Liberty takes big lead after day two of NCWA Nationals
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by Scott Farrell NCWA
Ryan Diehl of Liberty (right) attacks Alexis Martinez of Glendale Community College with a single-leg takedown en route to a 16-0 tech fall during the semifinals of the 141-pound weight class. Liberty leads the NCWA Championships after two days with 176 points. Photo by Sam Janicki
ALLEN, Texas – Liberty pulled away from the field Friday, earning 100 points on the day to all but secure its first NCWA title. Five finalists and nine wrestlers who advanced to All-American standing overall led the charge that put plenty of distance between the Flames (176 points) and first-day challengers Middle Tennessee (115.5), Rochester (108) and the U.S. Naval Academy Prep School (104.5).
And with the team title assured, the Flames can now focus on adding to their 2015 historical ledger. A five-man sweep of the title matches would tie the NCWA record for most national champions in a season. It hasn’t been done in 14 seasons since Grand Valley State had five in 2001.
Tim Nordan (125 pounds), Ryan Diehl (141), Joshua Llopez (174), Evan Canady (235) and Joshua Pelletier (285), all of them the top- or second-seed in their bracket, each advanced to the title match for Liberty.
Saturday will carry a patriotic theme for the finals rounds based on the success of Liberty, Navy Prep and the U.S. Air Force Academy Prep School. Combined, the three schools dominated the championship brackets Friday. All but one of the title bouts will involve a wrestler from those three schools as Navy Prep and Air Force Prep nearly matched Liberty with four finalists each. The first five championship matches have either a Navy Prep or Air Force Prep wrestler competing, including the 157-pound match where they’ll face each other as top-seed Hunter Sutton of Navy Prep faces third-seed Alex Mossing of Air Force Prep.
Navy Prep’s other three finalists also have notable matchups in the finals. Adam Connell faces Liberty’s Diehl, last year’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, in the 141 final. Nicholas Gil takes on one of the tournament’s biggest surprises in the 149 final in ninth-seeded Jacob Freeman of Middle Tennessee. Freeman upset top-seed Nick Cegelski in the quarterfinals, 13-8, then took out four-sed Trevor Scott of Rochester 10-3 in the semifinals. And Navy Prep’s Daniel Hawkins, the three-seed, faces Stefan Haas of James Madison, the fourth-seed, in the 197 final. Both won semifinal matches over the one- and two-seeds.
Air Force Prep’s strength is in the lighter weights. Isaac Jimenez faces Liberty’s Nordan, the top seed, in the 125 final. John Twomey then takes the mat to meet Davenport’s Zach Yates in the 133 final. Mossing follows in the 157 final, and Anthony McLaughlin, the four-seed, faces another tournament underdog in 11-seed Wesley Schultz of Rochester, who beat the third- and seventh-seed to reach the finals.
The 165-pound final broke away from the patriotic trio and pairs two schools appearing in championship bouts for the first time as Clay Kocsis of Penn State-Mont Alto faces Ruger Piva of Montana Western. Piva was one of Friday’s stars and is the only unseeded wrestler to make the finals. The high-scoring Piva started the day by knocking off second-seed and returning All-American Gabe Stepanovich of Grand Valley State 8-5 in the quarterfinals. Then he took out Brett Johnson of Washington State in the semifinals, 8-4.
Kocsis, the fourth-seed, advanced the finals after Liberty’s top-seed and now three-time All-American Chase Boontjer had to withdraw on injury default. Boontjer’s status for Saturday is still uncertain.
Kocsis and Piva are two of seven wrestlers who put their school into the finals for the first time. Yates and Geurink (Davenport), Phil Marra (Penn State-New Kensington), Wesley Schultz (Rochester) and Haas (James Madison) are the others.
Here is the list of Saturday’s finals matches:
125 - Tim Nordan, Liberty vs. Isaac Jimenez, U.S. Air Force Academy Prep
133 - John Twomey, U.S. Air Force Prep vs. Zach Yates, Davenport
141 - Ryan Diehl, Liberty vs. Adam Connell, U.S. Naval Academy Prep
149 - Jacob Freeman, Middle Tennessee vs. Nicholas Gil, U.S. Naval Academy Prep
157 - Hunter Sutton, U.S. Naval Academy Prep vs. Alex Mossing, U.S. Air Force Academy Prep
165 - Clay Kocsis, Penn State-Mont Alto vs. Ruger Piva, Montana Western
174 - Phil Marra, Penn State-New Kensington vs. Joshua Llopez, Liberty
184 - Anthony McLaughlin, U.S. Air Force Academy Prep vs. Wesley Schultz, Rochester
197 - Stefan Haas, James Madison vs. Daniel Hawkins, U.S. Naval Academy Prep
235 - Stuart Maddox, North Florida vs. Evan Canady, Liberty
285 - Joshua Pelletier, Liberty vs. Glenn Geurink, Davenport
Here are the standings after the second day of the 2015 Championships:
DIVISION I
1. Liberty 176.0
2. Middle Tennessee 115.5
3. Rochester Tech (Minn.) 108.0
4. U.S. Naval Academy Prep 104.5
5. Central Florida 83.0
6. U.S. Air Force Academy Prep 82.5
7. Apprentice 66.5
8. Marion Military 65.0
9. Grand Valley State 62.5
10. Davenport (Mich.) 51.5
11. Penn State-DuBois 45.0
12. Wayne State College (Neb.) 45.0
13. North Florida 43.0
14. Penn State-Mont Alto 37.0
15. Florida Gulf Coast 29.5
16. Mercer 28.0
17. Penn State-New Kensington 27.0
18. Alfred State 24.5
19. Md.-Baltimore County 16.0
20t. MIT 15.0
20t. South Florida 15.0
22. RPI 13.0
23. Mott CC (Mich.) 12.5
24. Georgia Southern 8.5
25. West Chester 8.0
26t. East Tennessee State 3.0
26t. Penn State-Greater Allegheny 3.0
28. New Hampshire 2.5
DIVISION II
1. Washington State 52.5
2. Florida 50.5
3. Montana Western 45.5
4. Texas-Arlington 41.5
5. James Madison 37.5
6. South Puget Sound CC (Wash.) 37.0
7. Maine 35.5
8. Toledo 33.5
9. Glendale CC (Ariz.) 32.5
10. Arizona 30.0
11. North Texas 28.5
12. Connecticut 27.5
13. Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) 25.5
14. Dixie State (Utah) 25.0
15. Penn State 23.0
16. Central Washington 22.5
17t. Akron 21.0
17t. Rowan 21.0
19. Temple 19.5
20t. Texas State 15.5
20t. Florida A&M 15.5
22t. Henry Ford CC (Mich.) 14.5
22t. Michigan 14.5
24t. Auburn 13.5
24t. Georgia 13.5
24t. UCLA 13.5
27t. Rutgers 13.0
27t. Texas 13.0
29. Memphis 12.5
30. Texas A&M 12.0
31t. Colorado State 11.0
31t. Fresno State 11.0
33. BYU 10.5
34t. Amherst 9.5
34t. Massachusetts 9.5
34t. Tennessee 9.5
34t. USC 9.5
34t. Wisconsin 9.5
39. East Carolina 9.0
40t. Ohio State 8.0
40t. SUNY-Cortland 8.0
42t. Bowling Green 7.5
42t. Colorado 7.5
42t. Northern Kentucky 7.5
44. Alabama 6.5
45. Kennesaw State 4.0
46t. Minn.-Duluth 3.0
46t. Northeastern 3.0
46t. VMI 3.0
49t. Lafayette 2.0
49t. UC-Merced 2.0
51. Idaho 1.5
51t. Montclair State (N.J.) 1.5
53. Concordia-Ann Arbor (Mich.) 0.5
54t. Northwest Missouri State 0
54t. William and Mary 0
ALLEN, Texas – Liberty pulled away from the field Friday, earning 100 points on the day to all but secure its first NCWA title. Five finalists and nine wrestlers who advanced to All-American standing overall led the charge that put plenty of distance between the Flames (176 points) and first-day challengers Middle Tennessee (115.5), Rochester (108) and the U.S. Naval Academy Prep School (104.5).
And with the team title assured, the Flames can now focus on adding to their 2015 historical ledger. A five-man sweep of the title matches would tie the NCWA record for most national champions in a season. It hasn’t been done in 14 seasons since Grand Valley State had five in 2001.
Tim Nordan (125 pounds), Ryan Diehl (141), Joshua Llopez (174), Evan Canady (235) and Joshua Pelletier (285), all of them the top- or second-seed in their bracket, each advanced to the title match for Liberty.
Saturday will carry a patriotic theme for the finals rounds based on the success of Liberty, Navy Prep and the U.S. Air Force Academy Prep School. Combined, the three schools dominated the championship brackets Friday. All but one of the title bouts will involve a wrestler from those three schools as Navy Prep and Air Force Prep nearly matched Liberty with four finalists each. The first five championship matches have either a Navy Prep or Air Force Prep wrestler competing, including the 157-pound match where they’ll face each other as top-seed Hunter Sutton of Navy Prep faces third-seed Alex Mossing of Air Force Prep.
Navy Prep’s other three finalists also have notable matchups in the finals. Adam Connell faces Liberty’s Diehl, last year’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, in the 141 final. Nicholas Gil takes on one of the tournament’s biggest surprises in the 149 final in ninth-seeded Jacob Freeman of Middle Tennessee. Freeman upset top-seed Nick Cegelski in the quarterfinals, 13-8, then took out four-sed Trevor Scott of Rochester 10-3 in the semifinals. And Navy Prep’s Daniel Hawkins, the three-seed, faces Stefan Haas of James Madison, the fourth-seed, in the 197 final. Both won semifinal matches over the one- and two-seeds.
Air Force Prep’s strength is in the lighter weights. Isaac Jimenez faces Liberty’s Nordan, the top seed, in the 125 final. John Twomey then takes the mat to meet Davenport’s Zach Yates in the 133 final. Mossing follows in the 157 final, and Anthony McLaughlin, the four-seed, faces another tournament underdog in 11-seed Wesley Schultz of Rochester, who beat the third- and seventh-seed to reach the finals.
The 165-pound final broke away from the patriotic trio and pairs two schools appearing in championship bouts for the first time as Clay Kocsis of Penn State-Mont Alto faces Ruger Piva of Montana Western. Piva was one of Friday’s stars and is the only unseeded wrestler to make the finals. The high-scoring Piva started the day by knocking off second-seed and returning All-American Gabe Stepanovich of Grand Valley State 8-5 in the quarterfinals. Then he took out Brett Johnson of Washington State in the semifinals, 8-4.
Kocsis, the fourth-seed, advanced the finals after Liberty’s top-seed and now three-time All-American Chase Boontjer had to withdraw on injury default. Boontjer’s status for Saturday is still uncertain.
Kocsis and Piva are two of seven wrestlers who put their school into the finals for the first time. Yates and Geurink (Davenport), Phil Marra (Penn State-New Kensington), Wesley Schultz (Rochester) and Haas (James Madison) are the others.
Here is the list of Saturday’s finals matches:
125 - Tim Nordan, Liberty vs. Isaac Jimenez, U.S. Air Force Academy Prep
133 - John Twomey, U.S. Air Force Prep vs. Zach Yates, Davenport
141 - Ryan Diehl, Liberty vs. Adam Connell, U.S. Naval Academy Prep
149 - Jacob Freeman, Middle Tennessee vs. Nicholas Gil, U.S. Naval Academy Prep
157 - Hunter Sutton, U.S. Naval Academy Prep vs. Alex Mossing, U.S. Air Force Academy Prep
165 - Clay Kocsis, Penn State-Mont Alto vs. Ruger Piva, Montana Western
174 - Phil Marra, Penn State-New Kensington vs. Joshua Llopez, Liberty
184 - Anthony McLaughlin, U.S. Air Force Academy Prep vs. Wesley Schultz, Rochester
197 - Stefan Haas, James Madison vs. Daniel Hawkins, U.S. Naval Academy Prep
235 - Stuart Maddox, North Florida vs. Evan Canady, Liberty
285 - Joshua Pelletier, Liberty vs. Glenn Geurink, Davenport
Here are the standings after the second day of the 2015 Championships:
DIVISION I
1. Liberty 176.0
2. Middle Tennessee 115.5
3. Rochester Tech (Minn.) 108.0
4. U.S. Naval Academy Prep 104.5
5. Central Florida 83.0
6. U.S. Air Force Academy Prep 82.5
7. Apprentice 66.5
8. Marion Military 65.0
9. Grand Valley State 62.5
10. Davenport (Mich.) 51.5
11. Penn State-DuBois 45.0
12. Wayne State College (Neb.) 45.0
13. North Florida 43.0
14. Penn State-Mont Alto 37.0
15. Florida Gulf Coast 29.5
16. Mercer 28.0
17. Penn State-New Kensington 27.0
18. Alfred State 24.5
19. Md.-Baltimore County 16.0
20t. MIT 15.0
20t. South Florida 15.0
22. RPI 13.0
23. Mott CC (Mich.) 12.5
24. Georgia Southern 8.5
25. West Chester 8.0
26t. East Tennessee State 3.0
26t. Penn State-Greater Allegheny 3.0
28. New Hampshire 2.5
DIVISION II
1. Washington State 52.5
2. Florida 50.5
3. Montana Western 45.5
4. Texas-Arlington 41.5
5. James Madison 37.5
6. South Puget Sound CC (Wash.) 37.0
7. Maine 35.5
8. Toledo 33.5
9. Glendale CC (Ariz.) 32.5
10. Arizona 30.0
11. North Texas 28.5
12. Connecticut 27.5
13. Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) 25.5
14. Dixie State (Utah) 25.0
15. Penn State 23.0
16. Central Washington 22.5
17t. Akron 21.0
17t. Rowan 21.0
19. Temple 19.5
20t. Texas State 15.5
20t. Florida A&M 15.5
22t. Henry Ford CC (Mich.) 14.5
22t. Michigan 14.5
24t. Auburn 13.5
24t. Georgia 13.5
24t. UCLA 13.5
27t. Rutgers 13.0
27t. Texas 13.0
29. Memphis 12.5
30. Texas A&M 12.0
31t. Colorado State 11.0
31t. Fresno State 11.0
33. BYU 10.5
34t. Amherst 9.5
34t. Massachusetts 9.5
34t. Tennessee 9.5
34t. USC 9.5
34t. Wisconsin 9.5
39. East Carolina 9.0
40t. Ohio State 8.0
40t. SUNY-Cortland 8.0
42t. Bowling Green 7.5
42t. Colorado 7.5
42t. Northern Kentucky 7.5
44. Alabama 6.5
45. Kennesaw State 4.0
46t. Minn.-Duluth 3.0
46t. Northeastern 3.0
46t. VMI 3.0
49t. Lafayette 2.0
49t. UC-Merced 2.0
51. Idaho 1.5
51t. Montclair State (N.J.) 1.5
53. Concordia-Ann Arbor (Mich.) 0.5
54t. Northwest Missouri State 0
54t. William and Mary 0
