign atop the Division I men's wrestling world is over.

Iowa collected its first national championship since 2010 on Saturday at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, ending the Nittany Lions' run of four straight titles.

The reigning champs had to settle for runner-up this time around as the Hawkeyes finally got the better of their Big Ten rivals once again.

           

Final Team Standings

  • 1. Iowa (129.0 points)
  • 2. Penn State (113.5 points)
  • 3. Oklahoma State (99.5 points)
  • 4. Arizona State (74.0 points)
  • 5. Michigan (69.0 points)
  • 6. NC State (68.0 points)
  • T7. Minnesota (64.0 points)
  • T7. Missouri (64.0 points)
  • 9. Ohio State (46.5 points)
  • 10. Northwestern (45.0 points)

Full standings available at TrackWrestling.com

             

Iowa also celebrated one individual champion, Spencer Lee, who successfully defended his title in the 125-pound class.

          

Individual National Champions

  • 125 pounds: Spencer Lee (Iowa) def. Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
  • 133 pounds: Ramon Bravo-Young (Penn State) def. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
  • 141 pounds: Nick Lee (Penn State) def. Jaydin Eierman (Iowa)
  • 149 pounds: Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) def. Sammy Sasso (Ohio State)
  • 157 pounds: David Carr (Iowa State) def. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider)
  • 165 pounds: Shane Griffith (Stanford) def. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)
  • 174 pounds: Carter Starocci (Penn State) def. Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
  • 184 pounds: Aaron Brooks (Penn State) def. Trent Hidlay (NC State)
  • 197 pounds: AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) def. Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
  • 285 pounds: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) def. Mason Parris (Michigan)

        

Penn State had plenty of wrestlers come out on top, but the Nittany Lions couldn't match the collective strength of the Hawkeyes. In addition to Lee's triumph, six other wrestlers earned All-American nods: Michael Kemerer, Jaydin Eierman, Tony Cassioppi, Austin DeSanto, Kaleb Young and Jacob Warner.

Lee fought through significant pain to overcome Brandon Courtney in Saturday's final. He told ESPN after the match he had torn his ACL eight days ago and had to work around the injury.

With national championships in 2018, 2019 and 2021 and the 2020 Hodge Trophy under his belt, Lee has a strong case to be considered the greatest wrestler in program history.

Few names in the sport's history are bigger than that of Dan Gable, a two-time national champion who turned Iowa into a powerhouse as a coach. If you're named after the legend, then you better be pretty good.

Luckily for Gable Steveson, he can hang with the best of them. The Minnesota star improved his winning streak to 34 matches by running through the bracket in the 285-pound class. Michigan's Mason Parris was the last man standing between Steveson and his first championship, and the Apple Valley, Minnesota, native wasn't going to be denied.

More impressive than his 8-4 win in the final might be the celebratory backflip he displayed.

https://twitter.com/GSteveson/status/1373472316424871941

In general, the championships played out largely as expected. While Lee, Steveson and Aaron Brooks were the only No. 1 seeds to go all the way, three divisions were claimed by the second-seeded wrestlers (Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee and Austin O'Connor).

Stanford's Shane Griffith authored the biggest underdog story in St. Louis.

Griffith stunned Iowa's Alex Marinelli during Friday's morning session and pulled off another upset against Bucknell's Zach Hartman in the semifinals later in the day. That left Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh to close out the tournament.

Griffith and Wentzel were even through the first two periods before the Cardinal redshirt sophomore took control and cruised to the title, 7-2.

The result was poignant because wrestling is one of the varsity sports Stanford plans to drop upon the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year. Griffith referenced his team's impending fate while competing:

If this is indeed it for Stanford wrestling, the program went out on a high note Saturday.

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2021: Results, Updated Team Standings After Friday

Mar 19, 2021
Iowa's Spencer Lee, right, takes on Purdue's Devin Schroder during their 125-pound match in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA wrestling championships Friday, March 19, 2021, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Iowa's Spencer Lee, right, takes on Purdue's Devin Schroder during their 125-pound match in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA wrestling championships Friday, March 19, 2021, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

After finishing Thursday with the lead at the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Iowa has maintained its hold on first place following the conclusion of the semifinal round on Friday.

The Hawkeyes have 109 total points as a team with three wrestlers still vying for individual titles in the 10 weight classes. Penn State, which is chasing its fifth straight national title, is in second place with 94.5 points. The Nittany Lions have four wrestlers in competition for singles titles.

Oklahoma State, which trails Penn State by eight points for second, has two wrestlers remaining.

Iowa ultimately has the inside track to leave St. Louis with its 24th national championship and first since 2010. 

Here are the updated standings after Friday's matches from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. 

Team Standings

1. Iowa (109)

2. Penn State (94.5)

3. Oklahoma State (86.5)

4. Arizona State (67)

5. Michigan (58.5)

T6. North Carolina State (56.5)

T6. Missouri (56.5)

8. Minnesota (55.5)

9. Ohio State (45.5)

10. Pittsburgh (40.5)

Full standings available at trackwrestling.com.

Day 2 Recap

Iowa began the day with six wrestlers in the quarterfinals, including No. 1 seeds Spencer Lee (125 pounds), Jaydin Eierman (141 pounds), Alex Marinelli (165 pounds) and Michael Kemerer (174 pounds). 

Lee set the tone for the Hawkeyes with a majority decision 10-2 win over Purdue's Devin Schroder to reach the semifinals. He then defeated Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan 11-0 to earn a finals berth. The undefeated 125-pounder is looking for his third straight national title.

Eierman advanced to the semis with a second-period pinfall win over Central Michigan's Dresden Simon. He then took down North Carolina State's Tariq Wilson with a third-period pinfall.

One of the biggest upsets did involve a No. 1 seed from Iowa. Marinelli was taken down by No. 8 seed Shane Griffith 3-1 in overtime. 

Marinelli, who entered the NCAA tournament fresh off winning his third straight individual Big Ten title, will end his college career without winning a 165-pound national title. He's also the only top seed in any weight class who didn't advance to the semifinals.

Austin DeSanto (133 pounds) and Tony Cassioppi (285 pounds) each lost their semifinal matches. They fell to their respective weight classes' top seeds in Oklahoma State's Daton Fix and Minnesota's Gable Steveson, respectively.

Even though Cinderella tends to be associated with the NCAA basketball tournaments, Oklahoma's Jake Woodley put together a miracle run at the wrestling championships. The redshirt junior was ranked No. 26 in the 197-pound division and has beaten three top-15 seeds to reach the semifinals:

Woodley needed to get past Pittsburgh's Nino Bonaccorsi (16-1 overall) if he wanted to make history as the lowest seed ever to reach the final. However, Bonaccorsi won a 4-1 decision to earn a berth in the finals against Oklahoma State's AJ Ferrari.

Steveson is one win away from capping off a perfect season. The 20-year-old knocked off Penn State's Greg Kerkvliet with a 9-4 decision in the quarterfinals before his 16-6 majority decision over Cassioppi.

The Golden Gophers haven't had an individual with the 285-pound title since Tony Nelson did it in 2012 and 2013. 

Fix (133 pounds), Ohio State's Sammy Sasso (149 pounds) and Penn State's Aaron Brooks (184 pounds) are the other No. 1 seeds who will be competing Friday night for a chance to reach Saturday's final round.

A few No. 1 seeds lost in the semifinals in Northwestern's Ryan Deakin (157 pounds) and Michigan's Myles Amine (197 pounds). Deakin lost to Rider's Jesse Dellavecchia, who became the school's first-ever participant in a national championship final. He'll take on No. 3 David Carr of Iowa State.

Amine lost 5-1 to Ferrari.

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2021: Results, Updated Standings After Thursday

Mar 18, 2021
Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis, right, celebrates his win over Penn State's Vincenzo Joseph in their 165-pound bout in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis, right, celebrates his win over Penn State's Vincenzo Joseph in their 165-pound bout in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The best Division I wrestlers from across the country descended upon Enterprise Center in St. Louis for the 2021 NCAA championships.

As was the case with multiple sports, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 installment. That left national champion Penn State unable to defend its title.

Based on how the first round unfolded Thursday, the Nittany Lions could encounter some serious resistance in their quest for a fifth straight championship. Iowa's 19 points gave it a slim two-point edge on its Big Ten rival.

            

Team Standings

1. Iowa (19.0)

2. Penn State (17.0)

3. Missouri (14.0)

T4. Arizona State (13.0)

T4. North Carolina State (13.0)

6. Oklahoma State (12.5)

7. Michigan (12.0)

8. Nebraska (11.5)

9. Virginia Tech (9.0)

T10. Minnesota (8.0)

T10. Northern Iowa (8.0)

Full standings available at NCAA.com

             

Round 1 Recap

The second session of the first round saw a pair of big upsets.

In the 197-pound class, North Dakota State's Owen Pentz took down Nebraska's Eric Schultz, the No. 2 seed in the championship bracket. Pentz secured a fall at the 4:51 mark.

In the same bracket, Oklahoma's Jake Woodley earned a 4-1 decision over No. 7 seed Rocky Elam from Missouri.

Earlier in the day, No. 7 seeds Ian Parker (Iowa State) and Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) suffered their first defeats well before they expected. Parker was unable to overcome Northwestern's Colin Valdiviez in the 141-pound class, while Jacques was stymied by Central Michigan's Johnny Lovett in the 157-pound class.

Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis was the biggest Cinderella story of the 2019 championships. The No. 8 seed in the 165-pound class, the Hokies grappler worked his way toward a national title and took down Vincenzo Joseph in the final. 

Lewis won't be taking anybody by surprise this time around. The redshirt sophomore encountered little trouble getting the better of Lehigh's Brian Meyer.

Iowa might be up on Penn State now, but the Hawkeyes may not be able to enjoy that position for very long.

The Nittany Lions had nine wrestlers compete in the first round, and eight were victorious.

Robert Howard made strong impression in his first career NCAA tournament match. He beat Ohio State's Malik Heinselman, the 10th-seed in the 125-pound class, by a 6-4 score. As expected, Roman Bravo-Young (No. 2 at 133), Nick Lee (No. 2 at 141), Carter Starocci (No. 3 at 174) and Aaron Brooks (No. 1 at 184) all punched their ticket to the second round.

Ex-Ohio State Wrestler Says Rep. Jim Jordan Involved in Sexual Abuse Cover-Up

Feb 13, 2020
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, questions Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a former official at the National Security Council, as they testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on November 19, 2019. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, questions Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a former official at the National Security Council, as they testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on November 19, 2019. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Ohio State wrestling captain Adam DiSabato told the Ohio House Civil Justice Committee that U.S. Congressman Jim Jordan begged him to deny claims that school officials knew of and ignored allegations that Dr. Richard Strauss sexually abused Buckeyes wrestlers.

"Jim Jordan called me crying, groveling, begging me to go against my brother, begging me, crying for a half-hour. That's the kind of cover-up that's going on there," DiSabato said of a conversation he said he had with Jordan in July 2018, per Savannah Behrmann of USA Today.

Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1987 to 1995, and Berhmann noted "many wrestlers and even referees claim Jordan knew or was told of the abuse, but didn't speak out."

Last year, Ohio State released a report created by Perkins Coie LLP that found Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students during his time of employment between 1978 and 1998.

"Investigators concluded that university personnel at the time had knowledge of complaints and concerns about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but failed to investigate or act meaningfully," a summary of the report stated.

Per Merrit Kennedy of NPR, no action occurred until concerns were escalated outside the student health and athletics departments in 1996. Strauss was suspended and later retired in 1998.

Kennedy also detailed some of the findings.

"The instances of abuse often involved inappropriate touching of a students' genitals during exams in ways that weren't medically useful. A number of students said Strauss 'would routinely touch their genitals at every visit, regardless of the medical ailment presented, including for a sore throat,' the report states.

"The report also states that members of 15 university athletic teams were abused. Strauss most frequently targeted wrestlers—48 of them, according to the report. And the abuse often became more explicit over multiple visits."

Per Jennifer Smola of the Columbus Dispatch, the accusations against Strauss total nearly 1,500.

Strauss died by suicide in 2005.

Ohio State Officials Knew About Ex-Team Doctor Richard Strauss' Sexual Abuse

May 17, 2019

An independent law firm determined leaders at Ohio State University were aware of former team doctor Richard Strauss' sexual abuse of patients during his time at the school. 

Per the findings released by Perkins Coie on Friday (h/t ESPN.com), it was determined school leaders knew of Strauss' abuse of at least 177 men, including athletes from 16 different sports and patients at Ohio State's student health center and his own off-campus clinic between 1979-97. 

The victims initially alleged in lawsuits against the school "two athletic directors and a coach who is now a congressman," among over 20 staff members, knew of and failed to halt the abuse. No names of leaders to have known of the abuse were released from Perkins Coie's report.

Ohio State president Michael V. Drake issued a statement on the report's findings:

"On behalf of the university, we offer our profound regret and sincere apologies to each person who endured Strauss' abuse. Our institution's fundamental failure at the time to prevent this abuse was unacceptable—as were the inadequate efforts to thoroughly investigate complaints raised by students and staff members.

"This independent investigation was completed because of the strength and courage of survivors. We thank each of them for their willingness to share their experiences."

Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, was removed from his role as an on-campus physician and in the athletic department in 1996 after his actions were reported to the State Medical Board of Ohio, but school officials didn't contact law enforcement. 

Ohio State allowed Strauss to voluntarily retire in 1998 as a professor emeritus. 

The school opened an investigation into Strauss in April 2018 after multiple former athletes said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment. 

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2019: Penn State Wins Title, Results, Standings

Mar 23, 2019
Penn State's Jason Nolf, left, celebrates his win over Nebraska's Tyler Berger in their 157-pound match in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Penn State's Jason Nolf, left, celebrates his win over Nebraska's Tyler Berger in their 157-pound match in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The NCAA wrestling championships had a bit of everything on Saturday—history being made, a dominant team featuring multiple national champions, the meteoric rise of a dynamic freshman taking down a two-time national champion, and much, much more.

Below, we'll break down the final team standings, national champions at every weight, award winners and analyze the rest of the action.

           

Team Standings

1. Penn State: 137.5 points

2. Ohio State: 96.5 points

3. Oklahoma State: 84.0 points

4. Iowa: 76.0 points

5. Michigan: 62.5 points

6. Missouri: 62.0 points

              

Individual Champions

125 Pounds: Iowa's Spencer Lee def. Virginia's Jack Mueller

133 Pounds: Rutgers' Nick Suriano def. Oklahoma State's Daton Fix

141 Pounds: Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis def. Ohio State's Joey McKenna

149 Pounds: Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault def. Ohio State's Micah Jordan

157 Pounds: Penn State's Jason Nolf def. Nebraska's Tyler Berger

165 Pounds: Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis def. Penn State's Vincenzo Joseph

174 Pounds: Arizona State's Zahid Valencia def. Penn State's Mark Hall

184 Pounds: Northern Iowa's Drew Foster def. Cornell's Max Dean

197 Pounds: Penn State's Bo Nickal def. Ohio State's Kollin Moore

285 Pounds: Penn State's Anthony Cassar def. Oklahoma State's Derek White

          

Awards

NCAA's Most Dominant Award: Penn State's Bo Nickal

Most Falls: Central Michigan's Matt Stencel

Most Technical Falls: Lock Haven's Kyle Shoop

NCAA Tournament Coach of the Year: Rutgers' Scott Goodale

Outstanding Wrestler: Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis

           

Analysis

Penn State came into Saturday night's championship bouts with the team title already locked up, but the Nittany Lions took home plenty of individual hardware, too, with three national champions.

Most notably, Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal each took home their third titles, capping off incredible careers.

Penn State's Anthony Cassar added to the Nittany Lions' big day with his title at 285 pounds.

The Rutgers' wrestling program, meanwhile, came into Saturday night without an individual champion in its history. Nick Suriano ended that drought at 133 pounds, and two matches later, Anthony Ashnault joined him.

Suriano spoke about what it was like to be Rutgers' first champion:

Not to be outdone, Mekhi Lewis—a freshman—also made history for Virginia Tech, defeating two-time champion Vincenzo Joseph in the process to become the Hokies' first national champion.

Not too shabby for Lewis' opening act as a college wrestler.

As for the rest of the matches, Zahid Valencia, Yianni Diakomihalis and Spencer Lee each won their second national championships, while Northern Iowa's Drew Foster ended a 19-year individual champion drought for the Panthers.

It was an amazing day of wrestling, with Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions coming out as the big winners.

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2019: Results, Updated Team Standings After Friday

Mar 22, 2019
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 22: Mekhi Lewis of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates after his upset victory over number one seed Alex Marinelli of the Iowa Hawkeyes during session three of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 22, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 22: Mekhi Lewis of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates after his upset victory over number one seed Alex Marinelli of the Iowa Hawkeyes during session three of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 22, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Penn State is well on its way toward winning its fourth straight NCAA Division I wrestling championship and eighth in nine years.

The Nittany Lions hold a commanding lead on top of the ledger thanks to 120.5 points after the semifinals ended Friday.

Ohio State, which has been the runner-up the past two years and won it all in 2015, is second with 88.5 points.

PSU's dominant championship performance has been the story, but a few underdogs have also taken the stage at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

You can find commentary on those two storylines below. In addition, here's a look at the latest standings prior to the individual weight class championship matches Saturday via trackwrestling.com.

The championship matchups, which will begin at 7 p.m. ET Saturday, are listed as well.

         

Latest Top-20 Standings

1. Penn State: 120.5 points

2. Ohio State: 88.5 points

3. Oklahoma State: 73.5 points

4. Iowa: 68.0 points

5. Missouri: 54.0 points

6. Cornell: 52.0 points

7. Nebraska: 51.0 points

8. Michigan: 48.0 points

8. Minnesota: 48.0 points

10. Virginia Tech: 45.0 points

11. Rutgers: 43.5 points

12. Arizona State: 37.0 points

13. Northern Iowa: 36.5 points

14. Lehigh: 32.5 points

15. Iowa State: 31.0 points

Full standings can be found on trackwrestling.com.

     

Championship Matches

125-Pound: No. 5 Jack Mueller (Virginia) vs. No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa)

133-Pound: No. 1 Dalton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers)

141-Pound: No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State)

149-Pound: No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. No. 2 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)

157-Pound: No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Tyler Berger (Nebraska)

165-Pound: No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State)

174-Pound: No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State)

184-Pound: No. 5 Maxwell Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 6 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa)

197-Pound: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Kollin Moore (Ohio State)

285-Pound: No. 1 Derek White (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Anthony Cassar (Penn State)

    

Penn State En Route to Another Title

Head coach Cael Sanderson is almost certain to lead the Nittany Lions to their eighth NCAA title thanks to some excellent performances from a few No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.

Undefeated 157-pounder Jason Nolf hasn't encountered any issues in his run to the finals, winning his opening-round match by fall and his next two via technical fall.

He had a fierce semifinal challenge against No. 5 Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State, however, emerging with a 3-2 victory.

Hidlay appeared to go up 2-0 after a takedown, but an official's review took the points away. Eventually, Nolf went up 3-2, but he had to hang on for life at the tail end of the third period when Hidlay went on the attack. He couldn't muster any points, however, and Nolf emerged victorious.

Nolf, who has made the championship during all four years of eligibility, is looking for his third straight title. He'll see No. 2 Tyler Berger of Nebraska.

In the 165-pound bracket, Vicenzo Joseph squeaked out two tough Saturday wins. He beat No. 7 Isaiah White of Nebraska 3-1 in overtime before taking holding off No. 3 Joshua Shields of Arizona State 3-2:

Mark Hall, a 2017 NCAA champion, won by the closest margin of any Nittany Lion on Friday thanks to his 2-1 tiebreaker win versus No. 4 Myles Amine of Michigan:

Bo Nickal continued his tournament dominance with his third pin in his semifinal win over No. 4 Patrick Brucki of Princeton:

Nickal is a two-time NCAA champion and three-time finalist.

Finally, Anthony Cassar eked out a close 4-3 win over No. 3 Gable Stevenson of Minnesota:

Cassar, who used to wrestle at the 197-pound class, spoke about the move up to ESPN's Quint Kessenich after the match in addition to other topics:

Overall, PSU has competitors in five of 11 championship matches Sunday. 

     

Underdogs Make Deep Runs

Chip Ness of UNC and Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech have been the two most notable underdog stories in this year's championship.

Ness, a No. 15 seed in the 184-pound bracket, defeated previously undefeated No. 2 Shakur Rasheed of Penn State by decision 8-5 on Thursday. However, Hess proved he was here to stay on Saturday with a 6-4 overtime victory over No. 10 Samuel Colbray of Iowa State thanks to a late two-point takedown:

Ness has made a habit of beating higher-ranked opponents, as UNC Wrestling pointed out:

Ness lost to No. 6 Drew Foster of Northern Iowa in the semifinal, but he's earned All-American status for his excellent efforts.

Foster is an underdog story himself, having beaten No. 3 Zachary Zavetsky of Virginia Tech by 6-2 earlier in the day. He'll be facing No. 5 Maxwell Dean of Cornell in the finals.

Dean beat Myles Martin of Ohio State 5-4 after being down earlier in the match. The feat was made more impressive considering that Martin, a four-time All-American, was undefeated entering the semis:

Dean, whose brother Gabe was a two-time NCAA champion at Cornell, explained his mindset to Kessenich after the match:

Ness wasn't the only ACC wrestler to turn heads with his upset specials. Lewis pulled off the stunner of the 165-pound tournament when he defeated No. 1 Alex Marinelli of Iowa in the quarterfinals thanks to a walk-off takedown.

Marinelli, a sophomore, entered the tournament with a 25-0 record.

FloWrestling provided footage of a tired but happy Lewis walking to the locker room post-victory:

Lewis credited a positive attitude toward his victory in a post-match interview with Kessenich:

The freshman then continued his amazing run by beating No. 4 Evan Wick of Wisconsin 5-2:

Lewis spoke with Kessenich again after the match, in particular noting the difficulty of facing the 6'2" Wick:

Another No. 1 seed went down in the semifinal as No. 5 Jack Mueller of Virginia beat No. 1 Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern by an 8-2 decision in the 125-pound bracket.

He provided a post-match interview that was relayed on the UVA Wrestling Twitter account:

Mueller also gave further comments in a talk with more reporters, including trackwrestling.com:

He'll see No. 3 Spencer Lee of Iowa in the final.

NCAA Wrestling Championships 2019: Results, Updated Standings After Thursday

Mar 21, 2019
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 18: Shakur Rasheed of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms-up before a match at the Keystone Classic on November 18, 2018 at The Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 18: Shakur Rasheed of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms-up before a match at the Keystone Classic on November 18, 2018 at The Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

The biggest weekend of the year in college wrestling began Thursday, with the 2019 NCAA championships getting underway from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Penn State once again enters this year's tournament favored to win a national championship. The Nittany Lions are the three-time defending champions and have won seven of the last eight dating back to 2011. 

Head coach Cael Sanderson led Penn State to a No. 1 ranking in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association  poll after going 14-0 in the regular season. 

Looking at individual competition, the 285-pound weight class is guaranteed to have a new champion for the first time since 2015. Kyle Snyder capped off his historic career at Ohio State last year by winning a third straight national title. 

Before getting into the biggest individual and team storylines from the NCAA wrestling championships, here are the Day 1 point standings, via NCAA.com:

1. Penn State (32.5 points)

2. Ohio State (25.5)

3. Iowa (24)

T4. Minnesota (20)

T4. Oklahoma State (20)

6. Missouri (17.5)

7. Virginia Tech (16)

8. Northern Iowa (15.5)

9. Michigan (15)

10. Nebraska (14.5)

Penn State Continues to Reign

There were no signs from Penn State on the first day of competition that a changing of the guard is going to happen. 

The Nittany Lions finished the afternoon session a perfect 9-0 with five pinfall victories and a dominant showcase for Shakur Rasheed against Princeton's Kevin Parker:

The three-time defending champions would finish their day 15-3 overall and seven victories by pinfall. 

Penn State's roster of talent in the field features three No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes. Jason Nolf, the two-time defending champion at 157 pounds, disposed of Duke's Ben Anderson in 43 seconds in his first match. 

Senior Bo Nickal is looking to end his college career with three straight titles at 184 pounds. His opening bout with Ethan Laird from Rider took two minutes, 34 seconds before he was able to get a pin. 

Nickal followed up that effort with another pin late in the first round against Fresno State's Josh Hokit to secure a spot in Friday's quarterfinals:

The Nittany Lions couldn't have scripted a better start on the road to another national title. Sanderson's group came in focused and left with a commanding lead despite a wealth of quality competition chasing after them.  

Top Seeds Dominate

Even though Penn State will draw most of the headlines for its overall performance, there were a number of showcase moments throughout the first two sessions by the top seeds. 

Northwestern sophomore Sebastian Rivera ran his season record to 28-1 with two victories, including a controlled win over Michigan's Drew Mattin to reach the 125-pound quarterfinals. 

Daton Fix of Oklahoma State continued his dominant season with two easy wins Thursday. The No. 1 seed in the 133-pound weight class earned a 9-3 decision win over Matt Schmitt of West Virginia. His quarterfinal matchup will be against Missouri's John Erneste. 

One of the best individual showings was courtesy of Rutgers star Anthony Ashnault. The senior star had eight combined minutes of riding time in wins over Malik Amine (Michigan) and Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma). 

“I felt great today. I felt like I could have scored more, but I got dominant wins and I was moving well the whole time,” Ashnault told NJ.com's James Kratch after advancing to the quarterfinals.

One of the most intriguing potential finals matchups remains on track in the 165-pound group. Iowa's Alex Marinelli is the top seed in the weight class after a 24-0 regular season. He placed sixth at this event last year and finished 19-6 overall. 

Marinelli is chasing Penn State's two-time defending champion Vincenzo Joseph, who entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Neither man had any problem advancing through to the quarterfinals. 

https://twitter.com/ncaawrestling/status/1108884655523201025

The one top seed who has a lot to prove Friday is Oklahoma State's Derek White. The top 285-pound wrestler in the nation looked fine with a 10-2 major decision over Brandon Ngati in the first round. 

Session two, though, left a lot to be desired from White's performance. He squeaked by Ohio State's Chase Singletary in a 5-2 decision that was actually closer than the score would indicate:

With Snyder out of the picture in the heavyweight division, it seemed like the field would open up to other competitors. Penn State has a chance to add another individual champion, with No. 2 seed Anthony Cassar earning a 10-2 major decision over Tate Orndorff in the evening session. 

Subscribe to Wrestling