Vincenzo Joseph named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
Photo: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) being interviewed by ESPN after winning the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. Photo by Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.
Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn State) has been selected as TheMat.com Athlete of the Week on March 20, 2017.
On Saturday night, the Penn State freshman Joseph stunned two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois to claim the 165-pound NCAA Division I championship in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,675 fans at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
The NCAA finals match between Joseph and Martinez was knotted 5-5 entering the third period. Joseph picked up a quick escape point to take a 6-5 lead before landing an inside trip from double overhooks to send Martinez to his back and get the pin.
Joseph was the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Championships holding a 17-4 record entering the tournament. Two of his four season losses came at the hands of Martinez, who earned the No. 1 seed at 165 pounds, sporting a 31-0 undefeated mark entering the finals. Prior to the finals defeat, Martinez had only lost one collegiate match in his first three seasons.
On his road to the finals at the NCAA Championships, Joseph netted wins over Keaton Subjeck of Stanford, No. 14 Brandon Ashworth of Wyoming, No. 6 Daniel Lewis of Missouri and No. 2 Logan Massa of Michigan. He implemented some late heroics in the quarters and semis against Lewis and Massa, coming from behind on both occasions to win by a single point.
Joseph finished his freshman campaign with a 22-4 overall record and a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, on top of his NCAA title. Throughout his postseason run, Joseph avenged every loss he suffered during the regular season, topping Martinez and Subjeck at the NCAAs, in addition to defeating four-time NCAA All-American Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin at the Big Tens.
He was one of five Penn State wrestlers to win a NCAA championship last weekend joining teammates Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Mark Hall and Bo Nickal on top of the medal stand. It was just the fourth time in NCAA history a team has seen five wrestlers become NCAA champions. The others to do so were the 1986 and 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes and the 2005 Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Penn State won its seventh NCAA team title last weekend and the programs sixth such championship in the past seven seasons under head coach Cael Sanderson.
On the freestyle side, Joseph has earned third-place finishes at the UWW Junior World Team Trials the past two years. He also earned third place at the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals in 2016. Joseph was a four-time All-American and two-time finalist at the Cadet and Junior Nationals held in Fargo, N.D.
Each week USA Wrestling will select an Athlete of the Week based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the senior level.
To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete’s name, wrestling program and weekly and career accomplishments to Richard Immel at rimmel@usawrestling.org.
Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn State) has been selected as TheMat.com Athlete of the Week on March 20, 2017.
On Saturday night, the Penn State freshman Joseph stunned two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois to claim the 165-pound NCAA Division I championship in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,675 fans at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
The NCAA finals match between Joseph and Martinez was knotted 5-5 entering the third period. Joseph picked up a quick escape point to take a 6-5 lead before landing an inside trip from double overhooks to send Martinez to his back and get the pin.
Joseph was the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Championships holding a 17-4 record entering the tournament. Two of his four season losses came at the hands of Martinez, who earned the No. 1 seed at 165 pounds, sporting a 31-0 undefeated mark entering the finals. Prior to the finals defeat, Martinez had only lost one collegiate match in his first three seasons.
On his road to the finals at the NCAA Championships, Joseph netted wins over Keaton Subjeck of Stanford, No. 14 Brandon Ashworth of Wyoming, No. 6 Daniel Lewis of Missouri and No. 2 Logan Massa of Michigan. He implemented some late heroics in the quarters and semis against Lewis and Massa, coming from behind on both occasions to win by a single point.
Joseph finished his freshman campaign with a 22-4 overall record and a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, on top of his NCAA title. Throughout his postseason run, Joseph avenged every loss he suffered during the regular season, topping Martinez and Subjeck at the NCAAs, in addition to defeating four-time NCAA All-American Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin at the Big Tens.
He was one of five Penn State wrestlers to win a NCAA championship last weekend joining teammates Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Mark Hall and Bo Nickal on top of the medal stand. It was just the fourth time in NCAA history a team has seen five wrestlers become NCAA champions. The others to do so were the 1986 and 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes and the 2005 Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Penn State won its seventh NCAA team title last weekend and the programs sixth such championship in the past seven seasons under head coach Cael Sanderson.
On the freestyle side, Joseph has earned third-place finishes at the UWW Junior World Team Trials the past two years. He also earned third place at the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals in 2016. Joseph was a four-time All-American and two-time finalist at the Cadet and Junior Nationals held in Fargo, N.D.
Each week USA Wrestling will select an Athlete of the Week based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the senior level.
To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete’s name, wrestling program and weekly and career accomplishments to Richard Immel at rimmel@usawrestling.org.
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