NCAA Session III notes: Six freshmen and two unseeded wrestlers advance to semis

2018 NCAA athlete interviews

Attendance: Session III – 18,680; Total – 56,020

Bracket Busters
There were a few notable upsets in the quarterfinals at the 2018 NCAA tournament on Friday morning.

One of the biggest surprises came at 197, where unseeded Kyle Conel of Kent State pinned 2017 All-American and No. 1 seed Kollin Moore of Ohio State in just 90 seconds with a huge throw.

Conel, who came into the tournament with no wins against ranked opponents, has defeated three top-10 wrestlers in the last two days.

Unseeded Tariq Wilson of NC State continued his hot streak and secured All-America honors at 133 pounds when he defeated returning All-American Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State with a dominant 13-5 major decision, thanks to his skills on top to score several back points. He avenged the loss to Brock from earlier this year when the two met up in Naples, Italy, in a dual called Tussle for the Troops. The Cowboy walked away with a 16-1 tech fall. Wilson is set to face returning NCAA finalist Seth Gross of South Dakota State in the semifinals.

At 149 pounds, two unexpected wrestlers broke through to the semifinals. No. 15 Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven advanced to the semifinals, picking off 10-seed Jason Tsirtsis of Arizona State, 7-4. With the win, Perry became Lock Haven’s 40th All-American and first since Dan Neff in 2015.

Matthew Kolodzik, a sophomore for Princeton, is now a two-time All-American after a 4-3 upset win over No. 3 Grant Leeth of Missouri.

Two Champs Down
Past NCAA champions Dean Heil and Jason Tsirtsis fell in the quarterfinals at their respective weights.

Two-time defending champion Heil of Oklahoma State lost a 6-5 shocker as Yianni Diakomihalis, a freshman from Cornell, scored a takedown on the Cowboy late in the match. After a tough season, Heil was seeded No. 6, while Diakomihalis held the No. 3 seed.

Tsirtsis suffered a tight 7-4 match against Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven to get knocked out of the championship side of the bracket.

Freshmen Freaks
Six freshman advanced to the NCAA semifinals on Friday morning, including three true freshmen and three redshirt freshman. All six come from just three schools, Cornell, Iowa and North Carolina State. Each squad has two.

True freshmen in the mix are Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis at 141 and Ben Darmstadt at 197 and Iowa’s Spencer Lee at 125.

After taking redshirt seasons, those in the semis are NC State’s Tariq Wilson at 133 and Hayden Hidlay at 157 and Iowa’s Alex Marinelli.

There’s a First Time for Everything
Illinois standout Isaiah Martinez became the Illini’s first four-time All-American in the history of the program after taking out Lock Haven’s Chance Marsteller, 10-1, in the 165-pound quarters.

Thus far, Martinez has strung together an outstanding career, winning 157-pound national titles in 2015 and 2016 and finishing as a runner-up at 165 in 2017.

Rutgers Rising
For only the sixth time in program history, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will be represented in the NCAA semis as sophomore star Nick Suriano advanced at 125 pounds with an 8-0 shutout over Virginia’s Louis Hayes in the quarters.

Previous semifinalists from Rutgers include Anthony Ashnault a 141 in 2016 and 2017, Mike Leta at 130 in 1960, George Mulligan at 147 at 1955 and Emil Perona at 157 in 1952.

Fourth Time is a Charm
Four-time NCAA qualifiers Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech and Domenic Abounader of Michigan secured All-American honors for the first time after winning their quarters.

Zavatsky defeated another four-time qualifier who has yet earned All-American status, Ryan Preisch of Lehigh, in sudden victory, 3-1.

Abounader took out past All-American Pete Renda of NC State, 11-9, to guarantee himself a top-eight finish this year.

Bo Knows How to Beat a Dean
Penn State junior and 2017 NCAA champion Bo Nickal defeated Max Dean in the 184-pound quarterfinals on Friday morning, 13-7. It was the second time the Nittany had emerged victorious against the Dean family. Last year, Nickal won his first NCAA title, taking out Max's older brother and two-time national champ Gabe Dean in a 4-3 thriller in the finals.