Alex Marinelli defeated Brown's Jonathan Viruet in sudden victory at the Midlands Championships (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)What makes the first day so unique and special at the NCAA Wrestling Championships?
The upsets, of course.
Seeing an underdog knock off a favored wrestler is what adds drama, intrigue and excitement to the opening day of the three-day extravaganza.
Some of the loudest cheers you will hear this week at the NCAA tournament in Pittsburgh will come when a wrestler achieves a significant win that is unexpected.
As we all know, this event wouldn't be much fun if all of the wrestlers won that were supposed to.
There are so many excellent potential matchups in the second round that we can't list them all.
But here is my list of some of the best potential Thursday night matchups at this year's NCAA tournament:
Minnesota's Ethan Lizak talks to Gopher coaches Brandon Eggum and Zach Sanders (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)133: No. 6 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) vs. No. 11 Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State)
This could be an outstanding match from the stacked 133-pound bracket. Lizak was an NCAA runner-up at 125 pounds two years ago before finishing fourth last year in the same weight class. Wilson placed third in this tournament last year at 133 pounds. This could be one of the best matches of the second round with two accomplished wrestlers meeting this early in the tournament. Wilson was one of the big stories last year after entering the tournament unseeded.
165: No. 1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 17 Jonathan Viruet (Brown)
Marinelli would have to move past a likely opening bout against two-time All-American Joe Smith of Oklahoma State for a potential matchup with Viruet. Marinelli earned an 8-6 overtime win over Viruet in the quarterfinal round of the Midlands Championships this season. Marinelli scored a takedown with 18 seconds left in sudden victory to earn that win. Marinelli is wrestling well after beating two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State in the Big Ten finals. But Marinelli faces a tough road on his side of the bracket this week.
184: No. 4 Emery Parker (Illinois) vs. No. 13 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
Parker placed third at the Big Ten tournament and is 17-3 this season. He beat Nebraska's Taylor Venz for third at Big Tens after also beating Venz for third at last year's national tournament. Bonaccorsi, a freshman, is 19-6 this season. He placed second in a tough weight class at the ACC tournament. He beat highly regarded Nick Reenan of North Carolina State 10-3 in the semifinals before falling to Virginia Tech's Zach Zavatsky 4-1 in the finals. Zavatsky placed sixth at the NCAA tournament last year and is seeded third this year.
Ohio State's Joey McKenna after winning a Big Ten title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. No. 15 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State)
McKenna is wrestling at a really high level right now and he looked dominant in winning a Big Ten title. He's a senior and this is his final chance to win NCAAs. McKenna was third in this tournament last year. He could face a tough challenge in Brock, who placed fifth in the nation at 133 pounds last year before bumping up to 141 pounds this year. Brock is a talented wrestler who definitely could challenge McKenna.
285: No. 7 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. No. 10 Yousiff Hemida (Maryland)
Hillger is an exciting young wrestler who has had a superb freshman season at heavyweight for the Badgers. He held his own in a loaded weight class in the Big Ten this year. Hemida had a solid showing in the NCAA tournament last year, reaching the quarterfinal round before placing eighth to become an All-American for the Terrapins.
184: No. 8 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) vs. No. 9 Taylor Venz (Nebraska)
Preisch was the No. 3 seed in this tournament last year before being upset in the quarterfinals. He then lost his next match and fell one win short of placing. He's come back strong this season and has a 20-3 record. Venz was the No. 7 seed in last year's tournament. He lost in the second round before going on a tear on the backside of the bracket by winning five straight matches. He finished fourth in the nation in 2018. Venz is 21-7 this season after placing fourth at Big Tens.
133: No. 7 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. No. 10 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
In a match that could also play a big role in the team race, DeSanto and RBY are expected to meet in an intriguing second-round matchup. The two wrestlers met in the Big Ten wrestlebacks with DeSanto earning a 12-8 victory. DeSanto scored four takedowns in the first period to build an 8-3 lead in that match. DeSanto is competing in his second NCAA tournament after reaching the round of 12 for Drexel last year. RBY is a freshman making his first trip to this event.
141: No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. No. 16 Chad Red (Nebraska)
Red didn't have a great regular season, but he is a returning All-American who was a surprise finalist at the Big Ten tournament. Red is a wrestler who has the potential to get on a roll and put big points on the scoreboard. He will face a difficult challenge against a returning national champion in Yianni, but Red did thrive as an underdog at Big Tens. Red will have to defeat No. 17 Ian Parker of Iowa State in the first round to earn a shot at Yianni. Red finished seventh in the country last year after being unseeded. Yianni is 24-0 as a sophomore and he has looked good all season.
149: No. 2 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 15 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa)
Jordan placed fourth at 149 pounds in 2017 and sixth at 157 pounds last year before moving back down to 149 this season. He was second at the Big Ten tournament. Thomsen is 21-8 this season and not highly seeded after placing seventh at the Big 12 tournament. Thomsen has the capability to do well in this event after placing fifth at the NCAA tournament in 2017. He did place second at the Midlands this season. Jordan beat Thomsen 13-5 in the consolation semifinals two years ago at the NCAAs.
133: No. 4 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 13 Austin Gomez (Iowa State)
This match has the potential of having some serious fireworks on display in a matchup of talented freshmen. Phillippi is 19-2 and has wrestled superbly this season. He won the ACC title by downing returning NCAA third-place finisher Tariq Wilson of North Carolina State 4-1 in the finals. Gomez is 21-5 while wrestling a tough schedule this season. This definitely is a match, if it happens, that you won't want to miss. Gomez is an explosive wrestler with a big-move arsenal. He's never out of a match.
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