Buckeyes take command, place 5 in semis at NCAA Championships
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder was one of three Buckeye freshmen to advance to the semifinals at the NCAA Championships on Friday. John Sachs photo.
VIDEO: NCAA Championships Athlete and Coach Interviews
ST. LOUIS – Tom Ryan normally doesn’t show a lot of emotion in the corner.
But the Ohio State coach couldn’t hold back when unseeded Kenny Courts stormed into the semifinals.
Ryan whirled around and pointed enthusiastically with both hands to the corner of the arena where the Buckeye fans stood and roared.
Ryan’s Ohio State team landed five spots in the semis to charge into command of the team race at the 85th NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday before 18,486 fans at the Scottrade Center.
The Big Ten co-champion and fourth-ranked Buckeyes now have 64.5 points, 17 ahead of second-place and No. 2 Iowa entering Friday night’s semifinals. Ohio State, seeking its first NCAA team title, has those five semifinalists left in the tournament.
“To go 5-0 in the quarterfinals against this level of competition is a testament to this team,” Ohio State coach Tom Ryan said. “All year, this group has found a way to get it done. Now we’ve got to be ready tonight. This is far from over.”
The semifinals are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and will be shown on ESPN.
Iowa, seeking its 24th team title, advanced three wrestlers to the semifinals and has four others still alive in the wrestlebacks.
Top-ranked Missouri, seeking its first team title, is in third with 45 points. Tiger 174-pounder John Eblen was disqualified from the tournament for flagrant misconduct for his actions in a wrestleback match.
Missouri loses all four team points Eblen scored in the tournament. Eblen head-butted Zach Brunson of Illinois late in the match with Brunson up 9-4
Cornell sits in fourth in the team standings with 41.5 points and Edinboro is fifth with 40.5. Four-time defending champion Penn State is in eighth with 33.5 points.
Three-time NCAA champion and No. 1 seed Logan Stieber of Ohio State rolled to a 16-1 technical fall over No. 9 Anthony Abidin of Nebraska at 141 pounds. He has now won his last 48 matches. Stieber will face unseeded Kevin Jack of North Carolina State in the semifinals.
Stieber is looking to join Oklahoma State’s Pat Smith, Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson and Cornell’s Kyle Dake as four-time NCAA champions.
“Everyone is just trying to do their job out there – that’s what the coaches are preaching to us,” Stieber said. “The main thing is to advance and get bonus points when you can.”
Stieber’s teammate, freshman Nathan Tomasello, also rolled to a tech fall in the 125 quarters.
“Those bonus points obviously are huge for our team,” Tomasello said. “I’ve trained my whole life for this moment. The work’s not done yet, but it’s been an awesome season so far.”
There was controversy involved during the 157 quarterfinal between No. 2 Brian Realbuto of Cornell and No. 7 Ian Miller of Kent State. Realbuto rallied to tie the match before winning 11-9 in sudden victory.
There was a scoring error in that match during regulation. Miller was not awarded an escape point near the end of regulation that would have given him the victory. Since the Kent State coaches didn't request a challenge during the match, the NCAA ruled Realbuto remain the winner.
Jack placed fourth at the ACC Championships, but the freshman has now guaranteed a top-six NCAA finish after beating returning runner-up Devin Carter of Virginia 10-8 in the 141 quarters.
“This feels great – there are no words to really describe it,” said Jack, who is from Danbury, Conn. “I just kept pushing and went in with the mindset that I can win. I just kept attacking and never stopped.”
Iowa’s Thomas Gilman delivered a huge comeback win to reach the 125 semifinals. Down 5-1, the No. 6 Gilman stormed back to push the match into overtime against No. 3 Joey Dance of Virginia Tech. Gilman then executed a textbook body lock and planted Dance on the mat for the dramatic winning takedown to prevail 7-5.
“I just kept my composure and tried not to get frustrated,” Gilman said. “I was down by four points, but you’re never out of a match. I kept the pressure on him and I think I wore him down. I just kept scrapping.”
Returning champions Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern (149), Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (165), J’den Cox of Missouri (197) and Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State (285) landed spots in the semis.
Cox will be joined in the semis by fellow top-seeded teammates Alan Waters (125) and Drake Houdashelt (149). Cox is 36-0 this season and has won his last 56 matches.
Dieringer has won his last 47 matches. He won the title at 157 last year.
No. 9 Tyler Wilps of Pittsburgh shot in on a first-period takedown and then held off No. 1 Robert Kokesh of Nebraska 3-2 in the 174 quarters.
NCAA Championships
March 19-21, Scottrade Center, St. Louis
Team scoring (top 10)
Ohio State 64.5, Iowa 47.5, Missouri 45, Cornell 41.5, Edinboro 40.5, Nebraska 36.5, Oklahoma State 36, Penn State 33.5, Minnesota 29.5, Illinois 26.5, Michigan 26
Semifinal matchups
125 pounds
Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
133 pounds
Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. Cody Brewer (Oklahoma)
Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State)
141 pounds
Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. Kevin Jack (North Carolina State)
Mitchell Port (Edinboro) vs. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion)
149 pounds
Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) vs. Chris Villalonga (Cornell)
Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) vs. David Habat (Edinboro)
157 pounds
Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. James Green (Nebraska)
Dylan Ness (Minnesota) vs. Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
165 pounds
Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. Bo Jordan (Ohio State)
Taylor Walsh (Indiana) vs. Ethan Ramos (North Carolina)
174 pounds
Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) vs. Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State)
Matt Brown (Penn State) vs. Mike Evans (Iowa)
184 pounds
Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. Victor Avery (Edinboro)
Nate Brown (Lehigh) vs. Kenny Courts (Ohio State)
197 pounds
J’den Cox (Missouri) vs. Kyle Snyder (Ohio State)
Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) vs. Connor Hartmann (Duke)
285 pounds
Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) vs. Connor Medbery (Wisconsin)
Mike McMullan (Northwestern) vs. Adam Coon (Michigan)
VIDEO: NCAA Championships Athlete and Coach Interviews
ST. LOUIS – Tom Ryan normally doesn’t show a lot of emotion in the corner.
But the Ohio State coach couldn’t hold back when unseeded Kenny Courts stormed into the semifinals.
Ryan whirled around and pointed enthusiastically with both hands to the corner of the arena where the Buckeye fans stood and roared.
Ryan’s Ohio State team landed five spots in the semis to charge into command of the team race at the 85th NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday before 18,486 fans at the Scottrade Center.
The Big Ten co-champion and fourth-ranked Buckeyes now have 64.5 points, 17 ahead of second-place and No. 2 Iowa entering Friday night’s semifinals. Ohio State, seeking its first NCAA team title, has those five semifinalists left in the tournament.
“To go 5-0 in the quarterfinals against this level of competition is a testament to this team,” Ohio State coach Tom Ryan said. “All year, this group has found a way to get it done. Now we’ve got to be ready tonight. This is far from over.”
The semifinals are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and will be shown on ESPN.
Iowa, seeking its 24th team title, advanced three wrestlers to the semifinals and has four others still alive in the wrestlebacks.
Top-ranked Missouri, seeking its first team title, is in third with 45 points. Tiger 174-pounder John Eblen was disqualified from the tournament for flagrant misconduct for his actions in a wrestleback match.
Missouri loses all four team points Eblen scored in the tournament. Eblen head-butted Zach Brunson of Illinois late in the match with Brunson up 9-4
Cornell sits in fourth in the team standings with 41.5 points and Edinboro is fifth with 40.5. Four-time defending champion Penn State is in eighth with 33.5 points.
Three-time NCAA champion and No. 1 seed Logan Stieber of Ohio State rolled to a 16-1 technical fall over No. 9 Anthony Abidin of Nebraska at 141 pounds. He has now won his last 48 matches. Stieber will face unseeded Kevin Jack of North Carolina State in the semifinals.
Stieber is looking to join Oklahoma State’s Pat Smith, Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson and Cornell’s Kyle Dake as four-time NCAA champions.
“Everyone is just trying to do their job out there – that’s what the coaches are preaching to us,” Stieber said. “The main thing is to advance and get bonus points when you can.”
Stieber’s teammate, freshman Nathan Tomasello, also rolled to a tech fall in the 125 quarters.
“Those bonus points obviously are huge for our team,” Tomasello said. “I’ve trained my whole life for this moment. The work’s not done yet, but it’s been an awesome season so far.”
There was controversy involved during the 157 quarterfinal between No. 2 Brian Realbuto of Cornell and No. 7 Ian Miller of Kent State. Realbuto rallied to tie the match before winning 11-9 in sudden victory.
There was a scoring error in that match during regulation. Miller was not awarded an escape point near the end of regulation that would have given him the victory. Since the Kent State coaches didn't request a challenge during the match, the NCAA ruled Realbuto remain the winner.
Jack placed fourth at the ACC Championships, but the freshman has now guaranteed a top-six NCAA finish after beating returning runner-up Devin Carter of Virginia 10-8 in the 141 quarters.
“This feels great – there are no words to really describe it,” said Jack, who is from Danbury, Conn. “I just kept pushing and went in with the mindset that I can win. I just kept attacking and never stopped.”
Iowa’s Thomas Gilman delivered a huge comeback win to reach the 125 semifinals. Down 5-1, the No. 6 Gilman stormed back to push the match into overtime against No. 3 Joey Dance of Virginia Tech. Gilman then executed a textbook body lock and planted Dance on the mat for the dramatic winning takedown to prevail 7-5.
“I just kept my composure and tried not to get frustrated,” Gilman said. “I was down by four points, but you’re never out of a match. I kept the pressure on him and I think I wore him down. I just kept scrapping.”
Returning champions Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern (149), Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (165), J’den Cox of Missouri (197) and Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State (285) landed spots in the semis.
Cox will be joined in the semis by fellow top-seeded teammates Alan Waters (125) and Drake Houdashelt (149). Cox is 36-0 this season and has won his last 56 matches.
Dieringer has won his last 47 matches. He won the title at 157 last year.
No. 9 Tyler Wilps of Pittsburgh shot in on a first-period takedown and then held off No. 1 Robert Kokesh of Nebraska 3-2 in the 174 quarters.
NCAA Championships
March 19-21, Scottrade Center, St. Louis
Team scoring (top 10)
Ohio State 64.5, Iowa 47.5, Missouri 45, Cornell 41.5, Edinboro 40.5, Nebraska 36.5, Oklahoma State 36, Penn State 33.5, Minnesota 29.5, Illinois 26.5, Michigan 26
Semifinal matchups
125 pounds
Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
133 pounds
Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. Cody Brewer (Oklahoma)
Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State)
141 pounds
Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. Kevin Jack (North Carolina State)
Mitchell Port (Edinboro) vs. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion)
149 pounds
Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) vs. Chris Villalonga (Cornell)
Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) vs. David Habat (Edinboro)
157 pounds
Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. James Green (Nebraska)
Dylan Ness (Minnesota) vs. Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
165 pounds
Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. Bo Jordan (Ohio State)
Taylor Walsh (Indiana) vs. Ethan Ramos (North Carolina)
174 pounds
Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) vs. Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State)
Matt Brown (Penn State) vs. Mike Evans (Iowa)
184 pounds
Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. Victor Avery (Edinboro)
Nate Brown (Lehigh) vs. Kenny Courts (Ohio State)
197 pounds
J’den Cox (Missouri) vs. Kyle Snyder (Ohio State)
Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) vs. Connor Hartmann (Duke)
285 pounds
Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) vs. Connor Medbery (Wisconsin)
Mike McMullan (Northwestern) vs. Adam Coon (Michigan)
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