Berge beats Young, but Iowa leads Penn State and the field, sending four out of five into quarterfinals after Session 2A at the 2021 NCAA Championships

Feature photo of Penn State's Brady Berge lifting Iowa's Kaleb Young courtesy of Tony Rotundo/Wrestlers are Warriors.

St. Louis, Mo. – The second session reached the halfway point at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, and the quarterfinal matches are set from 125-157 pounds. Iowa still leads the team race with 26 points, putting four of their five wrestlers into the quarterfinals, with five wrestlers still to compete in the round of 16 in Session 2B later this evening. Penn State is in second place with 22 points, followed closely by Missouri with 21 points. Oklahoma State sits in fourth place with 18.5 points.

The lone Hawkeye to falter was No. 5 Kaleb Young at 157 pounds. He dropped a tight, 3-2, match to Penn State’s No. 12 Brady Berge. In the quarterfinals, Berge will take on Rider’s No. 4 Jesse Dellavecchia, a 2020 First-Team All-American who is undefeated this season. Penn State also had No. 2 at 133 pounds Roman Bravo-Young and No. 2 at 141 pounds Nick Lee reach the quarterfinals. Bravo-Young recorded an 11-3 major decision over No. 18 Kyle Burwick of Wisconsin, while Lee defeated No. 15 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State, 14-3. Penn State will have four wrestlers compete in the round of 16 and one in the consolation bracket in Session 2B.

For Iowa, No. 1 Spencer Lee kept rolling at 125 pounds with a 15-5 major decision over Killian Cardinale of West Virginia. Cardinale managed to score two takedowns on Lee and was the first wrestler this season to force him to go the distance in a match. However Lee’s top game, in particularly his vicious arm bar tilts, allowed him to rack up near fall points and claim the comfortable victory. In the quarterfinals, Lee will see No. 9 Devin Schroder of Purdue, who bested 2019 Michigan State All-American Rayvon Foley, 2-1. Lee defeated Schroder by technical fall, 21-3, in the Big Ten finals.

No. 4 Austin DeSanto picked up a first period pin over West Virginia’s Ryan Sullivan at 133 pounds. In the quarterfinals, he’ll face No. 5 Micky Phillippi of Pittsburgh. Top-seeded Jaydin Eierman bested Pittsburgh’s Cole Matthews in his round of 16 match at 141 pounds, 5-3. Tomorrow, he will take on No. 9 Dresden Simon of Central Michigan. Simon defeated two-time NCAA All-American Chad Red of Nebraska, 6-3, in his round of 16 match. At 149 pounds, No. 12 Max Murin knocked off No. 5 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska, 5-3. Lovett upset Murin at the Big Ten Championships, 11-6. Murin’s next opponent is Oklahoma State’s No. 4 Boo Lewallen.

Missouri went 5-0 in the first half of the session, sending three wrestlers to the quarterfinals and earning two wins in the consolation bracket. No. 6 Matt Schmitt, No. 6 Allan Hart and No. 3 Brock Mauller all won their round of 16 matches at 133 pounds, 141 pounds and 149 pounds respectively. Schmitt downed No. 22 Mario Guillen of Ohio by major decision, 9-0, and will face No. 3 Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals. Hart claimed a 4-1 decision over No. 11 Cody Trybus of Navy and will take on No. 3 Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers in tomorrow morning’s session. Mauller earned a 4-2 win over Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus and will see No. 6 seed Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech next.

In the consolation bracket at 125 pounds, Noah Surtin earned a pin over Rider’s Jonathan Tropea. At 157 pounds, No. 7 Jarrett Jacques bounced back from an opening round upset to defeat No. 10 Justin Thomas of Oklahoma, 3-1. Missouri will have four wrestlers compete in the round of 16 and one in the consolation bracket in Session 2B.

At 141 pounds, Stanford’s Real Woods continued his run through the bracket, scoring a last second feet-to-back takedown in sudden victory to upend No. 5 Dom Demas of Oklahoma, 5-1. Woods, who came into tournament seeded No. 21, was a 2020 NWCA First-Team All-American as a freshman and was seeded third going into last year’s tournament. This season, he did not wrestle until the Pac 12 tournament, where he reached the finals before being pinned by Oregon State’s Grant Willits. Woods avenged the loss to Willits in the opening round earlier today, 6-3. In the quarterfinals, he will face No. 4 Tariq Wilson of NC State.

Another noteworthy upset occurred at 149 pounds, where Northwestern’s No. 25 Yahya Thomas knocked off No. 9 Legend Lamer of Cal Poly, 10-4. This was his second upset of the day after besting Stanford’s No. 8 Jaden Abas, 6-2, in the opening round. In the quarterfinals he will face a stiff challenge in top-seeded Sammy Sasso of Ohio State. Sasso was pushed to brink in his round of 16 match in an 11-10 battle against Fresno State’s No. 17 Kyle Parco.

Session 2B, which features the 165-285 brackets, kicks off at 8:00 p.m. CST.

Team scores after Session 2A (Top 15 Teams)
1. Iowa 26.0
2. Penn State 22.0
3. Missouri 21.0
4. Oklahoma State 18.5
5. NC State 17.5
6. Arizona State 14.5
7. Michigan 12.5
8. Northwestern 12.0
8. Virginia Tech 12.0
10. Minnesota 11.5
10. Nebraska 11.5
12. Ohio State 9.5
13. Central Michigan 9.0
13. Northern Iowa 9.0
15. Lehigh 8.5

Quarterfinals matchups

125 pounds
No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Devin Schroder (Purdue)
No. 5 Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 4 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan)
No. 3Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) vs. No. 6 Jakob Camacho (NC State)
No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) vs. No. 2 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech)

133 pounds
No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern)
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
No. 3 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 6 Matt Schmitt (Missouri)
No. 10 Louie Hayes (Virginia) vs. No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)

141 pounds
No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan)
No. 21 Real Woods (Stanford) vs. No. 4 Tariq Wilson (NC State)
No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. No. 6 Allan Hart (Missouri)
No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. No. 10 Zach Sherman (UNC)

149 pounds
No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) No. 25 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern)
No. 12 Max Murin (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State)
No. 3 Brock Mauller (Missouri) vs. No. 6 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech)
No. 7 Jonathan Millner (App State) vs. No. 2 Austin O’Connor (North Carolina)

157 pounds
No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. No. 8 Jared Franek (North Dakota State)
No. 12 Brady Berge (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider)
No. 3 David Carr (Iowa State) vs. No. 6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
No. 23 Jacob Wright (Wyoming) vs. No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (NC State)

Round of 16 results

125
Spencer Lee (Iowa) maj. dec. Killian Cardinale (West Virginia), 15-5

Devin Schroder (Purdue) dec. RayVon Foley (Michigan State), 2-1

Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) dec. Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), 2-0

Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) dec. Liam Cronin (Nebraska), 2-1

Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) dec. Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), 9-7

Jakob Camacho (NC State) dec. Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), 10-8

Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) dec. Robert Howard (Penn State), 2-1

Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec. Patrick McKee (Minnesota), 3-1

133

Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) pin Malyke Hines (Lehigh), 3:40

Chris Cannon (Northwestern) pin Michael McGee (Arizona State), 3:00

Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) dec. Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 6-1

Austin DeSanto (Iowa) pin Ryan Sullivan (West Virginia), 1:36

Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) dec. Zach Price (South Dakota State), 6-4

Matt Schmitt (Missouri) maj. dec. Mario Guillen (Ohio), 9-0

Louie Hayes (Virginia) dec. over Lucas Byrd (Illinois), SV-1 6-4

Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) maj. dec. Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin), 11-3

141

Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), 5-3

Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) dec. Chad Red (Nebraska), 6-3

Real Woods (Stanford) dec. Dom Demas (Oklahoma), SV-1 5-1

Tariq Wilson (NC State) dec. Brian Courtney (Virginia), 7-3

Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 10-4

Allan Hart (Missouri) dec. Cody Trybus (Navy), 4-1

Zachary Sherman (North Carolina) maj. dec. Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern), 14-1

Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), 14-3

149

Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) dec. Kyle Parco (Fresno State), 11-10

Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) dec. Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), 10-4

Max Murin (Iowa) dec. Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), 5-3

Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) dec. Joshua Heil (Campbell), TB-1 7-6

Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. Michael Blockhus (Minnesota), 4-2

Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) dec. Kanen Storr (Michigan), 10-7

Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) dec. Triston Lara (Northern Iowa), 9-8

Austin O`Connor (North Carolina) dec. Griffin Parriott (Purdue), 8-3

157

Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec. Requir van der Merwe (Stanford), 4-2

Jared Franek (North Dakota State) inj. dft. Kendall Coleman (Purdue), 6:30

Brady Berge (Penn State) dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa), 3-2

Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 4-2

David Carr (Iowa State) maj. dec. Will Lewan (Michigan), 10-2

Brayton Lee (Minnesota) dec. Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 4-3

Jacob Wright (Wyoming) dec. Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan), TB-1 2-1

Hayden Hidlay (NC State) tech. fall Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 20-3, 5:59