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  • Photo: Photo/Mark Lundy

    Mark Palmer •

    Photo: Photo/Mark Lundy

    PSU leads team race after Day 1, Iowa sends 7 to quarterfinals

    Penn State's Bo Nickal picked up his second pin of the day (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)

    Link: Team Scores & Brackets

    PITTSBURGH -- Day 1 of the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships is one for the history books at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, with a few surprises along the way as part of the annual process which started with 330 collegiate athletes with title hopes at noon … and concluded Thursday evening with 80 wrestlers who will be taking to the mats in the quarterfinals Friday.

    Defending team titlewinner Penn State is at the top of the team race with 32.5 points.

    "I like where we're at," said Penn State coach Cael Sanderson. "I've got a lot of confidence in these guys. But more than that, it's just about them. This is their opportunity."

    Battling for second place are two other Big Ten mat programs: Ohio State, with 25 points, and University of Iowa, with 24.

    However, those standings may well be influenced by how many wrestlers each team still has in the individual title hunt.

    Penn State -- which is seeking its fourth consecutive team championship and ninth in the past decade under Sanderson -- has six wrestlers who have qualified for the quarterfinals on Friday.

    However, the program with the most quarterfinalists is the Iowa Hawkeyes, with seven.

    "Session II in the books," said Iowa coach Tom Brands. "Seven-for-nine, seven in the quarters. We've got to come back strong in the two other weights. We've got to be strong in the quarters. Close matches, got to have them go our way."

    Ohio State has five wrestlers who are still in the running for individual titles … while three programs -- Missouri, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State -- each have four wrestlers who will be doing battle in the quarterfinals. Eight other schools have three wrestlers still contending for individual championships: Arizona State, Cornell, Lehigh, Michigan, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Princeton, and Virginia Tech.

    Now, let's look at weight-by-weight results… with an eye to any surprises:

  • 125: No real surprises. All eight top seeds made it to the quarterfinals.

  • 133: One again, the top eight seeds advance at 133 pounds. However, arguably the biggest match from a team standpoint was Iowa's Austin DeSanto vs. Roman-Bravo Young of Penn State. The Nittany Lion known as RBY hit the scorer's table and needed injury time. Coach Sanderson and staff thought their man had a takedown before the injury, and challenged the call … but after a review, the original no-takedown call stood. DeSanto scored a late takedown with nearfall points to win 7-2.

  • 141: A couple surprising results here. Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven -- the No. 13 seed -- dominated the No. 4 seed Josh Alber of Northern Iowa, 19-10.

    "Right now I'm feeling good," said Shoop. "Again, I'm on pace to be an All-American. It's what I came here to do. There's no monkey business. It's time to put the hammer down. I came here to show people I'm legit and I'm doing that."

    Iowa picked up a big win as No. 22 seed Max Murin upset No. 6 seed Mike Carr of Illinois, 4-3.

  • 149: No real surprises in this bracket. However, No. 26 seed Ryan Blees of Virginia Tech -- who knocked off No. 7 Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State in the first round, nearly pulled another upset, but was beaten in sudden victory by Iowa's Pat Lugo.

    NC State's Hayden Hidlay advanced to the quarterfinals with a technical fall (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)

  • 157: The top seeds continue to be in the title hunt.

    UNI's Bryce Steiert topped Michigan's Logan Massa (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)

  • 165: The results in this bracket were pretty straightforward … except for a slight surprise when Northern Iowa's No. 11 seed Bryce Steiert defeated Michigan's Logan Massa, seeded No. 6.

  • 174: A couple results worth mentioning: No. 22 Ben Harvey of West Point upset No. 6 David McFadden of Virginia Tech… while Oklahoma State took a hit as No. 7 seed Jacobe Smith lost to No. 10 Mikey Labriola of Nebraska.

    UNC's Chip Ness celebrates after beating PSU's Shakur Rasheed (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)

  • 184: The biggest upset of the session -- and one of the major storylines of Day 1 -- is No. 2 Shakur Rasheed of Penn State losing to No. 15 Chip Ness of North Carolina in a battle of returning All-Americans. Rasheed led 5-2 late in the match before giving up six points late to lose.

    "I wrestled every single match I had this whole entire year," said Ness. "He's taken off some. It makes a big difference when it comes to the most important tournament of the year."

    It was the Nittany Lions' second loss of the session (behind Bravo-Young at 133). In addition, No. 4 seed Emery Parker of Illinois got knocked out of title contention… as did Cash Wilcke of Iowa.

  • 197: Hot on the heels of Iowa's Wilke losing in the previous weight class, the Hawkeyes are so lost No. 5 Jacob Warner in sudden victory to Cal Poly's Tom Lane, the No. 21 seed. Meanwhile, Iowa State's No. 6 Willie Miklus fell to No. 11 seed Christian Brunner of Purdue.

  • 285: The big story here is Iowa's Sam Stoll, who suffered a gunshot wound to his knee in the offseason -- and was plagued with other injuries throughout the season, culminating with failing to place at the Big Ten conference championships. However, Stoll -- the No. 28 seed -- managed to knock off No. 5 Mason Parris of Michigan, and then took out No. 12 Conan Jennings of Northwestern in the second round.

    Here are some other interesting side stories from the first day of action:

  • Fall guys: Two Penn State Nittany Lions -- Nick Lee (141 pounds) and Bo Nickal (197) -- as well as Missouri Tiger Daniel Lewis (74) -- pinned their way to the quarterfinals.

  • Succeeding beyond the seeding: Four wrestlers -- including two from Iowa -- have earned their way into the quarterfinals despite being seeded at No. 21 and beyond: The two Hawkeyes are Max Murin, 141-pounder seeded No. 22, and, at 285, Sam Stoll, at No. 28… along with Army's Ben Harvey at 174 (No. 22 seed) and Cal Poly's 197-pounder Thomas Lane, the No. 21 seed.

  • Attendance, by the numbers: The first-day attendance figures for the 2019 NCAAs in Pittsburgh were impressive… though somewhat lower than last year's opening-day attendance numbers at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Attendance at Session 1 in Pittsburgh was 17,949 (about 700 fewer fans than last year's opening session)… while this year's Session 2 had 17,951 fans, approximately 900 fewer fans than in 2018. (To put those numbers in perspective: the last time Pittsburgh hosted the NCAAs -- back in 1957 -- the Fitzgerald Field House on the campus of University of Pittsburgh had a seating capacity of approximately 4,100 fans… about one-fifth of the total number of seats at PPG Paints Arena.

    Team standings

    1. Penn State 32.5
    2. Ohio State 25.5
    3. Iowa 24
    4. Minnesota 20
    5. Oklahoma State 20
    6. Missouri 18
    7. Michigan 17.5
    8. Nebraska 16
    9. Virginia Tech 16
    10. Northern Iowa 15.5

    Second-round results

    125:
    No. 1 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) dec. No. 16 Drew Mattin (Michigan), 4-0
    No. 8 Vito Arujau (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 9 RayVon Foley (Michigan State), 12-2
    No. 5 Jack Mueller (Virginia) maj. dec. No. 12 Michael McGee (Old Dominion), 13-3
    No. 4 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) dec. No. 13 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), 5-3
    No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 14 Sean Fausz (North Carolina State), 10-1
    No. 6 Sean Russell (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 11 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 10-1
    No. 7 Patrick Glory (Princeton) maj. dec. No. 10 Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State), 9-0
    No. 2 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. No. 15 Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 13-2

    133:
    No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 16 Matthew Schmitt (West Virginia), 9-3
    No. 8 John Erneste (Missouri) dec. No. 24 D.J. Fehlman (Lock Haven), 4-0
    No. 5 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. No. 12 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 5-3
    No. 4 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 13 Austin Gomez (Iowa State), 1-0
    No. 3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. No. 14 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), 7-2
    No. 6 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. No. 11 Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State), 5-4
    No. 7 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. No. 10 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), 7-2
    No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) maj. dec. No. 15 Ben Thornton (Purdue), 11-2

    141:
    No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. No. 16 Chad Red (Nebraska), 7-3
    No. 9 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) dec. No. 8 Kanen Storr (Michigan), 3-1
    No. 5 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) dec. No. 12 Cameron Kelly (Ohio), 10-8
    No. 13 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) maj. dec. No. 4 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa), 19-10
    No. 3 Nick Lee (Penn State) pinned No. 19 Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion), 3:42
    No. 22 Max Murin (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Mike Carr (Illinois), 4-3
    No. 7 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) dec. No. 23 Sam Turner (Wyoming), 7-4
    No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 15 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State), 14-1

    149:
    No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 16 Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma), 7-1
    No. 8 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) dec. No. 9 Justin Oliver (North Carolina State), 11-8
    No. 5 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) dec. No. 12 Brady Berge (Penn State), 8-5
    No. 4 Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. No. 20 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 5-1
    No. 3 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) maj. dec. No. 19 Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 9-1
    No. 6 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) dec. No. 11 Josh Heil (Campbell), 4-1
    No. 10 Pat Lugo (Iowa) dec. No. 26 Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech), 4-2 SV2
    No. 2 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 15 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa), 17-4

    157:
    No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) tech. fall No. 16 John Van Brill (Rutgers), 19-4 6:47
    No. 9 Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State) dec. No. 8 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh), 11-7
    No. 5 Hayden Hidlay (North Carolina State) tech. fall No. 21 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), 16-1 5:20
    No. 4 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. No. 20 Lucas Weiland (Army West Point), 5-3
    No. 3 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. No. 19 Griffin Parriott (Purdue), 9-0
    No. 6 Kaleb Young (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 11 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State), 14-2
    No. 7 Larry Early (Old Dominion) dec. No. 10 Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 3-2
    No. 2 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) pinned No. 15 Eric Barone (Illinois), 6:07

    165:
    No. 1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 16 Thomas Bullard (North Carolina State), 12-4
    No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 24 Cael McCormick (Army West Point), 4-1
    No. 5 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. No. 21 Te'Shan Campbell (Ohio State), 4-2
    No. 4 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) dec. No. 13 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State), 9-2
    No. 3 Josh Shields (Arizona State) maj. dec. No. 14 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), 10-2
    No. 11 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 6 Logan Massa (Michigan), 2-1
    No. 7 Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. No. 10 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), 5-4
    No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. No. 15 Connor Flynn (Missouri), 8-4

    174:
    No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. No. 16 Brandon Womack (Cornell), 8-3
    No. 8 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) pinned No. 9 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota), 3:22
    No. 5 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. No. 12 Matt Finesilver (Duke), 6-2
    No. 4 Myles Amine (Michigan) maj. dec. No. 20 Spencer Carey (Navy), 12-3
    No. 3 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) maj. dec. No. 14 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 16-5
    No. 22 Ben Harvey (Army West Point) dec. No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech), 5-3 SV1
    No. 10 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) dec. No. 7 Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State), 8-4
    No. 2 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) pinned No. 15 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 2:42

    184:
    No. 1 Myles Martin (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 16 Corey Hazel (Lock Haven), 16-5
    No. 8 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. No. 9 Taylor Venz (Nebraska), 4-3
    No. 5 Max Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 12 Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 6-4 SV1
    No. 13 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 4 Emery Parker (Illinois), 9-7
    No. 3 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 19 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State), 9-7
    No. 6 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 11 Lou DePrez (Binghamton), 7-1
    No. 10 Sam Colbray (Iowa State) dec. No. 26 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 7-4
    No. 15 Chip Ness (North Carolina) dec. No. 2 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State), 8-5

    197:
    No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned No. 16 Josh Hokit (Fresno State), 2:28
    No. 8 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) dec. No. 24 Jake Jacobsen (Lehigh), 4-1
    No. 21 Tom Lane (Cal Poly) dec. No. 5 Jacob Warner (Iowa), 4-2 SV
    No. 4 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) dec. No. 13 Malik McDonald (North Carolina State), 3-2
    No. 3 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 14 Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 7-2
    No. 11 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. No. 6 Willie Miklus (Iowa State), 6-2
    No. 10 Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 7 Jay Aiello (Virginia), 9-8
    No. 2 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 15 Randall Diabe (Appalachian State), 14-4

    285:
    No. 1 Derek White (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 16 Chase Singletary (Ohio State), 5-2
    No. 9 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) maj. dec. No. 8 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh), 17-9
    No. 28 Sam Stoll (Iowa) dec. No. 12 Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 1-0
    No. 4 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. No. 20 Zach Elam (Missouri), 3-0
    No. 3 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 19 Brian Andrews (Wyoming), 21-8
    No. 6 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) tech. fall No. 11 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven), 18-1 6:21
    No. 7 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) dec. No. 10 Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 2-0
    No. 2 Anthony Cassar (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 15 Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley), 10-2

    Quarterfinal matchups

    125:
    No. 1 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. No. 8 Vito Arujau (Cornell)
    No. 4 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) vs. No. 5 Jack Mueller (Virginia)
    No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. No. 6 Sean Russell (Minnesota)
    No. 2 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 7 Patrick Glory (Princeton)

    133:
    No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 8 John Erneste (Missouri)
    No. 4 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 5 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
    No. 3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) vs. No. 6 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)
    No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) vs. No. 7 Austin DeSanto (Iowa)

    141:
    No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. No. 9 Dom Demas (Oklahoma)
    No. 5 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) vs. No. 13 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven)
    No. 3 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. No. 22 Max Murin (Iowa)
    No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. No. 7 Mitch McKee (Minnesota)

    149:
    No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. No. 8 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State)
    No. 4 Brock Mauller (Missouri) vs. No. 5 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton)
    No. 3 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) vs. No. 6 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina)
    No. 2 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 10 Pat Lugo (Iowa)

    157:
    No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 9 Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State)
    No. 4 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) vs. No. 5 Hayden Hidlay (North Carolina State)
    No. 3 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. No. 6 Kaleb Young (Iowa)
    No. 2 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) vs. No. 7 Larry Early (Old Dominion)

    165:
    No. 1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
    No. 4 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) vs. No. 5 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven)
    No. 3 Josh Shields (Arizona State) vs. No. 11 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa)
    No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Isaiah White (Nebraska)

    174:
    No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa)
    No. 4 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. No. 5 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh)
    No. 3 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) vs. No. 22 Ben Harvey (Army West Point)
    No. 2 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) vs. No. 10 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska)

    184:
    No. 1 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. No. 8 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh)
    No. 5 Max Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 13 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
    No. 3 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 6 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa)
    No. 10 Sam Colbray (Iowa State) vs. No. 15 Chip Ness (North Carolina)

    197:
    No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Nathan Traxler (Stanford)
    No. 4 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) vs. No. 21 Tom Lane (Cal Poly)
    No. 3 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 11 Christian Brunner (Purdue)
    No. 2 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs. No. 10 Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech)

    285:
    No. 1 Derek White (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 9 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)
    No. 4 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) vs. No. 28 Sam Stoll (Iowa)
    No. 3 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 6 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State)
    No. 2 Anthony Cassar (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin)
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