Ohio State, with six semifinalists, lead Penn State, with five in semifinals, after wild NCAA quarterfinals
Share:
by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State becomes a four-time All-American after his quarterfinal win at 125 pounds. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors.
NCAA Championships video interviews
CLEVELAND, Ohio - At the beginning of the quarterfinals, things looked great for Ohio State in their quest to extend their lead at the NCAA Championships over Penn State and the field. After an up and down round for the Buckeyes, and some challenges for Penn State as well, the team race is still very much in play after Friday morning.
Ohio State led the field with nine quarterfinalists coming in, and finished with six in the semifinals.. Penn State started with seven quarterfinalists and finished with five in the semifinals. The Buckeye lead was 15 points when the quarterfinals ended. After the consolation round which followed the quarterfinals, the lead was 13.5 points, with Ohio State at 80.5 points and Penn State at 67 points.
Moving on to the semifinals for the Buckeyes are No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (125), No. 3 Luke Pletcher (133), No. 4 Joey McKenna (141), No. 7 Micah Jordan (157), No. 2 Myles Martin (184) and No. 1 Kyle Snyder (286). With their wins, 2015 NCAA champion Tomasello and Snyder, a two-time NCAA champion, have clinched their fourth career All-American honors.
Dropping quarterfinal bouts for Ohio State were No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes (149), No. 6 Bo Jordan (174) and No. 1 Kollin Moore (197). Moore was locked up, thrown and pinned by unseeded Kyle Conel of Kent State, while Hayes and Jordan lost to higher seeded wrestlers.
“That was a tough round, emotional round. Along with being in a position to win a team title, you have a lot of individuals in your program that set these lofty goals and work hard towards them and when you get those dreams taken in an instant, it’s challenging in the organization. We need to have the ability to blank what happened in the past and move forward. This is when we talk about having a team that cares and loves each other. I told them you have an hour to feel sorry, then get your emotions under control and get ready for the next match. I talked to Bo about his leadership, can’t talk about it and not live it. Leadership is you’re going to get knocked down, you got knocked down, get back up and get the job done," said Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan.
McKenna, who transferred from Stanford and is taking a shot at his first individual national title, is excited to also be in a team race.
“After transferring to Ohio State, there is a lot more at stake than my individual performance. My performance has direct implication on the team race, which actually makes me more excited to compete. I was telling the guys on the team that I’m excited to out and compete because not only am I competing for a national title myself, but what I do on the mat portrays directly to how we’re going to do as a team. I’m trying to make it more about a performance than a competition. Competition is about wins and losses, performance is about having fun," McKenna said.
Penn State moved their five 2017 NCAA champions on to the semifinals, No. 1 Zain Retherford (149), No. 3 Jason Nolf (157), No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (165), No. 2 Mark Hall (174) and No. 1 Bo Nickal (184). Retherford, a two-time NCAA champion and 2017 Hodge Trophy winner, also clinched a fourth All-American berth.
The Nittany Lions lost their last two semifinal matches, as No. 5 Shakur Rasheed (197) and No. 3 Nick Nevills (285) lost close decisions. Nevills lost to a lower seed, No. 6 seed and past Junior World silver medalist Amar Dhesi of Oregon State.
There will be just one Ohio State vs. Penn State semifinal on Friday night, as Nolf will battle Micah Jordan in the 157 pound finals. They did not wrestle in the dual meet, as Nolf had been injured the week before, and also not at the Big Tens, when Nolf pulled out after two wins.
The team race has a new third-place team in Michigan, which moved five guys into the semifinals after an inspiring round, finishing with 59.5 points. The semifinalists for the Wolverines are No. 2 Stevan Micic (133), No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (157), No. 5 Myles Amine (174), No. 5 Domenic Abounader (184) and No. 2 Adam Coon (285). Amine and Abounader beat rivals who were seeded No. 4, beating the predictions.
Rounding out the top five were Iowa with 53.5 points, with two semifinalists, and NC State with 44 points and three semifinalists.
Every quarterfinal winner has guaranteed that they will be an All-American. For many wrestling fans, this is a favorite session, where the individual athletes let it all loose and the result is usually outstanding action and drama.
While the team race is ever-present, this is a true showcase of individual talent. The big news of the quarterfinals were the unseeded semifinalists, Conel and Tariq Wilson of NC State at 133 pounds.
Conel skipped a season of wrestling, and decided to give the sport another try this year. His victory was the big story of the quarterfinal round.
“I’m been visualizing this for the past few days, just pinning him. No joke, I couldn’t sleep. When I locked it up I felt, it I threw it. I was not letting go of it because I wanted that pin! I just did what I had to do, took care of business, took care of it fast,” said Conel.
This is a big change from when he was not on the mat and didn’t even think about winning wrestling matches.
“I did not have any involvement in wrestling in at all. I did not watch wrestling, I didn’t think about wrestling and I had zero intention of coming back. It was around August that I decided. I was terribly out of shape. I just want to do the best that I can for Kent State and I feel like I’m doing it right now,” he said.
Wilson shocked No. 4 Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State, 13-5, reversing a technical fall loss to the Cowboy in a January dual meet.
“I knew if I got on top I could definitely ride him. That’s what I planned to do from the start of the tournament until the end, get riding, build the lead. That was the game plan. (In their previously match,) he hit me with a cradle and I never forgot about that, Coach Pat, after I lost, told me ‘You’re going to get him back at NCAA’s’ and that’s what I did. This is my turn now,” said Wilson.
Here is a quick weight by weight review of how the quarterfinals progressed.
At 125 pounds, the top four seeds powered through. Freshman No. 3 seed Spencer Lee of Iowa ran up a big lead before pinning No. 6 Nicholas Piccininni of Oklahoma State in 3:58. 2015 NCAA champion and No. 2 seed Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State scored first and often to get a major decision over freshman No. 7 Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley, 12-4. Another major decision went to No. 4 Nick Suriano of Rutgers, the transfer from Penn State, who shut out No. 12 Louie Hayes of Virginia, 8-0. Continuing his pattern of close matches in this tournament, 2017 NCAA champion Darian Cruz of Lehigh used an escape and riding time to beat No. 9 Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State, 2-0.
At 133 pounds, one of the big upsets of the session occurred unseeded Tariq Wilson of NC State came out with dominance, scoring a 13-5 major decision over No. 4 seed and returning All-American Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State. Up 8-3 after the first period, Wilson kept up the pressure the rest of the way with additional scores. He avenged a technical fall loss to Brock in a dual meet in Italy in January.
The other three high seeds at 133 advanced. No. 2 seed and past Junior World bronze medalist Stevan Micic of Michigan scored a first-period takedown, followed quickly by a four-point turn, ultimately getting a 13-1 major decision over freshman No. 7 Austin DeSanto of Drexel. Top seed and 2017 NCAA runner-up Seth Gross of South Dakota State was too much for No. 8 Montorie Bridges of Wyoming, 6-3. The local fans got pumped up when No. 3 Luke Pletcher of Ohio State controlled the action to beat No. 6 Scott Parker of Lehigh, 3-1
The top four seeds held at 141, but not without some excitement. The crowd enjoyed the comeback win by No. 3 seed and freshman sensation Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell, who edged two-time NCAA champion and No. 6 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State, 6-5. Heil scored the first takedown and led 4-2, when the two-time Cadet World champion Diakomihalis made his charge, scoring the winning takedown with 29 seconds to go.
There were two first-period pins at 141, as No. 1 Bryce Meredith of Wyoming put away unseeded Sa`Derian Perry of Eastern Michigan in 1:39 and No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Missouri planted No. 7 Brock Zacherl of Clarion in 2:04. No. 4 Joey McKenna of Ohio State continued to dominate, with an 8-3 win over No. 12 Tyler Smith of Bucknell. After McKenna’s win, the Buckeyes held a 22 points ahead of Iowa in the team race.
At 149, two winners who advanced were not seeded in the top 10 of the weight. No. 15 Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven continued his torrid wrestling, defeating No. 10 seed and 2014 NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis of Arizona State, 7-4. This made Tsirtsis the first of 12 past national champions to lose. In the same half bracket, No. 11 Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton edged No. 3 Grant Leeth of Missouri, 4-3. Perry and Kolodzic will meet in the semifinals, guaranteeing a low seed in the finals at this weight class.
Two-time NCAA champion and now four-time All-American Zain Retherford of Penn State ripped into No. 8 Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State, almost scoring falls a number of times and finishing off a 20-2 technical fall. Ohio State lost its first quarterfinal match, when No. 4 Troy Heilmann of North Carolina edged No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State, 2-1 in tiebreaker one. Heilman got an escape, and Hayes got close to a reversal, but a video review confirmed that he did not score in that position.
There were no upsets at 157 pounds, but Ohio State increased its lead with more bonus points, as No. 7 Micah Jordan of Ohio State was tough with turns in beating No. 15 John Van Brill of Rutgers, 17-5. Penn State’s 2017 NCAA champion and No. 3 seed Jason Nolf of Penn State beat another Pennsylvania native No. 6 Michael Kemerer of Iowa, 6-2, showing his return from injury was still going strong. Undefeated freshman No. 1 seed Hayden Hidlay of NC State got past No. 8 Tyler Berger of Nebraska, 3-2. Keeping Michigan in the team race conversation was No. 5 Alec Pantaleo, with an 8-5 win over No. 13 Luke Zilverberg of South Dakota State.
The 165 quarters saw a great battle between No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State, who edged No. 6 Isaiah White of Nebraska, 4-2 in sudden victory overtime, when Joseph scored an emphatic takedown for the win. In wide open match, No. 5 Alex Marinelli of Iowa edged No. 4 Chad Walsh of Rider, 7-6. A late Marinelli takedown sealed the deal. No. 1 seed and two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois became a four-time All-American with a 10-1 major decision over Lock Haven’s No. 9 Chance Marsteller. The No. 2 seed David McFadden of Virginia Tech continued an undefeated season with 3-1 win over No. 10 Evan Wick of Wisconsin.
No. 1 seed Zahid Valencia of Arizona State got it done quickly at 174 pounds, taking down and pinning No. 8 Jadean Bernstein of Navy in 38 seconds. Michigan got a nice boost when No. 5 Myles Amine was able to edge No. 4 seed Jordan Kutler of Lehigh, 3-2. Returning champion and No. 2 seed Mark Hall of Penn State scored quickly and controlled the bout in a 6-2 win over No. 7 Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa. Scoring a takedown at the end of the second period, No. 3 Daniel Lewis of Missouri beat three-time All-American and No. 6 seed Bo Jordan of Ohio State, 3-1.
The longest and most dramatic win at 184 came, when No. 5 Domenic Abounader of Michigan went to a second overtime tiebreaker to beat No. 4 Pete Renda, 11-9. The match was tied at 8-8 in regulation, when Abounader was hit for a locked hands penalty. In the second tiebreaker, Abounader rode out Renda, got an escape and added a penalty point for the win.
The top two seeds won their matches, while pushed by their opponents. 2017 NCAA champion and No. 1 seed Bo Nickal of Penn State got ahead early, and held off a rally by No. 9 Max Dean of Cornell, 13-7. No. 2 seed and 2016 NCAA champion Myles Martin finished off a 10-6 win over unseeded Chip Ness of North Carolina. In an overtime battle, No. 6 Zach Zavatsky of Virginia Tech scored a takedown on a scramble in sudden victory to beat No. 3 Ryan Preisch of Lehigh, 3-1.
The crowd was shocked during the 197 semifinal final round when Conel came out, sunk in double underhooks, threw and pinned Moore in a battle of Ohio colleges. The other three top seeds won close battles. No. 2 Ben Darmstadt of Cornell beat conference rival and unseeded Chris Weiler of Lehigh, 5-4. No. 3 seed Jared Haught of Virginia Tech outlasted No. 6 Willie Miklus of Missouri, 3-1. No. 4 Michael Macchiavello of NC State scored late to beat No. 5 Shakur Rasheed of Penn State, 5-4.
At heavyweight, a third period takedown gave No. 6 seed and past Junior World silver medalist Amar Dhesi of Oregon State a 4-2 win over No. 3 Nick Nevills of Penn State. Olympic champion and two-time NCAA champion Kyle Snyder, the top seed, was tied up 3-3 against No. 9 Derek White of Oklahoma State, but a low single leg late in the match closed out a 6-3 win. In a battle of past Junior World bronze medalists for the USA, moving on was No. 2 seed and past NCAA runner-up Adam Coon of Michigan, who beat No. 7 Nathan Butler of Stanford, 7-0. Reaching the semifinals for the second time in his career was No. 4 Jacob Kasper of Duke, who stopped No. 12 Youssif Hemida of Maryland, 7-2.
The semifinals begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time at the Quicken Loans Arena.
NCAA DIV. I CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Cleveland, Ohio
Semifinal pairings
125 pounds
No. 1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers)
No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs. No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa)
133 pounds
No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. unseeded Tariq Wilson (NC State)
No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
141
No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) vs. No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State)
No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) vs. No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell)
149
No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Troy Heilmann (North Carolina)
No. 11 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) vs. No. 15 Ronnie Perry (Lock Haven)
157
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) vs. No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan)
No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
165
No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. No. 5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
No. 2 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State)
174
No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) vs. No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan)
No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri)
184
No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Domenic Abounader (Michigan)
No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. No. 6 Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech)
197
No. 4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) vs. unseeded Kyle Conel (Kent State)
No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) vs. No. 3 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech)
285
No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Jacob Kasper (Duke)
No. 2 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. No. 6 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State)
Team Scores
1 Ohio State 80.5
2 Penn State 67.0
3 Michigan 59.5
4 Iowa 53.5
5 NC State 44.0
6 Missouri 41.0
7 Virginia Tech 35.5
8 Cornell 30.0
9 Rutgers 28.5
10 Arizona State 23.0
10 Lehigh 23.0
12 South Dakota State 21.0
13 Illinois 19.0
13 North Carolina 19.0
15 Lock Haven
Quarterfinal results
125 pounds
No. 1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), 2-0
No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) maj. dec. No. 12 Louie Hayes (Virginia), 8-0
No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pin No. 6 Nicholas Piccininni (Oklahoma State), 3:58
No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), 12-4
133 pounds
No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. No. 8 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 6-3
Unseeded Tariq Wilson (NC State) maj. dec. No. 4 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State), 13-5
No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. No. 6 Scott Parker (Lehigh), 3-1
No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) maj. dec. No. 7 Austin DeSanto (Drexel), 13-1
141
No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) pin unseeded Sa`Derian Perry (Eastern Michigan), 1:39
No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. No. 12 Tyler Smith (Bucknell), 8-3
No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. No. 6 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 6-5
No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) pin No. 7 Brock Zacherl (Clarion), 2:04
149
No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) tech. fall No. 8 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State), 20-2
No. 4 Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) dec. No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State), 2-1 tb 1
No. 11 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) dec.No. 3 Grant Leeth (Missouri), 4-3
No. 15 Ronald Perry (Lock Haven) dec. No. 10 Jason Tsirtsis (Arizona State), 7-4
157
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. No. 8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) , 3-2
No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. No. 13 Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State), 8-5
No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 6-2
No. 7 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 15 John Van Brill (Rutgers), 17-5
165
No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. No. 9 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven), 10-1
No. 5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. No. 4 Chad Walsh (Rider), 7-6
No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. No. 11 Isaiah White (Nebraska), 4-2, sv 2
No. 2 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 10 Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 3-1
174
No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) pin No. 8 Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), 0:38
No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh), 3-2
No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) vs. No. 6 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 3-1
No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa), 6-2
184
No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. No. 9 Maxwell Dean (Cornell), 13-7
No. 5 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Pete Renda (NC State), 11-9, tb2
No. 6 Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 3 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), 3-1, sv 1
No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. unseeded Chip Ness (North Carolina), 10-6
197
Unseeded Kyle Conel (Kent State) pin No. 1 Kollin Moore (Ohio State), 1:30
No. 4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) vs. No. 5 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State), 5-4
No. 3 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 6 Willie Miklus (Missouri), 3-1
No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) vs. unseeded Chris Weiler (Lehigh), 5-4
285
No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Derek White (Oklahoma State), 6-3
No. 4 Jacob Kasper (Duke) dec. No. 12 Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 7-2
No. 6 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) dec. No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State), 4-2
No. 2 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. No. 7 Nathan Butler (Stanford), 7-0
NCAA Championships video interviews
CLEVELAND, Ohio - At the beginning of the quarterfinals, things looked great for Ohio State in their quest to extend their lead at the NCAA Championships over Penn State and the field. After an up and down round for the Buckeyes, and some challenges for Penn State as well, the team race is still very much in play after Friday morning.
Ohio State led the field with nine quarterfinalists coming in, and finished with six in the semifinals.. Penn State started with seven quarterfinalists and finished with five in the semifinals. The Buckeye lead was 15 points when the quarterfinals ended. After the consolation round which followed the quarterfinals, the lead was 13.5 points, with Ohio State at 80.5 points and Penn State at 67 points.
Moving on to the semifinals for the Buckeyes are No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (125), No. 3 Luke Pletcher (133), No. 4 Joey McKenna (141), No. 7 Micah Jordan (157), No. 2 Myles Martin (184) and No. 1 Kyle Snyder (286). With their wins, 2015 NCAA champion Tomasello and Snyder, a two-time NCAA champion, have clinched their fourth career All-American honors.
Dropping quarterfinal bouts for Ohio State were No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes (149), No. 6 Bo Jordan (174) and No. 1 Kollin Moore (197). Moore was locked up, thrown and pinned by unseeded Kyle Conel of Kent State, while Hayes and Jordan lost to higher seeded wrestlers.
“That was a tough round, emotional round. Along with being in a position to win a team title, you have a lot of individuals in your program that set these lofty goals and work hard towards them and when you get those dreams taken in an instant, it’s challenging in the organization. We need to have the ability to blank what happened in the past and move forward. This is when we talk about having a team that cares and loves each other. I told them you have an hour to feel sorry, then get your emotions under control and get ready for the next match. I talked to Bo about his leadership, can’t talk about it and not live it. Leadership is you’re going to get knocked down, you got knocked down, get back up and get the job done," said Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan.
McKenna, who transferred from Stanford and is taking a shot at his first individual national title, is excited to also be in a team race.
“After transferring to Ohio State, there is a lot more at stake than my individual performance. My performance has direct implication on the team race, which actually makes me more excited to compete. I was telling the guys on the team that I’m excited to out and compete because not only am I competing for a national title myself, but what I do on the mat portrays directly to how we’re going to do as a team. I’m trying to make it more about a performance than a competition. Competition is about wins and losses, performance is about having fun," McKenna said.
Penn State moved their five 2017 NCAA champions on to the semifinals, No. 1 Zain Retherford (149), No. 3 Jason Nolf (157), No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (165), No. 2 Mark Hall (174) and No. 1 Bo Nickal (184). Retherford, a two-time NCAA champion and 2017 Hodge Trophy winner, also clinched a fourth All-American berth.
The Nittany Lions lost their last two semifinal matches, as No. 5 Shakur Rasheed (197) and No. 3 Nick Nevills (285) lost close decisions. Nevills lost to a lower seed, No. 6 seed and past Junior World silver medalist Amar Dhesi of Oregon State.
There will be just one Ohio State vs. Penn State semifinal on Friday night, as Nolf will battle Micah Jordan in the 157 pound finals. They did not wrestle in the dual meet, as Nolf had been injured the week before, and also not at the Big Tens, when Nolf pulled out after two wins.
The team race has a new third-place team in Michigan, which moved five guys into the semifinals after an inspiring round, finishing with 59.5 points. The semifinalists for the Wolverines are No. 2 Stevan Micic (133), No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (157), No. 5 Myles Amine (174), No. 5 Domenic Abounader (184) and No. 2 Adam Coon (285). Amine and Abounader beat rivals who were seeded No. 4, beating the predictions.
Rounding out the top five were Iowa with 53.5 points, with two semifinalists, and NC State with 44 points and three semifinalists.
Every quarterfinal winner has guaranteed that they will be an All-American. For many wrestling fans, this is a favorite session, where the individual athletes let it all loose and the result is usually outstanding action and drama.
While the team race is ever-present, this is a true showcase of individual talent. The big news of the quarterfinals were the unseeded semifinalists, Conel and Tariq Wilson of NC State at 133 pounds.
Conel skipped a season of wrestling, and decided to give the sport another try this year. His victory was the big story of the quarterfinal round.
“I’m been visualizing this for the past few days, just pinning him. No joke, I couldn’t sleep. When I locked it up I felt, it I threw it. I was not letting go of it because I wanted that pin! I just did what I had to do, took care of business, took care of it fast,” said Conel.
This is a big change from when he was not on the mat and didn’t even think about winning wrestling matches.
“I did not have any involvement in wrestling in at all. I did not watch wrestling, I didn’t think about wrestling and I had zero intention of coming back. It was around August that I decided. I was terribly out of shape. I just want to do the best that I can for Kent State and I feel like I’m doing it right now,” he said.
Wilson shocked No. 4 Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State, 13-5, reversing a technical fall loss to the Cowboy in a January dual meet.
“I knew if I got on top I could definitely ride him. That’s what I planned to do from the start of the tournament until the end, get riding, build the lead. That was the game plan. (In their previously match,) he hit me with a cradle and I never forgot about that, Coach Pat, after I lost, told me ‘You’re going to get him back at NCAA’s’ and that’s what I did. This is my turn now,” said Wilson.
Here is a quick weight by weight review of how the quarterfinals progressed.
At 125 pounds, the top four seeds powered through. Freshman No. 3 seed Spencer Lee of Iowa ran up a big lead before pinning No. 6 Nicholas Piccininni of Oklahoma State in 3:58. 2015 NCAA champion and No. 2 seed Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State scored first and often to get a major decision over freshman No. 7 Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley, 12-4. Another major decision went to No. 4 Nick Suriano of Rutgers, the transfer from Penn State, who shut out No. 12 Louie Hayes of Virginia, 8-0. Continuing his pattern of close matches in this tournament, 2017 NCAA champion Darian Cruz of Lehigh used an escape and riding time to beat No. 9 Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State, 2-0.
At 133 pounds, one of the big upsets of the session occurred unseeded Tariq Wilson of NC State came out with dominance, scoring a 13-5 major decision over No. 4 seed and returning All-American Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State. Up 8-3 after the first period, Wilson kept up the pressure the rest of the way with additional scores. He avenged a technical fall loss to Brock in a dual meet in Italy in January.
The other three high seeds at 133 advanced. No. 2 seed and past Junior World bronze medalist Stevan Micic of Michigan scored a first-period takedown, followed quickly by a four-point turn, ultimately getting a 13-1 major decision over freshman No. 7 Austin DeSanto of Drexel. Top seed and 2017 NCAA runner-up Seth Gross of South Dakota State was too much for No. 8 Montorie Bridges of Wyoming, 6-3. The local fans got pumped up when No. 3 Luke Pletcher of Ohio State controlled the action to beat No. 6 Scott Parker of Lehigh, 3-1
The top four seeds held at 141, but not without some excitement. The crowd enjoyed the comeback win by No. 3 seed and freshman sensation Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell, who edged two-time NCAA champion and No. 6 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State, 6-5. Heil scored the first takedown and led 4-2, when the two-time Cadet World champion Diakomihalis made his charge, scoring the winning takedown with 29 seconds to go.
There were two first-period pins at 141, as No. 1 Bryce Meredith of Wyoming put away unseeded Sa`Derian Perry of Eastern Michigan in 1:39 and No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Missouri planted No. 7 Brock Zacherl of Clarion in 2:04. No. 4 Joey McKenna of Ohio State continued to dominate, with an 8-3 win over No. 12 Tyler Smith of Bucknell. After McKenna’s win, the Buckeyes held a 22 points ahead of Iowa in the team race.
At 149, two winners who advanced were not seeded in the top 10 of the weight. No. 15 Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven continued his torrid wrestling, defeating No. 10 seed and 2014 NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis of Arizona State, 7-4. This made Tsirtsis the first of 12 past national champions to lose. In the same half bracket, No. 11 Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton edged No. 3 Grant Leeth of Missouri, 4-3. Perry and Kolodzic will meet in the semifinals, guaranteeing a low seed in the finals at this weight class.
Two-time NCAA champion and now four-time All-American Zain Retherford of Penn State ripped into No. 8 Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State, almost scoring falls a number of times and finishing off a 20-2 technical fall. Ohio State lost its first quarterfinal match, when No. 4 Troy Heilmann of North Carolina edged No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State, 2-1 in tiebreaker one. Heilman got an escape, and Hayes got close to a reversal, but a video review confirmed that he did not score in that position.
There were no upsets at 157 pounds, but Ohio State increased its lead with more bonus points, as No. 7 Micah Jordan of Ohio State was tough with turns in beating No. 15 John Van Brill of Rutgers, 17-5. Penn State’s 2017 NCAA champion and No. 3 seed Jason Nolf of Penn State beat another Pennsylvania native No. 6 Michael Kemerer of Iowa, 6-2, showing his return from injury was still going strong. Undefeated freshman No. 1 seed Hayden Hidlay of NC State got past No. 8 Tyler Berger of Nebraska, 3-2. Keeping Michigan in the team race conversation was No. 5 Alec Pantaleo, with an 8-5 win over No. 13 Luke Zilverberg of South Dakota State.
The 165 quarters saw a great battle between No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State, who edged No. 6 Isaiah White of Nebraska, 4-2 in sudden victory overtime, when Joseph scored an emphatic takedown for the win. In wide open match, No. 5 Alex Marinelli of Iowa edged No. 4 Chad Walsh of Rider, 7-6. A late Marinelli takedown sealed the deal. No. 1 seed and two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois became a four-time All-American with a 10-1 major decision over Lock Haven’s No. 9 Chance Marsteller. The No. 2 seed David McFadden of Virginia Tech continued an undefeated season with 3-1 win over No. 10 Evan Wick of Wisconsin.
No. 1 seed Zahid Valencia of Arizona State got it done quickly at 174 pounds, taking down and pinning No. 8 Jadean Bernstein of Navy in 38 seconds. Michigan got a nice boost when No. 5 Myles Amine was able to edge No. 4 seed Jordan Kutler of Lehigh, 3-2. Returning champion and No. 2 seed Mark Hall of Penn State scored quickly and controlled the bout in a 6-2 win over No. 7 Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa. Scoring a takedown at the end of the second period, No. 3 Daniel Lewis of Missouri beat three-time All-American and No. 6 seed Bo Jordan of Ohio State, 3-1.
The longest and most dramatic win at 184 came, when No. 5 Domenic Abounader of Michigan went to a second overtime tiebreaker to beat No. 4 Pete Renda, 11-9. The match was tied at 8-8 in regulation, when Abounader was hit for a locked hands penalty. In the second tiebreaker, Abounader rode out Renda, got an escape and added a penalty point for the win.
The top two seeds won their matches, while pushed by their opponents. 2017 NCAA champion and No. 1 seed Bo Nickal of Penn State got ahead early, and held off a rally by No. 9 Max Dean of Cornell, 13-7. No. 2 seed and 2016 NCAA champion Myles Martin finished off a 10-6 win over unseeded Chip Ness of North Carolina. In an overtime battle, No. 6 Zach Zavatsky of Virginia Tech scored a takedown on a scramble in sudden victory to beat No. 3 Ryan Preisch of Lehigh, 3-1.
The crowd was shocked during the 197 semifinal final round when Conel came out, sunk in double underhooks, threw and pinned Moore in a battle of Ohio colleges. The other three top seeds won close battles. No. 2 Ben Darmstadt of Cornell beat conference rival and unseeded Chris Weiler of Lehigh, 5-4. No. 3 seed Jared Haught of Virginia Tech outlasted No. 6 Willie Miklus of Missouri, 3-1. No. 4 Michael Macchiavello of NC State scored late to beat No. 5 Shakur Rasheed of Penn State, 5-4.
At heavyweight, a third period takedown gave No. 6 seed and past Junior World silver medalist Amar Dhesi of Oregon State a 4-2 win over No. 3 Nick Nevills of Penn State. Olympic champion and two-time NCAA champion Kyle Snyder, the top seed, was tied up 3-3 against No. 9 Derek White of Oklahoma State, but a low single leg late in the match closed out a 6-3 win. In a battle of past Junior World bronze medalists for the USA, moving on was No. 2 seed and past NCAA runner-up Adam Coon of Michigan, who beat No. 7 Nathan Butler of Stanford, 7-0. Reaching the semifinals for the second time in his career was No. 4 Jacob Kasper of Duke, who stopped No. 12 Youssif Hemida of Maryland, 7-2.
The semifinals begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time at the Quicken Loans Arena.
NCAA DIV. I CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Cleveland, Ohio
Semifinal pairings
125 pounds
No. 1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers)
No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs. No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa)
133 pounds
No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. unseeded Tariq Wilson (NC State)
No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
141
No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) vs. No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State)
No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) vs. No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell)
149
No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Troy Heilmann (North Carolina)
No. 11 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) vs. No. 15 Ronnie Perry (Lock Haven)
157
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) vs. No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan)
No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
165
No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. No. 5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
No. 2 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State)
174
No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) vs. No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan)
No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri)
184
No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Domenic Abounader (Michigan)
No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. No. 6 Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech)
197
No. 4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) vs. unseeded Kyle Conel (Kent State)
No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) vs. No. 3 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech)
285
No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Jacob Kasper (Duke)
No. 2 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. No. 6 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State)
Team Scores
1 Ohio State 80.5
2 Penn State 67.0
3 Michigan 59.5
4 Iowa 53.5
5 NC State 44.0
6 Missouri 41.0
7 Virginia Tech 35.5
8 Cornell 30.0
9 Rutgers 28.5
10 Arizona State 23.0
10 Lehigh 23.0
12 South Dakota State 21.0
13 Illinois 19.0
13 North Carolina 19.0
15 Lock Haven
Quarterfinal results
125 pounds
No. 1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), 2-0
No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) maj. dec. No. 12 Louie Hayes (Virginia), 8-0
No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pin No. 6 Nicholas Piccininni (Oklahoma State), 3:58
No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), 12-4
133 pounds
No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. No. 8 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 6-3
Unseeded Tariq Wilson (NC State) maj. dec. No. 4 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State), 13-5
No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. No. 6 Scott Parker (Lehigh), 3-1
No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) maj. dec. No. 7 Austin DeSanto (Drexel), 13-1
141
No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) pin unseeded Sa`Derian Perry (Eastern Michigan), 1:39
No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. No. 12 Tyler Smith (Bucknell), 8-3
No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. No. 6 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 6-5
No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) pin No. 7 Brock Zacherl (Clarion), 2:04
149
No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) tech. fall No. 8 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State), 20-2
No. 4 Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) dec. No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State), 2-1 tb 1
No. 11 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) dec.No. 3 Grant Leeth (Missouri), 4-3
No. 15 Ronald Perry (Lock Haven) dec. No. 10 Jason Tsirtsis (Arizona State), 7-4
157
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. No. 8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) , 3-2
No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. No. 13 Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State), 8-5
No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 6-2
No. 7 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 15 John Van Brill (Rutgers), 17-5
165
No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. No. 9 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven), 10-1
No. 5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. No. 4 Chad Walsh (Rider), 7-6
No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. No. 11 Isaiah White (Nebraska), 4-2, sv 2
No. 2 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 10 Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 3-1
174
No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) pin No. 8 Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), 0:38
No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh), 3-2
No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) vs. No. 6 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 3-1
No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa), 6-2
184
No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. No. 9 Maxwell Dean (Cornell), 13-7
No. 5 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Pete Renda (NC State), 11-9, tb2
No. 6 Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 3 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), 3-1, sv 1
No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. unseeded Chip Ness (North Carolina), 10-6
197
Unseeded Kyle Conel (Kent State) pin No. 1 Kollin Moore (Ohio State), 1:30
No. 4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) vs. No. 5 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State), 5-4
No. 3 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 6 Willie Miklus (Missouri), 3-1
No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) vs. unseeded Chris Weiler (Lehigh), 5-4
285
No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Derek White (Oklahoma State), 6-3
No. 4 Jacob Kasper (Duke) dec. No. 12 Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 7-2
No. 6 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) dec. No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State), 4-2
No. 2 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. No. 7 Nathan Butler (Stanford), 7-0
Read More#
FINAL DAY: Elections to be held for USA Wrestling Standing Committees Positions; Nomination...
USA qualifies at five weight classes for 2023 ANOC World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia, August 10-11
National Team True Third Place Match results, prior to Final X
Final X Greco-Roman preview: Schultz vs. Coon, Roberts vs. Hafizov among many great battles in Newark
