Trio of upsets at 174 pounds steal the show during first session of NCAA Championships; Ohio State takes early team lead

Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) upset No. 2 seed Brian Realbuto (Cornell) 7-4 in the first round at the NCAA Championships. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com

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NEW YORK CITY – First round upsets are a staple of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, but few could have predicted the madness that would ensue on Thursday morning in front of 17,761 fans at Madison Square Garden.

No. 2 seed Brian Realbuto of Cornell, No. 3 seed Blaise Butler of Missouri and No. 4 seed Ethan Ramos of North Carolina were all upset by unseeded wrestlers in the opening round at 174 pounds.

A NCAA finalist last year at 157 pounds, Realbuto was a favorite to make a return trip to the big stage, up two weights from last year, on Saturday night. Big 12 champion Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State had other plans, pulling off the 7-4 upset over one of Cornell’s major players.

Oklahoma’s Matt Reed exploded to an 8-0 lead over Butler in the first period and maintained a sizeable advantage throughout the match despite Butler’s urgent advances. Reed won by a 16-9 final score.

“I knew he was going to come upper body, so my coaches told me to get to his legs. I took him down the first time straight to his back. I wasn’t worried. As long as I stayed in good position and didn’t give up anything big I was going to win,” said Reed.

In similar fashion to Reed, unseeded Jadaen Bernstein of Navy jumped all over Ramos in the early goings of their first round match, scoring a takedown and nearfall to lead 6-0 early. Ramos created a high-scoring affair with his pace, but ultimately Bernstein pulled the upset, 13-8. Ramos was a NCAA semifinalist last year.

The second No. 3 seed to fall came mere moments later with Victory Avery of Edinboro dropping a tight 7-5 bout to Joe Ariola of Buffalo at 184 pounds.

“I screwed up this year, but I came out ready to wrestle at the MAC tournament. I came out ready to wrestle here. I made it. Two of my teammates made it. We are here to wrestle. We are no joke,” said Ariola.

Ohio State holds a slight lead in the team race after session one with 16.5 points, half a point ahead of second place Penn State. Ohio State posted a 6-2 record to open the tournament and scored bonus points in all six wins.

“We knew we needed bonus points, we talked about it,” said Ohio State Head Coach Tom Ryan. “We knew it would be critical. You win you get one point. You pin the guy you get two more. We are probably in the lead because of the bonus points. It’s early in the tournament. A big round tonight. As a coach, you are excited about the ones you got, but you are heartbroken for the ones you didn’t. We were close to getting 157 and 184 as well and having an undefeated round.”

Penn State received an early kick start from unseeded 141-pounder and Big Ten runner-up Jimmy Gulibon who dominated No. 5 seed Matt Manley of Missouri, 17-2, in the early goings this morning. Gulibon was a semifinalist at this tournament last year down at 133 pounds.

The Nittany Lions went 7-1 overall in the opening session. Matt McCutcheon was the lone Penn State wrestler to drop in the first round, losing by 4-3 decision to Tom Sleigh of Bucknell at 184 pounds. However, the Nittany Lions pulled an upset at 165 pounds with unseeded Geno Morelli taking out No. 11 seed John Staudenmayer of Brown 5-3.

“I think we had a good start you know, but you’ve got to finish strong,” said Penn State Head Coach Cael Sanderson. “Obviously at this tournament the rounds get more important and every match is important, but the points get bigger. The team is wrestling aggressively. I think we’re loose and having a good time.”

Nebraska posted a superb opening session by sending eight wrestlers to the second round this evening, the most of any team. The Huskers sit in third place overall with 13 points.

Husker heavyweight Collin Jensen exceeded expectations as he won two matches this morning including a 9-2 win over No. 10 seed Joe Stolfi of Bucknell.

The Big Ten Championships runners-up from Iowa sent six wrestlers to the second round and currently sit in fourth-place overall. The Hawkeyes took a hit at 174 pounds when No. 13 seed Alex Meyer was defeated by Gordon Wolf of Lehigh, 10-9.

Joe Smith of Oklahoma State won the battle of coaches kids by escaping Jake Ryan of Ohio State 11-9 in sudden victory.

The Cowboys went 7-3 during the first round and are currently tied with Missouri and Michigan for fifth place with 10 points.

At 125 pounds unseeded Conor Youtsey of Michigan won a thrilling 7-6 bout over Eddie Klimara of Oklahoma State. Both were returning All-Americans in this weight class.

“I had a rough early start to the season. I didn’t get a seed because I’ve had some tough losses this year, but going up against the six seed, Eddie Klimara, tough guy right off the bat, it’s just heart and guts when you get to this tournament,” said Youtsey.

Both Sean Russell of Edinboro and Dalton Macri of Cornell pulled overtime upsets at 125 pounds. Russell took out No. 12 seed Paul Petrov of Buckell 9-8 and Macri upended No. 11 seed Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State 6-5. Russell will face past high school teammate and No. 5 seed Ryan Millhof of Oklahoma in the second round.

Top-seed at 133 pounds, Nahshon Garrett of Cornell, won a rematch of this year’s EIWA finals over two-time All-American Mason Beckman of Lehigh, 10-3. Cornell’s other No. 1 seed Gabe Dean won a tight 3-1 bout over past All-American Jack Dechow at 184 pounds. Dean and Dechow met in the NCAA third-place match two years ago.

“He’s a tough kid,” Dean said. “You know, not pretty on my part. He’s really athletic, big. He’s an All-American, so it is what it is. We don’t really prep for anybody because then you start to wrestle other people’s matches. You focus on the things you can control and just go about your business.”

At 141 pounds, No. 2 seed Joey McKenna of Stanford fought off a gutty performance from unseeded Zachary Horan of Central Michigan, winning 2-1 in the first tiebreaker round. McKenna rode out Horan for the win.

“Just had to keep trying to fake, get to my offense, pretty hard on a guy like that who’s just going to shut it down. I’ve just got to stay tough in those positions and wrestle through them. It’s the NCAA tournament. Anything can happen,” said McKenna.

In another first-round match-up of past All-Americans, unseeded Bryant Clagon of Rider edged No. 8 seed Evan Henderson of North Carolina 3-1.

Arizona State All-American Blake Stauffer held firm against All-American Kenny Courts of Ohio State in the first round at 184 pounds. Stauffer won by a 3-2 decision.

The second round of the NCAA Championships will commence at 7 p.m. (ET) this evening. All the action can be viewed live on ESPNU.

2016 NCAA DIVISION I WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y.

Team Standings
1. Ohio State 16.5
2. Penn State 16.0
3. Nebraska 13.0
4. Iowa 11.0
5. Michigan 10.0
5. Missouri 10.0
5. Oklahoma State 10.0
8. North Carolina State 9.0
8. Virginia Tech 9.0
10. Illinois 6.5
10. Rutgers 6.5

Notable Session I Results
125 pounds
Sean Russell (Edinboro) dec. No. 12 Paul Petrov (Bucknell), 9-8 TB2
Dalton Macri (Cornell) dec. No. 11 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), 6-5 TB2
Conor Youtsey (Michigan) dec. No. 6 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State), 7-6

133 pounds
No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 10-3

141 pounds
Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) tech. fall No. 5 Matt Manley (Missouri), 17-2
Logan Everett (Army) dec. No. 10 Todd Preston (Harvard), 4-2

149 pounds
Bryant Clagon (Rider) dec. No. 8. Evan Henderson (North Carolina), 3-1
Victor Lopez (Bucknell) fall No. 15 Daniel Neff (Lock Haven), 2:55

157 pounds
No. 6 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) dec. Jake Ryan (Ohio State), 11-9 SV1
May Bethea (Penn) dec. No. 14 Austin Matthews (Edinboro), 8-7
Bryce Steitert (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 11 Luke Smith (Central Michigan), 4-1

165 pounds
Geno Morelli (Penn State) dec. No. 11 John Staudenmayer (UNC), 5-3

174 pounds
Casey Kent (Penn) dec. No. 8 Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech), 3-2
Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) dec. No. 4 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina), 13-8
Matt Reed (Oklahoma) dec. No. 3 Blaise Butler (Missouri), 16-9
Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) dec. No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa), 10-9
Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) dec. No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 7-4

184 pounds
No. 6 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) dec. Kenny Courts (Ohio State), 3-2
Joe Ariola (Buffalo) dec. No. 3 Victor Avery (Edinboro), 7-5
Tom Sleigh (Bucknell) dec. No. 16 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State), 4-3

197 pounds
Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois) dec. No. 9 Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield), 8-5
Patrick Downey (Iowa State) dec. No. 11 Phil Wellington (Ohio), 3-1 SV1
Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) dec. No. 15 Nate Rotert (South Dakota State), 7-4

285 pounds
Ross Larson (Oklahoma) dec. No. 12 Billy Smith (Rutgers), 8-4
William Miller (Edinboro) dec. No. 13 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga), 4-3
Boyce Cornwell (Gardner-Webb) inj. Def. No. 11 Sam Stoll (Iowa), 3:45
Brooks Black (Illinois) dec. Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State), 7-2
Collin Jensen (Nebraska) dec. No. 10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell), 9-2