Penn State has big lead with Minnesota in second after first session of Big Ten Championships
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by Richard Immel, Special to TheMat.com
Photo: Minnesota freshman Gable Steveson powers through Christian Colucci of Rutgers in the opening round of the Big Ten Championships. Photo by Richard Immel.
MINNEAPOLIS – As many expected, reigning NCAA champion Penn State is out in front by a wide margin after the first session of the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Eight-of-ten Nittany Lions qualified for Saturday night’s semifinal round, including their quartet of individual NCAA champs.
The surprising story of the tournament so far is the performance of Minnesota, who currently sits in second place overall. The hometown Golden Gopher fans showed up in force to sell out Williams Arena, and saw its team place five wrestlers in the semifinals.
Undefeated true freshman Gable Steveson continued to prove his place atop the 285-pound charts with two masterful wins on the day. He posted a 21-6 technical fall over Rutgers’ brute Christian Colucci, and followed with a powerful 5-3 ousting of Iowa All-American Sam Stoll.
Minnesota pulled off two mild upsets in the quarterfinals, both requiring overtime. Devin Skatzka pinned Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola in a wild overtime bout at 174 pounds. Similarly, Steve Bleise gutted out a 7-5 decision over Northwestern stud Ryan Deakin at 157 pounds.
Top seed Michael Carr of Illinois was stymied by the counter attacks Nebraska All-American Chad Red in the 141-pound quarterfinals. Red shifted gears from his regular season form to defeat Carr convincingly, 8-4. Carr is the lone No. 1 seed to fall thus far in Minneapolis.
A filthy four-point takedown helped propel Buckeye Luke Pletcher to an 8-5 win over Penn State freshman Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds. It was a reversal of fortune for Pletcher who was defeated by Bravo-Young during the regular season.
Overall, nine wrestlers outside the top four seeds qualified for the semifinals. Red was the lowest seed to advance on the championship side at No. 8. Additionally, No. 6 seeds Brady Berge of Penn State, Conan Jennings of Northwestern and Bleise advanced in their respective brackets.
Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska joined Penn State and Minnesota in the top five of the team standings after the first session.
Session III of the Big Ten Championships will feature the championship semifinals and two rounds of consolation matches. The action can be viewed live online on either BTN2GO.com or Flowrestling.com. Updated brackets can be found on Trackwrestling.com.
2019 Big Ten Championships
At Minneapolis, Minn., March 9-10
Team Standings
1. Penn State 77
2. Minnesota 54
3. Ohio State 53.5
4. Michigan 45
4. Nebraska 45
6. Iowa 41
7. Wisconsin 31.5
8. Rutgers 23.5
9. Northwestern 20
10. Michigan State 17
11. Purdue 16.5
12. Illinois 16
13. Indiana 9
14. Maryland 1.5
Semifinal Matchups
125 pounds
Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. RayVon Foley (Michigan State)
Sean Russell (Minnesota) vs. Spencer Lee (Iowa)
133 pounds
Stevan Micic (Michigan) vs. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
Nick Suriano (Rutgers) vs. Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
141 pounds
Chad Red (Nebraska) vs. Kanen Storr (Michigan)
Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. Nick Lee (Penn State)
149 pounds
Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. Thomas Thorn (Minnesota)
Brady Berge (Penn State) vs. Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
157 pounds
Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. Alec Pantaleo (Michigan)
Steve Bleise (Minnesota) vs. Tyler Berger (Nebraska)
165 pounds
Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. Logan Massa (Michigan)
Evan Wick (Wisconsin) vs. Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
174 pounds
Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. Devin Skatzka (Minnesota)
Dylan Lydy (Purdue) vs. Myles Amine (Michigan)
184 pounds
Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. Emery Parker (Illinois)
Tyler Venz (Nebraska) vs. Skakur Rasheed (Penn State)
197 pounds
Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. Eric Schultz (Nebraska)
Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. Kollin Moore (Ohio State)
285 pounds
Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. Trent Hilger (Wisconsin)
Conan Jennings (Northwestern) vs. Anthony Cassar (Penn State)
Quarterfinal Results
125 pounds
Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) tech. fall Devin Schroder (Purdue), 20-4
RayVon Foley (Michigan State) dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 7-3
Sean Russell (Minnesota) maj. dec. Drew Mattin (Michigan), 10-1
Spencer Lee (Iowa) fall Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 1:37
133 pounds
Stevan Micic (Michigan) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 9-4
Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), 8-5
Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 9-2
Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. Ben Thornton (Purdue), 9-3
141 pounds
Chad Red (Nebraska) dec. Michael Carr (Illinois), 8-4
Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 2-1
Joey McKenna (Ohio State) maj. dec. Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 8-0
Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. Max Murin (Iowa), 8-3
149 pounds
Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. Malik Amine (Michigan), 6-3
Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) dec. Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 7-5
Brady Berge (Penn State) dec. Pat Lugo (Iowa), 4-2 SV2
Micah Jordan (Ohio State) fall Shayne Oster (Northwestern), 1:32
157 pounds
Jason Nolf (Penn State) fall Eric Barone (Illinois), 2:14
Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa), 3-2
Steve Bleise (Minnesota) dec. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 7-5 TB1
Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 11-5
165 pounds
Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) tech. fall Joseph Gunther (Illinois), 21-6
Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Isaiah White (Nebraska), 8-6
Evan Wick (Wisconsin) dec. Bryce Martin (Indiana), 6-1
Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Te`Shan Campbell (Ohio State), 6-3
174 pounds
Mark Hall (Penn State) fall Drew Hughes (Michigan State), 2:39
Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) fall Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 7:22
Dylan Lydy (Purdue) dec. Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 5-1
Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 6-1
184 pounds
Myles Martin (Ohio State) tech. fall Max Lyon (Purdue), 25-10
Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 3-2
Tyler Venz (Nebraska) maj. dec. Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 14-0
Skakur Rasheed (Penn State) fall Cameron Caffey (Michigan State), 5:21
197 pounds
Bo Nickal (Penn State) tech. fall Brad Wilton (Michigan State), 19-4
Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. Christian Brunner (Purdue), 3-2
Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. Beau Breske (Wisconsin), 10-4
Kollin Moore (Ohio State) maj. dec. Dylan Anderson (Minnesota), 12-4
285 pounds
Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec. Sam Stoll (Iowa), 5-3
Trent Hilger (Wisconsin) dec. Chase Singletary (Ohio State), 3-1
Conan Jennings (Northwestern) dec. Mason Parris (Michigan), 9-7
Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec. David Jensen (Nebraska), 8-4
MINNEAPOLIS – As many expected, reigning NCAA champion Penn State is out in front by a wide margin after the first session of the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Eight-of-ten Nittany Lions qualified for Saturday night’s semifinal round, including their quartet of individual NCAA champs.
The surprising story of the tournament so far is the performance of Minnesota, who currently sits in second place overall. The hometown Golden Gopher fans showed up in force to sell out Williams Arena, and saw its team place five wrestlers in the semifinals.
Undefeated true freshman Gable Steveson continued to prove his place atop the 285-pound charts with two masterful wins on the day. He posted a 21-6 technical fall over Rutgers’ brute Christian Colucci, and followed with a powerful 5-3 ousting of Iowa All-American Sam Stoll.
Minnesota pulled off two mild upsets in the quarterfinals, both requiring overtime. Devin Skatzka pinned Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola in a wild overtime bout at 174 pounds. Similarly, Steve Bleise gutted out a 7-5 decision over Northwestern stud Ryan Deakin at 157 pounds.
Top seed Michael Carr of Illinois was stymied by the counter attacks Nebraska All-American Chad Red in the 141-pound quarterfinals. Red shifted gears from his regular season form to defeat Carr convincingly, 8-4. Carr is the lone No. 1 seed to fall thus far in Minneapolis.
A filthy four-point takedown helped propel Buckeye Luke Pletcher to an 8-5 win over Penn State freshman Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds. It was a reversal of fortune for Pletcher who was defeated by Bravo-Young during the regular season.
Overall, nine wrestlers outside the top four seeds qualified for the semifinals. Red was the lowest seed to advance on the championship side at No. 8. Additionally, No. 6 seeds Brady Berge of Penn State, Conan Jennings of Northwestern and Bleise advanced in their respective brackets.
Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska joined Penn State and Minnesota in the top five of the team standings after the first session.
Session III of the Big Ten Championships will feature the championship semifinals and two rounds of consolation matches. The action can be viewed live online on either BTN2GO.com or Flowrestling.com. Updated brackets can be found on Trackwrestling.com.
2019 Big Ten Championships
At Minneapolis, Minn., March 9-10
Team Standings
1. Penn State 77
2. Minnesota 54
3. Ohio State 53.5
4. Michigan 45
4. Nebraska 45
6. Iowa 41
7. Wisconsin 31.5
8. Rutgers 23.5
9. Northwestern 20
10. Michigan State 17
11. Purdue 16.5
12. Illinois 16
13. Indiana 9
14. Maryland 1.5
Semifinal Matchups
125 pounds
Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. RayVon Foley (Michigan State)
Sean Russell (Minnesota) vs. Spencer Lee (Iowa)
133 pounds
Stevan Micic (Michigan) vs. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
Nick Suriano (Rutgers) vs. Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
141 pounds
Chad Red (Nebraska) vs. Kanen Storr (Michigan)
Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. Nick Lee (Penn State)
149 pounds
Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. Thomas Thorn (Minnesota)
Brady Berge (Penn State) vs. Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
157 pounds
Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. Alec Pantaleo (Michigan)
Steve Bleise (Minnesota) vs. Tyler Berger (Nebraska)
165 pounds
Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. Logan Massa (Michigan)
Evan Wick (Wisconsin) vs. Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
174 pounds
Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. Devin Skatzka (Minnesota)
Dylan Lydy (Purdue) vs. Myles Amine (Michigan)
184 pounds
Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. Emery Parker (Illinois)
Tyler Venz (Nebraska) vs. Skakur Rasheed (Penn State)
197 pounds
Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. Eric Schultz (Nebraska)
Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. Kollin Moore (Ohio State)
285 pounds
Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. Trent Hilger (Wisconsin)
Conan Jennings (Northwestern) vs. Anthony Cassar (Penn State)
Quarterfinal Results
125 pounds
Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) tech. fall Devin Schroder (Purdue), 20-4
RayVon Foley (Michigan State) dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 7-3
Sean Russell (Minnesota) maj. dec. Drew Mattin (Michigan), 10-1
Spencer Lee (Iowa) fall Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 1:37
133 pounds
Stevan Micic (Michigan) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 9-4
Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), 8-5
Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 9-2
Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. Ben Thornton (Purdue), 9-3
141 pounds
Chad Red (Nebraska) dec. Michael Carr (Illinois), 8-4
Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 2-1
Joey McKenna (Ohio State) maj. dec. Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 8-0
Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. Max Murin (Iowa), 8-3
149 pounds
Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. Malik Amine (Michigan), 6-3
Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) dec. Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 7-5
Brady Berge (Penn State) dec. Pat Lugo (Iowa), 4-2 SV2
Micah Jordan (Ohio State) fall Shayne Oster (Northwestern), 1:32
157 pounds
Jason Nolf (Penn State) fall Eric Barone (Illinois), 2:14
Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa), 3-2
Steve Bleise (Minnesota) dec. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 7-5 TB1
Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 11-5
165 pounds
Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) tech. fall Joseph Gunther (Illinois), 21-6
Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Isaiah White (Nebraska), 8-6
Evan Wick (Wisconsin) dec. Bryce Martin (Indiana), 6-1
Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Te`Shan Campbell (Ohio State), 6-3
174 pounds
Mark Hall (Penn State) fall Drew Hughes (Michigan State), 2:39
Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) fall Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 7:22
Dylan Lydy (Purdue) dec. Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 5-1
Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 6-1
184 pounds
Myles Martin (Ohio State) tech. fall Max Lyon (Purdue), 25-10
Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 3-2
Tyler Venz (Nebraska) maj. dec. Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 14-0
Skakur Rasheed (Penn State) fall Cameron Caffey (Michigan State), 5:21
197 pounds
Bo Nickal (Penn State) tech. fall Brad Wilton (Michigan State), 19-4
Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. Christian Brunner (Purdue), 3-2
Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. Beau Breske (Wisconsin), 10-4
Kollin Moore (Ohio State) maj. dec. Dylan Anderson (Minnesota), 12-4
285 pounds
Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec. Sam Stoll (Iowa), 5-3
Trent Hilger (Wisconsin) dec. Chase Singletary (Ohio State), 3-1
Conan Jennings (Northwestern) dec. Mason Parris (Michigan), 9-7
Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec. David Jensen (Nebraska), 8-4
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