Session III & IV Notes: Drew Hildebrandt adds to family legacy; Myers's persistance pays off; A slew of internationally credentialed wrestlers to compete in the semifinals

Central Michigan 125-pounder Drew Hildebrandt scored a takedown in the sudden victory period to earn a 4-2 quarterfinal win over Northern Iowa’s Brody Teske. The fourth-seeded redshirt senior has earned his second All-America honor, this time on the mat. He was an NWCA first-team selection last year after being seeded sixth for NCAAs.
Drew is just one of houseful of successful wrestlers.
His sister, Sarah, won two Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association titles in four trips to the finals at King University in Bristol, Tennessee. She is a four-time Pan American Championships champion (2013, 2015, 2018, 2019), a two-time Final X champion (2018, 2019), a two-time Senior World Team member (2016, 2019), the 2018 U.S. Open champion and a 2018 World silver medalist.
Should Drew win the 125-pound title, a tall task considering he faces two-time champion Spencer Lee of Iowa in the semifinals, he would join his sister in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 2-3 for the Olympic Trials.
And, oh by the way, Drew and Sarah’s sister, Amy, is the head women’s coach at Trine University in Angola, Indiana.
Penn State’s Berge bitten by injury bug again

Penn State junior 157-pounder Brady Berge was forced to injury default in the first period of his semifinal bout against Rider’s Jess Dellavecchia. Berge appeared to suffer a serious left knee injury during a takedown attempt by Dellavecchia.
When he hit the mat just out of the circle, he pounded his fist into the mat. The referee immediately stopped action and motioned for the Penn State coaches and trainer to tend their wrestler.
After a brief examination, Penn State coaches Cael and Cody Sanderson picked up Berge and carried him off the arena floor.
It was the latest in a series of injuries for him.
The four-time Minnesota state champion suffered his first setback in the state semifinals during his junior year, breaking his leg. He recovered from that and won a state title during his senior season. He finished his career with a 282-5 record
In the fall of 2018, he fought through a tough draw to win a bronze medal at 70 kilos in the Junior World Championships.
In October of 2019, he was wrestling in the Worldl U23 Championships in Budapest, Hungary, when an opponent’s knee clipped his head and rendered him unconscious. He awakened in a Budapest hospital and, according to media reports, had no feeling in his legs.
He did regain feeling by the end of the night, but he was then plagued with concussion-related headaches that sidelined him for most of last season.
He came back this year healthy and rejuvenated, only to suffer that knee injury in the semifinals.


If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again

For Virginia Tech 133-pounder Korbin Myers, three trips to the NCAA Championships, two times with Edinboro, and once with Tech, weren’t enough to earn him All-America honors.
This year, the sixth-year senior graduate student, finally broke through. With his 1-0 quarterfinal win over Missouri’s Matt Schmitt, Myers is finally an All-American.
Big Ten the clear leader in producing semifinalists
It’s no surprise that the Big Ten once again leads in producing semifinalists. It may be stunning, however, that it has nearly as many as five other conferences combined, and twice as many as the second-leading conference.
Furthermore, the Big Ten has three of the four semifinalists at three weights: 133, 141 and 285.
Here’s the breakdown:
Big Ten— 18
Big 12 — 9
ACC — 6
MAC and PAC 12 — 3 each
EIWA — 1
Below, check out some of the freestyle credentials of the semifinalists:

World Medalists in NCAA semifinals
125 – Spencer Lee (Iowa), 2014 Cadet World FS champion, 2015 Junior World FS champion, 2016 Junior World FS champion
125 – Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), 2015 Junior World GR bronze, 2016 Junior World GR bronze
133 – Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), 2015 Cadet World FS bronze, 2016 Junior World FS bronze, 2017 Junior World FS champion, 2018 Junior World FS bronze.
157 – Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 2017 Junior World FS silver
157 – David Carr (Iowa State), 2016 Cadet World FS bronze, 2019 Junior World champion
184 - Aaron Brooks (Penn State). 2017 Cadet World FS champion, 2018 Junior World FS silver
184 - Trent Hidlay (NC State), 2019 Junior World FS bronze
197 - AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State), 2019 Cadet World FS bronze
285 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota), 2015 Cadet World FS champion, 2016 Cadet World FS champion, 2017 Junior World FS champion
World Team members in NCAA semifinals
125 – Spencer Lee (Iowa), 4 teams (2013 Cadet FS, 2014 Cadet FS, 2015 Junior FS, 2016 Junior FS)
125 – Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), 7 teams (2013 Cadet GR, 2014 Cadet GR, 2015 Cadet GR, 2016 Junior GR, 2017 Junior GR, 2019 Junior GR, 2019 U23 GR)
133 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), 7 teams (2014 Cadet FS, 2015 Cadet FS, 2016 Junior FS, 2017 Junior FS, 2017 U23 FS, 2018 Junior FS, 2019 Senior FS)
141 – Jaydin Eierman (Iowa), 1 team (2019 U23 FS)
157 – Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 1 team (2017 Junior FS)
157 – David Carr (Iowa State), 2 teams (2016 Cadet FS, 2019 Junior FS)
157 – Hayden Hidlay (NC State), 1 team (2018 U23 FS)
184 - Aaron Brooks (Penn State). 3 teams (2017 Cadet FS, 2018 Junior FS, 2019 Junior FS)
184 - Trent Hidlay (NC State), 1 team (2019 Junior FS)
197- Myles Amine (Michigan), 1 team (2019 Senior FS for San Marino)
197 - AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State), 1 team (2019 Cadet FS)
285 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota), 4 teams (2015 Cadet FS, 2016 Cadet FS, 2017 Junior FS, 2018 Junior FS)


Senior Nationals finalists in NCAA semifinals
125 – Spencer Lee (Iowa), December 2019 Senior Nationals FS champion at 57 kg
133 – Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), April 2019 Senior Nationals FS champion t 57 kg, 2018 Senior Nationals FS runner
157 – Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), April 2019 Senior Nationals FS runner-up – 70 kg
157 – Hayden Hidlay (NC State), 2018 Senior Nationals FS runner-up – 70 kg


2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifiers in NCAA semifinals
125 - Spencer Lee (Iowa), qualified at 57 kg men’s freestyle
125 -Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), qualified at 60 kg Greco-Roman
133 - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), qualified at 57 kg men’s freestyle
141 - Nick Lee (Penn State), qualified at 65 kg in men’s freestyle
157 - David Carr (Iowa State), qualified at 74 kg men’s freestyle
285 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota), qualified at 125 kg men’s freestyle
285 - Mason Parris (Michigan), qualified at 125 kg men’s freestyle