InterMat Staff

It was truly a historic night in Philadelphia! Penn State casually re-established a team scoring record - one that they had set just a year ago. Cael Sanderson’s team totaled 177 points after rolling to 172.5 points in 2024. The Nittany Lions total came from two national champions and ten All-Americans overall. The latter statistic made them the only second team in DI history (Minnesota 2001) to put their whole team on the medal stand. Making individual history for Penn State was 184 lber Carter Starocci who became the first wrestler to earn five DI national titles. Barring a change in eligibility requirements, it should be a mark that stands for eternity. Starocci started the night with a win over the weight class’ returning champion Parker Keckeisen in one of the most anticipated of the finals bouts. Oh yeah, by the way, we might have seen the biggest upset of our lifetime at this event. Wyatt Hendrickson stunned two-time national champion, two-time Hodge Trophy winner, and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. Hendrickson stopped Steveson’s 70-match winning streak with a late takedown and rideout to seal a 5-4 victory. It was the third All-American honor for Hendrickson, who was third at this event in each of the last two seasons. Hendrickson earned those placements competing for the Air Force Academy - this title was won as a member of David Taylor’s first Oklahoma State University team. Teammate Dean Hamiti also claimed a title in his final opportunity by downing two-time champion Keegan O'Toole. Both Hamiti and Hendrickson had to defeat two national champions to get their titles. The Hendrickson title was made all the more unique after his entrance carrying the American flag and the fact that the match took place in front of President Donald Trump. In another first, Trump was the first sitting president to attend the NCAA Championships. He was at the event in 2023, in Austin, but was not in the White House at the time. Not to be lost in the shuffle, Nebraska came in a distant second place, with 117 points, but ahead of third place Oklahoma State by 14.5 points. In many years, the Cornhuskers would have been able to win a title with that point total. Nebraska also saw two of their wrestlers earn national titles - Ridge Lovett at 149 lbs and Antrell Taylor at 157. The last time a Nebraska wrestler captured an NCAA championship was in 2011, when Jordan Burroughs wrapped up his storied career, inside the same Wells Fargo Center. Vince Robinson (NC State/125), Lucas Byrd (Illinois/133), Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State/165), and Stephen Buchanan (Iowa/197) all became first-time champions. 141 lber Jesse Mendez of Ohio State went back-to-back with a thrilling 12-9 win over top-seeded Brock Hardy.

2025 NCAA Championships Final Results Championship Finals 125 - Vince Robinson (NC State) dec Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) 2-1TB 133 - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec Drake Ayala (Iowa) 3-2TB 141 - Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) dec Brock Hardy (Nebraska) 12-9 149 - Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) 1-0 157 - Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) dec Joey Blaze (Purdue) 4-2 165 - Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) dec Michael Caliendo (Iowa) 8-2 174 - Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) dec Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) 4-1SV 184 - Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) 4-3 197 - Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) dec Josh Barr (Penn State) 5-2 285 - Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) dec Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 5-4 Third Place Matches 125 - Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) fall Matt Ramos (Purdue) 6:18 133 - Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) dec Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) 7-3 141 - Beau Bartlett (Penn State) maj CJ Composto (Penn) 11-2 149 - Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) maj Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) 15-4 157 - Tyler Kasak (Penn State) maj Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) 8-0 165 - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) maj Christopher Minto (Nebraska) 13-5 174 - Levi Haines (Penn State) maj Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 11-3 184 - Max McEnelly (Minnesota) dec Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 6-5 197 - Angelo Ferrari (CSU Bakersfield) dec Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) 2-0 285 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec Isaac Trumble (NC State) 5-3 Fifth Place Matches 125 - Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) dec Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 11-4 133 - Braeden Davis (Penn State) fall Connor McGonigle (Virginia Tech) 2:33 141 - Carter Happel (Northern Iowa) dec Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 7-2 149 - Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) dec Ethan Stiles (Oregon State) 8-4 157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) maj Vinny Zerban (Northern Colorado) 11-0 165 - Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley) dec Hunter Garvin (Stanford) 1-0 174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) dec Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 2-1 184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) dec Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 7-4 197 - Joey Novak (Wyoming) maj Stephen Little (Little Rock) 8-0 285 - Owen Trephan (Lehigh) MedFFT Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State Seventh Place Matches 125 - Caleb Smith (Nebraska) maj Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) 18-5 133 - Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) dec Tyler Knox (Stanford) 7-2 141 - Evan Frost (Iowa State) maj Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) 17-3 149 - Sammy Alvarez (Rider) dec Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State) 9-6SV 157 - Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) dec Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State) 4-2 165 - Cam Steed (Missouri) fall Cam Amine (Oklahoma State) 2:08 174 - Matthew Singleton (NC State) dec Danny Wask (Navy) 3-1 184 - Silas Allred (Nebraska) dec DJ Washington (Indiana) 4-2 197 - Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) maj Camden McDanel (Nebraska) 12-3 285 - Josh Heindselman (Michigan) dec Ben Kueter (Iowa) 2-1

Let’s get right down to it! It’s the NCAA finals. We don’t need much more of an introduction than that. Here’s what to look for in our ten championship matches. 125 lbs #4 Vince Robinson (NC State) vs. #7 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) This matchup is interesting because if you were to just look at seeds it might appear that these are two underdogs who shocked the rest of the bracket. That’s not really the case here. Despite their seeds, both spent most of the 2024-25 campaign around the top of the rankings. The 125 lb clash will be the second of the year between Robinson and Spratley. The two met in an early January dual in Gallagher-Iba Arena and the freshman Robinson controlled the contest to the tune of 7-3. The finals appearance marks the first All-American honor for Spratley who made the tournament for the first time in 2024. That time he was the sixth seed and ended up finishing in the NCAA Round of 12. In both years, Spartley was the Big 12 runner-up. Robinson is a redshirt freshman who was ranked #50 overall in the recruiting Class of 2023. He started his college career with 13 straight wins. Robinson had to medically forfeit out of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational or else he might have had another meeting with Spratley. The Cowboy ended up taking third place. As is the case with the lightweights, this matchup has the potential for plenty of fireworks. Both have a good offensive arsenal and are lightning-quick. Pick: Vince Robinson by decision 133 lbs #1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) This will be the third chapter in the rivalry between two-time All-American Lucas Byrd and 2024 NCAA runner-up Drake Ayala. The pair split the first two matches and they couldn’t have been more different. The first one, in dual competition at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena, was a very tactical defensive struggle. Ayala got the only takedown late in the final stanza. The second matchup occurred in the finals of the Big Ten Championships. Byrd promptly ended things as he threw Ayala to his back in a cow-catcher and secured a fall. The loss to Byrd snapped a 16-match winning streak for Ayala. That loss hasn’t impacted the Hawkeye in a negative fashion as he’s looked excellent in Philly. Ayala had a tech fall and two major decisions before a controlling 6-1 decision over Wisconsin’s Zan Fugitt in the semifinals. Byrd has had some close calls along the way - with a one-point win against the #32 seed Hunter Leake of California Baptist. In the semifinals, Byrd blanked #4 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) 4-0. Since his loss to Ayala, Byrd has reeled off 11 straight wins. Though Byrd has finished fifth at the NCAA Tournament on two occasions, he hasn’t had deep NCAA Championship runs - prior to this year. Before this year, he only made the quarterfinals once (and that was when he missed the podium). Pick: Drake Ayala by decision 141 lbs #1 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. #3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) This will be a bit of a recurring theme as we have a rematch at 141 lbs with Big Ten rivals Brock Hardy and Jesse Mendez. Hardy is the top-seed and a two-time All-American. Mendez was the top seed at the 2024 tournament and ended up winning his first national title. Last year, the pair met in the quarterfinals and Mendez got the upper hand with a 6-2 win. Earlier in that season, Mendez majored Hardy at the CKLV. This season, Hardy broke through and posted his first win over Mendez in a 9-8 shootout in the Big Ten semifinals. Hardy is amidst his best streak as a collegiate - winning 14 straight matches and claiming his first conference title. Philly has been more of the same as Hardy’s closest match was an 11-4 win over Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) in the semifinals. Hardy is one of three NCAA finalists for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have had an amazing tournament and are looking to crown their first individual champion since Jordan Burroughs in 2011…..in this same building. Mendez took a couple of uncharacteristic losses near the end of the season; however, he hasn’t let that impact his 2025 national tournament. He was able to open up his vast offensive arsenal and post major decision wins over Sergio Lemley and Vance Vombaur, before outlasting long-time rival Beau Bartlett in tiebreakers. Bartlett was responsible for two of Mendez’s three losses on the year. Pick: Jesse Mendez by decision 149 lbs #1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. #2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Even though they aren’t conference rivals, this will be the fourth career meeting between Caleb Henson and Ridge Lovett. Most notable for the two occurred at the 2024 national tournament when Henson got by Lovett 1-0 in the semifinals. Earlier that year, the two met in the CKLV finals and Lovett won 4-3. This season the pair also met in the CKLV finals and Henson claimed a second straight victory. Henson is the first wrestler we’ve discussed who is sporting a perfect record. Even with his unblemished record, Henson has been pushed to the limit a few times in Philly. He had to use extra time to down Jordan Williams in the quarterfinals and hasn’t won a match by more than four points. You can either interpret that as potentially vulnerable or battle-tested and unfazed by the big moments. Since he already has an NCAA title, I’ll choose the latter. Lovett bounced back after a loss to Henson with a major decision win over Shayne Van Ness. He would suffer another regular season loss to Kyle Parco who had long-dominated their rivalry. That changed at the Big Ten Championships when Lovett majored Parco in the semifinals. He used a 1-0 decision to claim his second Big Ten crown. At nationals, Lovett survived a rocky start with a 10-8 win over Sam Cartella, but has been lights out since. He majored his Big Ten finals opponent, Kannon Webster, and jumped out to a big lead on Van Ness before winning a 14-8 decision. This match could be as strategic as any with Lovett’s excellent ability from the top position. Pick: Caleb Henson by decision 157 lbs #3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) vs. #8 Joey Blaze (Purdue) If you had this matchup in your per-tournament bracket then I salute you, we might need to have a talk. One of the shockers of the quarterfinal round was when Joey Blaze was able to upset top-seeded Tyler Kasak. Blaze was able to keep the dangerous Kasak off the scoreboard and used a late takedown to win. Blaze’s finals appearance makes him a first-time All-American. Last year, as a true freshman, Blaze went 0-2 at the Big Dance. This time, Blaze came into the tournament as the eighth seed after a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championships. Blaze has had to be resourceful throughout his tournament, as he won via riding time criteria over Big Ten opponent Tommy Askey in the Round of 16. Taylor had one of the more surprising wins over the semifinals when he knocked off #2 Meyer Shapiro. Shapiro didn’t have a non-injury-related loss during the 2024-25 campaign. This will be Taylor’s second All-American honor. As a freshman, in 2024, he finished eighth at 165 lbs. Taylor’s introduction to the 157 lb weight class included wins in his first 13 contests - a streak that included the Navy Classic and the CKLV. There will be plenty of familiarity and recent history between these two. They met twice at the Big Ten Championships with Taylor striking first, but Blaze getting revenge in the third-place match. Pick: Antrell Taylor by decision 165 lbs #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. #3 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) For the entirety of the 2024-25 season, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Michael Caliendo were seen as the top two wrestlers in the 165 lb weight class. That has proven to be the case as Mesenbrink has been undefeated and one of the most dominant wrestlers at any weight. Caliendo’s only losses have come to Mesenbrink - in the dual meet and Big Ten finals. Mesenbrink’s quarterfinal win over Cam Amine was only his second regular decision win of the season. The other came to Caliendo in the Big Ten finals. The 4-1 score was much closer than the 19-4 tech fall in their Big Ten dual. Last year, the two met three times and they all went in Mesenbrink’s direction. In the semifinals, Caliendo jumped out to a big lead on Peyton Hall and held on to win 13-10. Pick: Mitchell Mesenbrink by major decision 174 lbs #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) vs. #3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) One of the most anticipated rematches of the tournament was Keegan O’Toole versus Levi Haines in a battle of national champions. That won’t happen as Dean Hamiti spoiled the rematch and booked one of his own. He and O’Toole met in the Big 12 finals and the Mizzou wrestler got the win in sudden victory. O’Toole is seeking his third NCAA title and this is his fifth All-American honor. O’Toole is now 20-0 on the year and 108-4 on the year. He solidified his #1 billing with a win over Haines in the Collegiate Duals. After that, O’Toole missed two months of competition. He has returned with a knee brace and generally looks close to his normal self. Hamiti is in his first year at Oklahoma State after earning All-American honors twice at Wisconsin. He has thrived in the new atmosphere and made the finals for the first time. After his semifinal win over Haines, Hamiti might be riding a high that’s hard to stop. Pick: Dean Hamiti by decision 184 lbs #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #3 Parker Keckeisen The lead-off bout tonight will be one of the most anticipated (perhaps most) of the evening. Carter Starocci is seeking his fifth NCAA title - a feat never accomplished before in college wrestling, and he’ll take on returning champion Parker Keckeisen. Keckeisen won the 184 lb crown in 2024 and Starocci moved up from 174. Keckeisen was an undefeated champion in 2024 and has not lost an official match in 2024-25. He did fall to Starocci in the early-season NWCA All-Star Match; however, both are more in prime condition, as opposed to November. Keckeisen advanced to the finals after a semifinal win over Max McEnelly in which Keckeisen pulled off one of the most memorable scrambles of the tournament. McEnelly also pushed Starocci into sudden victory at the Big Ten finals. By any metric, this should be an excellent matchup. Keckeisen might have the better arsenal of attacks, but Starocci has more of a stout defense and is tough from the top. Pick: Carter Starocci by decision 197 lbs #2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) vs. #4 Josh Barr (Penn State) This will be a rematch of the highly-anticipated dual that saw freshman Josh Barr push Stephen Buchanan, who was the top-ranked wrestler in the nation, at the time. Though Buchanan got the 4-1 win, the match proved that Barr could hang with the best in the country and perhaps challenge for a national title in his first year in the Nittany Lion lineup. Buchanan is now a four-time All-American and the first DI wrestler to earn All-American honors for three different programs. He was third and eighth at Wyoming and third at Oklahoma. Buchanan has reached a new level at Iowa could give the Hawkeyes their first champion since Spencer Lee in 2021. Barr suffered an injury at the Big Ten Championships and had to forfeit to sixth place. His status was one of the pre-tournament storylines; however, Barr has been excellent. He has had to go through three multi-time All-Americans just to make the finals. Depending on how other matches go, this bout could determine whether or not Penn State beats the all-time team points record. Pick: Stephen Buchanan by decision 285 lbs #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. #2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) This will be the final match of the evening and the main event! Gable Steveson is looking to cap off his highly decorated collegiate career with a third NCAA title. Wyatt Hendrickson is a two-time NCAA third-place finisher using his final year of eligibility at Oklahoma State. Both are among the most athletic and offensive-minded heavyweights in some time. Hendrickson made the finals after shocking 2024 NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet in the semifinals. Steveson had the unusual feat of winning via first-period disqualification from stalling followed by a tech fall and a 13-5 major decision over Owen Trephan. Steveson hasn’t been seriously threatened since his return to the college ranks - can Hendrickson provide some sort of opposition to the 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist? Pick: Gable Steveson by decision

Penn State has all but locked up another NCAA title going into the medal round but an incredible performance by Nebraska on day two has them in second place and setting multiple team records--highest points, most All-Americans and highest finish as a team. Oklahoma State is theoretically still in contention for second but it would take a flawless performance from them and a complete meltdown from Nebraska. Iowa has likely locked up the final trophy with a 15.5 point lead over fifth place Minnesota. The battle that many bettors are watching is the fifth place team race with Minnesota, Cornell, UNI, Ohio State, Illinois, Virginia Tech and NC State all within 9 points of each other. 1) Penn State 135.5 2) Nebraska 101.5 3) Oklahoma State 91.0 4) Iowa 73.5 5) Minnesota 47.0 6) Cornell 46.0 7) Northern Iowa 44.5 8. Ohio State 44.0 9) Illinois 40.5 10) Virginia Tech 40.0 11) NC State 38.0 After the consolation semifinals we have some movement in the team race. Penn State pulls away even further after going undefeated in the consolation semifinals. They will be hunting for the point record in the medal matches. 1) Penn State 155.0 2) Nebraska 105.0 3) Oklahoma State 94.5 4) Iowa 77.0 5) Minnesota 50.5 6) Ohio State 47.5 7) Cornell 46.0 8. Northern Iowa 44.5 9) NC State 41.5 10) Illinois 40.5 11) Virginia Tech 40.0 It turns out, Penn State is pretty good at hunting after bonus points and had an absolutely incredible performance in the medal matches, ending every medal match in an odd number except for Kerkvliet who medically defaulted out of the tournament and finished in sixth. The Nittany Lions will be chasing history again tonight after already becoming only the second team to crown 10 All-Americans. The team race for 5th place is still very tight and will be determined tonight. The teams in 5th through 11th after this round each have one finalist in the evening session. 1) Penn State 169.0 2) Nebraska 109.0 3) Oklahoma State 94.5 4) Iowa 77.0 5) Minnesota 51.5 6) Cornell 50.0 7) Ohio State 47.5 8. Northern Iowa 45.5 9) NC State 42.5 10) Virginia Tech 41.0 11) Illinois 40.5

The biggest story for the ACC is the two NCAA finalists with Vince Robinson winning in dominant fashion at 125 to make his first NCAA title match. This was side-by-side with Eddie Ventresca dropping a heartbreaker in a match where he was the clear aggressor, though there were no stall calls until TB1. Caleb Henson makes his second straight NCAA final to defend his crown where will see familiar foe Ridge Lovett in what is guaranteed to be one of the most entertaining matches of the night. Chaos is always the theme on Friday at the NCAA tournament and yesterday didn’t disappoint--though it wasn’t a friendly day for the ACC and is a reminder how brutal this tournament truly is. Seven ACC wrestlers pushed through to the podium in the bloodround with five others ending up one win short of the podium; an additional two falling in the consolation round of 16. Eddie Ventresca and Connor McGonagle will both start in the consolation semifinals today with a shot at the third place match for the Hokies. Joining them in that round is Hunter Garvin for the Fightin’ Trees who has been on an absolute tear after a tough top side loss and has been smiling all the way through. The final ACC wrestler in the consolation semis is Isaac Trumble for the Wolfpack. I could go on for hours about the performance from Trumble this weekend. After reaggravating a serious knee injury he fought through a brutal Blood Round match with Nick Feldman and will face his former teammate--and roommate--Owen Trephan for a spot in the third place match. The ACC will end the tournament with 10 All-Americans, which, though short of what we hoped for, is still pretty damn impressive. NCAA Finalists 125 Vince Robinson (North Carolina State) v Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) 149 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) v Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Consolation Semifinals--winners go to 3rd/4th losers to 5th/6th place match 125 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) v Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) 133 Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech) v Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) 149 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) v Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) 165 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) v Christopher Minto (Nebraska) 285 Isaac Trumble (NC State) v Owen Trephan (Lehigh) 7th/8th Place 133 Tyler Knox (Stanford) v Jacob VanDee (Nebraska) 174 Matty Singleton (NC State) v Danny Wask (Navy) 197 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) v Camden McDanel (Nebraska)

125 lbs Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) dec Dean Peterson (Rutgers) 6-4 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) dec Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) 7-3 Matt Ramos (Purdue) dec Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) 8-2 Caleb Smith (Nebraska) dec Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia) 12-9 133 lbs Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) maj Angelo Rini (Indiana) 8-0 Braeden Davis (Penn State) dec Evan Frost (Iowa State) 4-2 Tyler Knox (Stanford) dec Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) 5-0 Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech) dec Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 5-1 141 lbs Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) 4-1SV Jacob Frost (Iowa State) dec Sergio Lemley (Michigan) 9-8 CJ Composto (Penn) dec Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) 4-0 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) dec Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) 5-3 149 lbs Ethan Stiles (Oregon State) fall Malyke Hines (Lehigh) 2:12 Sammy Alvarez (Rider) dec Jordan Williams (Little Rock) 5-0 Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State) dec Kannon Webster (Illinois) 4-0 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) dec Kross Wasilewski (Penn) 4-2 157 lbs Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State) dec Chase Saldate (Michigan) 7-4SV Tyler Kasak (Penn State) dec Jude Swisher (Penn) 5-4 Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) dec Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) 11-6 Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) dec Tommy Askey (Minnesota) 2-1TB 165 lbs Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley) dec Nick Hamilton (Virginia) 5-0 Cam Amine (Oklahoma State) dec Braeden Scoles (Illinois) 8-1SV Hunter Garvin (Stanford) dec Julian Ramirez (Cornell) 16-12 Cam Steed (Missouri) dec Beau Mantanona (Michigan) 4-1SV 174 lbs Simon Ruiz (Cornell) dec Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) 2-1 Matty Singleton (NC State) Lennox Wolak (Columbia) 13-8 Danny Wask (Navy) dec Nick Incontrera (Penn) 5-3 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) dec Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh) 7-6 184 lbs Silas Allred (Nebraska) dec Dylan Fishback (NC State) 4-0 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) dec DJ Parker (Oklahoma) 4-2 DJ Washington (Indiana) dec Edmond Ruth (Illinois) 8-4 Chris Foca (Cornell) dec Aidan Brenot (North Dakota State) 2-0 197 lbs Joey Novak (Wyoming) maj Michael Beard (Lehigh) 13-4 Camden McDanel (Nebraska) dec Gabe Sollars (Indiana) 7-3 Stephen Little (Little Rock) tech Seth Shumate (Ohio State) 15-0 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) dec Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) 4-2 285 lbs Ben Kueter (Iowa) dec Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) 5-1 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) maj Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven) 15-5 Isaac Trumble (NC State) dec Nick Feldman (Ohio State) 5-3 Josh Heindselman (Michigan) dec Luke Luffman (Illinois) 2-1TB

125 lbs #4 Vince Robinson (NC State) dec #8 Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 4-2 #7 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) dec #3 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) 6-4TB 133 lbs #1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec #4 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) 2-0 #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec #14 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) 6-1 141 lbs #1 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec #5 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) 11-4 #3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) #2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 2-1TB 149 lbs #1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) dec #13 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) 6-2 #2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec #3 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) 14-8 157 lbs #8 Joey Blaze (Purdue) dec #20 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) 4-2 #3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) dec #2 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) 7-2 165 lbs #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) maj #12 Christopher Minto (Nebraska) 13-2 #3 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) dec #2 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 14-10 174 lbs #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) dec #13 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 7-6 #3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) dec #2 Levi Haines (Penn State) 4-2 184 lbs #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec #4 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 9-3 #2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec #3 Max McEnelly (Minnesota) 4-1SV 197 lbs #4 Josh Barr (Penn State) dec#1 Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) 5-3 #2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) dec #3 AJ Ferrari (CSU Bakersfield) 3-0 285 lbs #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) maj #4 Owen Trephan (Lehigh) 13-5 #2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) dec #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 8-2

Come back often to read David's analysis from the 2025 NCAA Semifinals SEMIFINALS 125 lbs: It’s time for the dogbone!! Semis on the inside, blood rounds on the outside, dreams are made and crushed tonight. My guy Ethan Carl had the crowd buzzing with a stirring rendition of the national anthem. Reminder, semifinal winners get 6 + 1 + bonus, while blood round winners get 3 + 0.5 + bonus. Friday is moving day!!! #8 Seymour vs #4 VRob and a rematch #3 Eddie V vs #7 Spratley who won the match in December in GIA. Eddie V in right away, Spratley trying to stalemate and does. Spratley big riding advantage so Eddie V needs to get to work on his feet. VRob likes to start slow and figure it out so the match is his pace right now. Not much happening tbh. This round is so important that sometimes it slows down. Spark plug and Eddie V go scoreless. VRbo won 10-6 in November vs SS. Spratley down and looking R2, Eddie V grabbing his own leg and working on RT. Spratley gets the reversal which is BIG. Caution Eddie V. Escape VRob and TD VRob. Eddie V E1. 2-1 Spratley. 4-0 VRob. Eddie chooses down. E1 would tie it. Blood time VRob. Ventresca beautiful short sit and we are tied 2-2. Eddie has :50 RT and a caution. 1:00 to go Eddie V vs Spratley. TD will win it Eddie great post swing single. Spratley shin whizzer. :20 to go on the restart. Blood time. 4-2 VRob they are neutral. Seymour needs a TD. 1:00 to go. VRob so hard to find. Lateral movement is SO nice. LOOOONGGG stoppage in the other semi. Both on blood time now. OT Spratley match. VRob wins to make the finals!!! The finals will be rematch either way. Ventresca good shot. Stalemate. :26 to go. Eddie V has taken all the shots. Heading to the rideouts. Eddie down 1st. Eddie E1, Spratley TD3 and will ride out. Spratley down. Eddie will cut. Needs a fast TD. Spratley will make the finals!!! OSU jumps into 2nd place. Finals will be a rematch of Robinson and Spratley that Robinson won in GIA. 133 lbs: Byrd vs Romney and Ayala vs Fugitt. Fugitt is the FR from Nixa MO, shout out Dustin Martin. Ayala best slide by in the weight class, so smooth. Good attack by Fugitt. Slow close to scoring but no points. Romney and Byrd getting to know each other. No threats yet. Ayala good attack and kick out by Fugitt. 30 to go in both matches. Ayala down 1st. Byrd down 1st. Both guys out quick 1-0 on serve. Van Dee AA for NEB and they are back in 2nd place. IA challenge. Romney picks down. Byrd will try for RT. Good lift by Byrd. RT at 40 and climbing for Byrd. At 1:00 now and 58 in the match. Byrd really tough ride. Winners win and Byrd to the finals. Ayala gets the TD on the challenge and 2NF at the buzzer and just like that it’s 6-0. Fugitt E1. 45 to go. Ayala will be back in the finals. B10 rematch Byrd vs Ayala part 3. Fugitt will be back in the morning. 141 lbs #1 Hardy vs #5 Happel, #3 Mendez vs #2 Bartlett. Jordan Williams LR vs Sammy Alvarez Rider were teammates a year ago at OSU. Jameson loses in OT which keeps OSU in 3rd. IA now 4th, IL up to 5th. 3 B10 entries in the semis just like 133. Bartlett doesn’t mind low scoring affairs. Happel with a nice slide by attempt. Hardy in and we are in the waterfall. Quick stalemate. Hardy strikes 1st TD3. Both of these are rematches. Happel won 7-5 and BB won both matches with Mendez this year. E1 Happel and another TD3 for Hardy. E1 Happel. Hardy must know how dangerous Happel is on bottom. Fish wins for OSU and NEB and OSU are tied for 2nd team score. Happel chooses down to start the 2nd. BB down, up and out quickly for 1-0 lead. They were holding a stall on top which prevented a sweet Winn Dixie by Hardy. Happel great knee pull single and Hardy getting scrambly. Mendez up and out and RT is exactly 0:00. TD or OT will decide it. Hardy quick E1 and is up 7-3. Happel good shot but Hardy sits the corner again and we have a stalemate. Mendez in on a leg. :15 to go. Almost a finish. They waive it off and we have brick for J Jaggers and Ohio State. Hardy will get a 11-4 Win and into the finals. Feel good story!!! Review on mat 4. NEB alone in 2nd. Lost brick. OT for Mendez and BB. Literally nothing going on in the OT. Blood stoppage and 34 to go til rideouts. Rideouts here we come. Mendez down 1st. Bartlett has rode for :14. Now for 22. Kasak gives PSU 10 ALL AMERICANS. Mendez gets out 27 seconds of RT. He has to ride him out to win. Mendez is SO CLUTCH! He rides like the returning champ he is and will face Hardy Saturday night!!! Ohio State jumps to 5th. 149 lbs The defending champ Caleb Henson vs surprise semifinalist D’Emilio and old friends Ridge Lovett and Shane Van Ness. Lovett with a quick TD and leg in. Not best scenario for SVN. 3 NF Lovett up 6-0. Good mat return by Lovett. Rocking the pink combat speed prototypes. DD and Henson scoreless 1st 2 minutes. Absolutely dominant period for Lovett. Cradle and 10-0 lead. Monster period. If I was Lovett I’d pick top. DD picks down 1st. Lovett up and out. DD with a reversal. Big upset possible. Henson E1 and they are back on serve. High crotch SVN and it’s 12-6. E1. SVN trying to go to work on his feet. Henson takes the lead 5-2 1:00 to go. SVN going to run out of time he needs feet to back. Henson has RT and unless something crazy happens it will be Lovett vs Henson tomorrow night and big points for NEB and VT. Should be a dandy tomorrow night. 157 lbs Chaos in the top half as #8 Blaze will take on #20 Chumbley. Chalk at the bottom #3 Taylor vs #2 Shapiro. Trelly and Slicedawg should be very entertaining. Slicedawg wants space and Trelly wants to be in the pocket. Shapiro good attack, Taylor great defensive hips. No score Blaze/Chumbley and not much offense at this point. Blaze waterfall and steps over for TD3. Taylor gets to the body and good D by Shapiro. Great match for no score. 1st period scoreless. E1 Chumbley and 3-1 at the break. Shapiro will go down and Chumbley will do the same. Shapiro out quick. E1 Chumbley. Shapiro in on a leg, kickout Trelly. Both guys wrestling on a knee. Taylor will choose down. Hard mat return Shapiro. Blaze picks down for the 3rd. Taylor out. Coin flip match there. Blaze out quick. TD Taylor. Patrick Kennedy AA for IA. Shapiro out and Taylor ices him 7-2. Nebraska has 7 AAs and at least 3 in the finals. Unbelievable tournament. He will take on Joey Blaze. 165 lbs Mesenbrink vs Minto, Caliendo vs Hall. Mesenbrink a massive favorite. Caliendo and MM both with quick TDs and it feels like these guys are destined for the finals. Caliendo low key has been so good vs everyone not named Mesenbrink. MM 4-0. Caliendo 6-1. Hall E1. 6-2 Mikey. Hall in now deep single and scores. 9-5 at the break. Caliendo down and up and out. MM 8-0 and RT big #. Caliendo 10-5. NEB is going to take 2nd folks unbelievable tournament for them. AAs at 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174 and maybe 197. OSU pretty much locked in for 3rd. 4th up for grabs still. MM exhausting the scoreboard and Mikey C up 13-6. MM into the finals 13-2. Caliendo will meet him there. Really helps IA with those points. 174 lbs Marquee matchups: O’Toole vs Devos and Levi vs DJ. DJ with the quick TD and D1 Levi. Keegan with a TD. DJ Hamiti came to wrestle the DT connection between these 2 is real. 3-1 DJ and Levi picks down and is out quick. 3-1 Keegan and Devos up and out quick. Now Levi in on a shot. Great baseline D by Hamiti. Devos in deep and scores it to take the lead. Gets hit for stalling on top stuck on the leg. 3-2 Hamiti going into the 3rd and he has choice. Will go down and he is out. Hamiti quick shot short offense Levi. We are scrambling now. Keegan out. 5-4 Devos but Keegan choice next period. Levi 45 seconds to go get it. In on a single. Stalemate with 28 to go. Keegan R2 and Hamiti is going to upset Levi Haines. Keegan up 6-5 on top and RT at 56. Devos E1 would not be enough. Devos needs a R2. E1. Devos in, Keegan is Houdini. We will have a B12 final rematch tomorrow night. 184 lbs Starocci vs Plott, McEnelly vs Keckeisen. HERE WE GO. McEnelly vs Keck is super intriguing. Starocci in on a leg. And he converts. Starocci 2nd TD up 6-1. Max and Keck will go scoreless 1st period. Max down 1st. Starocci chooses down. Max is out 22 RT for Keck, Starocci R2. He is special people. 8-1 CS. 1-0 Max. Max and Keck feel like they are headed to OT already. Nice E1 by Plott. Keck picks down. Taking his time getting set lol. Out quick. 1-1. Plott chooses down. Starocci 8-3. Both matches 40 to go. Starocci going for the major. OT Keck and Max. Starocci is now a 5x finalist. Great shot reshot re re shot and no points Max and Keck. Max in deep. Leg in the air and Keckheisen with an AMAZING counter to get the win. We get a rematch of the All Star Meet that went to OT 197 lbs Cardenas vs Barr rematch and the matchup I think we are all interested in, Buchanan vs Ferrari. Cardenas in right away and great hips by Barr to get the TD. He has a turk and has Cardenas in trouble Ferrari being Ferrari. Controlling the space and pace. Barr 3-0 and 1:20 of RT. E1 Cardenas. Buchanan has been a beast as the match goes on so very interested in how the match develops. Ferrari trusts his ability to ride and get away so he is not high risk on his feet. 0-0 scoreless. AJ down 1st. Blood time. Barr 3-1 and he chooses down. Barr E1. Buchanan doing a good job riding. Buchanan up oer 1:00 of RT and now it gets interesting. Buchanan is doing a great job. Barr and Cardenas not doing much this period. Buchanan got 1 swipe but a 2:00 rideout is huge. Big decision here. Pick Neutral and keep the RT or pick down and maybe get rode out. IA brick for 2 swipes. Cardenas up and out. 4-2 and RT for Barr. Lost brick for IA. Buchanan will choose down. Cardenas has to go get it. Locked hands against AJ. CSUB brick. Barr has RT locked so Cardenas needs a TD to tie. Now Stall point. TD would give Cardenas the W. Barr too tough. Makes the 1st period TD stand up and PSU has ANOTHER finalist. Still waiting on CSUB brick decision. Brick lost. AJ should cut him. E1 Buchanan and he has 1:20 RT. Blood stoppage. AJ gotta let it rip. Needs a TD and rideout. Instead Buchanan is in on a single. Ferrari gets OOB. has 17 seconds to get a TD. And Buchanan gets it down. Great ride was the difference. Buchanan vs Barr tomorrow night. 285 lbs Gable vs Trephan, Wyatt vs Kerk. Gable is a freaking unicorn. So special. Gable TD3. No score other semi. Hendrickson with the 1st TD. Now it gets interesting. Gable with a 2nd TD. Steveson up 7-2 with bonus Minnesota would jump from 10th to 5th. Kerk is up and out. 3-2 Wyatt and he has 1:27 RT. Wyatt picks down and out quick. And a quick TD and he is going to win unless something crazy happens. Trephan E1 and it’s 7-3. Minnesota could use bonus but Gable only has 1 minute left. Wyatt has dominated which is surprising. Gable TD cuts him and gets to the major. Wyatt wins and has a meeting with Gable tomorrow night.

We had a busy day on Thursday with Penn State going 20-0 sending the whole squad to the quarterfinals. Nebraska had an incredible opening day too, charging out to second place to start day two with Oklahoma State one point behind. The Thursday night session was chock full of wild upsets, setting us up for a fun day two and a lot of potential for volatility in the top ten team standings with the big point totals for moving to the semifinals. 1) Penn State 39.5 2) Nebraska 28.0 3) Oklahoma State 27.0 4) Iowa 18.0 5) Minnesota 18.0 6) Ohio State 18.0 7) Northern Iowa 17.5 8. Cornell 17.0 9) Illinois 16.5 9) Michigan 16.5 11) Virginia Tech 12.0 12) Lehigh 11.0 13) Indiana 10.5 14) NC State 10.5 14) Penn 10.5 16) Purdue 16.0 17) Maryland 9.5 18) Iowa State 9.0 18) Oregon State 9.0 18) Rutgers 9.0 18) South Dakota State 9.0 The first half opened up with two straight losses from Penn State to allow Nebraska to close the gap going into the back half of the round. Team scores through 157 quarterfinals 1) Penn State 53.5 2) Nebraska 53.0 3) Oklahoma State 38.0 4) Ohio State 32.0 5) Illinois 27.0 6) Cornell 26.5 7) Iowa 26.0 7) Northern Iowa 26.0 7) Virginia Tech 26.0 10) Minnesota 19.0 11) Lehigh 18.5 12) NC State 17.5 13) Michigan 17.0 14) Purdue 17.0 15) Cal Poly 12.5 15) Wisconsin 12.5 17) Indiana 11.0 17) Northwestern 11.0 17) Penn 11.0 20. Iowa State 10.0 20) Rutgers 10.0 20) Stanford 10.0 We had some chaotic upsets and Nebraska took the lead in the team race after their win at 165…for about 49 seconds until Penn State took it back and pulled away to end the round. We have a battle for the two spot between Nebraska--who has had an absolutely incredible tournament--and Oklahoma State who has performed up to their expectations. There is a super tight race for the final trophy spot with Iowa, Northern Iowa, Ohio State and Minnesota all within 6.5 points. The quarterfinal round always has the most volatility with a win guaranteeing placement points, but we will also see a smaller jump tonight with teams getting finalist points with a win in the semifinals and AA points with a win in the bloodround. It’s going to be a fun one to watch. Final Team Scores after Session 3 1) Penn State 90.5 2) Nebraska 65.5 3) Oklahoma State 63.0 4) Iowa 42.0 5) Northern Iowa 37.5 6) Ohio State 37.0 7) Minnesota 35.5 8. Illinois 33.5 9) Cornell 29.5 10) Michigan 27.5 11) Lehigh 26.0 11) Virginia Tech 26.0 13) NC State 20.5 14) South Dakota State 19.0 15) Missouri 18.5 16) Purdue 17.0 17) Penn 16.0 18) West Virginia 15.5 19) Indiana 15.0 20) Wisconsin 14.0

All year, when the subject of the NCAA team race came up, it wasn’t whether or not Penn State would win - it was by how much and if they would set any records. Penn State still could, and probably should, win the team championship; however, Nebraska made the prospect extremely interesting with an excellent quarterfinal round. The Cornhuskers won four of five quarterfinal bouts and even briefly held the lead after a comeback win by Christopher Minto in the 165 lb quarterfinal. The lead was short-lived - Penn State ended up righting the ship and extending their lead to 25 by the end of the morning session (90.5 to 65.5 over Nebraska). For a few minutes, it gave fans a reason to grumble or, if you enjoyed the moment, to take a picture of the video board showing the scores. Nebraska’s surprising run through the quarterfinals started with top-seeded Brock Hardy, who continued his hot run of late. Hardy notched his third bonus-point win of the tournament as he disposed of Jacob Frost (Iowa State) by fall in the second period. Just a match earlier, Frost had upset 2023 NCAA champion Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado). Hardy will square off with longtime nemesis #5 Cael Happel in tonight’s semifinal. Happel has won their last three meetings, three of four, and their only one this season. Next up for the Huskers was 149 lber Ridge Lovett who had a rematch of the Big Ten finals with Illinois freshman Kannon Webster. In their conference championship bout, Lovett grinded out a 1-0 win. This time he was able to work from the top position and cruised to a 12-0 major decision. #3 Antrell Taylor kept the line moving with a 4-3 win over #11 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock). At 165 lbs, #12 Christopher Minto used a last-second takedown to score an 8-7 win over #4 Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley). For the first two months of the season, Minto wasn’t even the starter for Nebraska during the first two months of the season. His rise to the NCAA semifinals has been meteoric. Penn State still had a huge quarterfinal round as they pushed seven wrestlers through to the semifinals. The Nittany Lions won their final five bouts and put the entire back half of their lineup in the semis (Mesenbrink/65, Haines/74, Starocci/84, Barr/97, Kerkvliet/285). Additionally, Beau Barlett (141) and Shayne Van Ness (149) also punched their tickets to tonight’s semifinal round. Two of the day's biggest upset involved #1 seeds from Penn State. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) was able to reverse the results of their early season dual and knocked off true freshman Luke Lilledahl (Penn State). Seymour was able to get the win in a tactical bout that was decided by riding time, with a 2-2 score. The bout was Penn State’s first loss of the entire tournament. It also set the tone for a wild quarterfinal round. Four matches later, Penn State saw another top-seed fall as Joey Blaze (Penn State) used a late takedown to knock off #1 Tyler Kasak (Penn State), 5-4. Though the two are in the Big Ten, they did not meet each other this season. Other notable lower-seeded wrestlers in the semifinals include #13 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin/133), #13 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State/149), #20 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern/157), #12 Christopher Minto (Nebraska/165), #13 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State/174).

125 lbs #8 Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) dec #1 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) 2-2RTTB #4 Vince Robinson (NC State) dec #12 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) 4-2 #3 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) dec #6 Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia) 4-1SV #7 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) dec #2 Matt Ramos (Purdue) 5-2 133 lbs #1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) maj #8 Braeden Davis (Penn State) 12-1 #4 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) dec #21 Angelo Rini (Indiana) 8-2 #14 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) fall #6 Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech) 2:29 #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) maj #7 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) 23-10 141 lbs #1 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) fall #9 Jacob Frost (Iowa State) 2:12 #5 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) dec #4 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) 2-1TB #3 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) maj #6 Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) 17-5 #2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec #10 CJ Composto (Penn) 5-0 149 lbs #1 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) dec #8 Jordan Williams (Little Rock) 8-5SV #13 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) dec #12 Ethan Stiles (Oregon State) 7-3 #3 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) dec #6 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina) 7-2 #2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) maj #7 Kannon Webster (Illinois) 12-0 157 lbs #8 Joey Blaze (Purdue) dec #1 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) 5-4 #20 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) dec #12 Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State) 6-4 #3 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) dec #11 Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) 4-3 #2 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) dec #7 Vinny Zerban (Northern Colorado) 9-4 165 lbs #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) dec #8 Cam Amine (Oklahoma State) 5-0 #12 Christopher Minto (Nebraska) dec #4 Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley) 8-7 #3 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) dec #6 Beau Mantanona (Michigan) 7-2 #2 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) dec #7 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) 6-5 174 lbs #1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) maj #24 Lennox Wolak (Virginia Tech) 13-1 #13 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) dec #5 Simon Ruiz (Cornell) 4-3 #3 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) dec #11 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 8-6 #2 Levi Haines (Penn State) dec #7 Danny Wask (Navy) 7-2 184 lbs #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) maj #8 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 9-1 #4 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec #12 Silas Allred (Nebraska) 12-5 #3 Max McEnelly (Minnesota) dec #6 Chris Foca (Cornell) 10-7 #2 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) maj #10 Edmond Ruth (Illinois) 13-5 197 lbs #1 Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) dec #24 Gabe Sollars (Indiana) 10-5 #4 Josh Barr (Penn State) maj #5 Michael Beard (Lehigh) 14-3 #3 AJ Ferrari (CSU Bakersfield) dec #6 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) 3-0 #2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) tech #23 Seth Shumate (Ohio State) 18-3 285 lbs #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) tech #9 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 20-5 #4 Owen Trephan (Lehigh) dec #5 Ben Kueter (Iowa) 4-2 #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) dec #6 Josh Heindselman (Michigan) 5-0 #2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) fall #7 Isaac Trumble (NC State) 2:14

Vince Robinson (NC State) 125 lbs Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) 125 lbs Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 125 lbs Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) 125 lbs Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) 133 lbs Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 133 lbs Drake Ayala (Iowa) 133 lbs Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) 141 lbs Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) 149 lbs Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 149 lbs Joey Blaze (Purdue) 157 lbs Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) 157 lbs

Check here often as David Mirikitani will live blog for the quarterfinals It’s Christmas in March ladies and gentlemen!! Laptop is charged, phone is charged, caffeine is loaded, LET’S GO! Quarterfinals and WBs this morning. ESPN in the house. If you are rooting for a favorite school or your fantasy squad, you already know, this is moving day. Winners in the quarterfinals get 6 points for guaranteed 6th place, 1 for advancement and 1, 1.5 or 2 for bonus. Same for the semis. Melina Cruz absolutely crushed the national anthem and this place is hyped. This is the real March Matness!! Brackets are ready to go. 125 matchups: Lightning Luke vs Seymour in a rematch, Peterson vs VRob, Eddie V vs Strick and Sparkplug vs Ramos. 125 lbs Inside mats frontside, Outside backside, you know the drill. What are you hyped about? Let my man Earl Smith know, he has all the answers. Penn State is undefeated and favored in 9 of the 10 quarters. Seymour to a leg early, LL with a nice shin whizzer. Feeling out process on these mats. Seymour with another shot. 7 B10 teams in the top 10. Peterson and VRob scrambling on 4. VRob clutch last night. Sparkplug scores 1st vs Ramos with a scramble stepover TD. Big :13 here for the rideout. 3 bouts 0-0 at the break. Spratley 3-0. Seymour is up and out. Peterson up and out then VRob with TD to go up 3-1. Ramos R2 to close it to 3-2. Peterson out 3-2, VRob choice next. LL up and out. 1-1. TD will decide it. Spratley makes it 4-2. VRob picks down and he is out. Peterson applying pressure. Ramos cuts Spratley. Down 3 time to go. LL patented lefty swing single and Seymour forward roll out hit for stalling. OT LL and Seymour. Ramos in on a single needs to finish. VRob into the semis!!! Spratley into the semis!! Strick and Eddie V into OT. Stalemate LL and SS. wildness!! Great no score scramble Eddie V and Strick. Warning Eddie V. Rideouts for LL and SS. Seymour out in :12. Eddie V with clutch OT TD to advance. LL down. Has 11 to get out. Restart. SS only has to rid :03 to be ahead. Stall Seymour. LL gets out he wins if not he loses. Seymour wins the rematch!!! Lehigh has an AA. Semi matchups #8 Seymour vs #4 VRob and #3 Ventresca vs #7 Spratley in a rematch that sparkplug won big at their dual at GIA in December prior to Hall of Fame Duals. 133 lbs On to 133. #1 Byrd vs #8 Davis, #21 Rini vs #4 Romney, #14 Fugitt vs #5 McGonagle and #7 Bouzakis vs #2 Ayala. OSU up to 2nd and VT up to 4th and NCST up to 8th with those results. 4 minute break to catch our breath and back at it. McGonagle quick TD and E1. Romney quick TD. Ayala up 9-3 just like that. These 133s aren’t easing into it. At All. Byrd up 3-0. E1 Rini. TD Bouzakis to make it 9-6. Fugitt feet to back for the fall!!! Into the semis!! 10-6 the Drake after 1. Love the Drake to all the Seinfeld fans out there. Drake 14-6 now. Byrd feet to back to blow it open vs Davis. Romney up 6-2. 125 quarters were bonkers nailbiters. 133 massive separation so far. A fall and 3 bigger point spreads. Ayala 17-7 into the 3rd. 20-8 now. Byrd going to win by major 8 big team points for your Fighting Illini. Romney into the semis 8-2 and the Drake wins 23-10. Hopefully you bet the over in that match. Semis are set #1 Byrd vs #4 Romney and #14 Fugitt vs #2 Ayala. 141 on deck. #1 Hardy vs #9 Frost, #5 Happel vs #4 Koderhandt, #3 Mendez vs #6 VomBaur and #10 Composto vs #2 Bartlett. 141 lbs Top 6 seeds still alive. Iowa from off the board to 4th and IL off the board to 5th. Moving day folks. It’s oddly quiet here for now. Defending champ Mendez quick TD and E1 for VomBaur. In 1965 had 10 in the qtrs and same for 1982 IA. in both cases they went 6-4 in the qtrs and ended with 9 AAs. PSU going for 10 AAs to match Minnesota. 2nd TD Mendez. TD Hardy. Hardy has a cradle locked up. Mendez came to wrestle. 3rd 1st period TD. Bartlett E1 to start 2nd period and gets the TD to go up 4-0. Hardy up 7-0 and gets the fall in a tilt that ended up in an inverted mount. Nebraska will move into 2nd with 9 points. Mendez 13-2 all over Vombaur. Koderhandt ties it up. Composto chooses neutral down 4-0 and 1:08 RT. Koderhandt and Happel OT. BB into semis for PSU. Happel in, roll through Koderhandt, almost cradle, short time, no TD. TBs it is. Mendez wins via major. Happel out in :05. Big advantage. Koderhandt smart decision chooses neutral, Happel :04 to avoid a TD for the dub. And he does it. UNI with a semifinalist. They will pass IL and tie IA. Hardy vs Happel 1 v 4 and Mendez v Beau 3 v 2 semis. Chalk at 141 and those matches should be fire. 149 lbs 149 Henson vs JW, Stiles vs D’Emilio, SVN vs Lachlan and Kannon vs Ridge. Lovett strikes 1st at 149 to go up 3-0. D’Emilio with a TD to go up 3-0, Henson with a TD as well, very crafty finish from the champ after great scramble D from JW. Blair vs Sem on mat 5. 3-1 Henson, 6-2 D.D., 7-0 Ridge and 0-0 SVN/Lachlan. JW E1 and TD to go up 4-3. 4-4 now. JW will be a tough out. Super Talented and a unique feel. Henson up and out, Stiles up and out, Ridge up 7-0. Lachlan with E1. 3rd period D’Emilio picks down and he is out to increase lead to 7-3. Stoppage in Lovett match. JW chooses down. Henson trying to get RT. SVN down to start the 3rd and he is out it’s 1-1. SVN gets the TD and the lead. JW out before RT is at 1:00. D’Emilio the 13 seed into the semis. BIG for Ohio State. 4-2 SVN 40 to go. Henson and JW 5-5 20 to go, Ridge in complete control. SVN great level change to ice it. He advances, JW and Caleb in OT. Ridge wins 12-0. Henson in deep and gets it done. Winners find a way. Semis tonight #1 Henson vs #13 D’Emilio and #3 SVN vs #2 Lovett. 157 lbs PSU, NEB, OSU, tOSU, IL, IA, UNI, VT top 8 up to the moment. 157 1 Kasak vs 8 Blaze, 12 Fish vs 20 Chumbley, 3 Trelly vs 11 Matty B, 7 Vinny Z vs 2 Slicedawg. Fish very winnable match that would be huge for the Cowboys. Kasak shot and a stalemate, Chumbley in waterfall vs Fish. Kasak strikes 1st with the TD. Fish was going to RS this year, Teague got injured and he comes out and now both are here in Philly. Slicedawg with the TD and R2 for Zerban. Fish Chumbley 0-0 after 1. Fish down 1st. R2 Fish. 3-1 TK after 1. Trelly down 1st 0-0 after 1. Official review on mat 6. Trelly out quick and TD3 to go up 4-0. Bianchi goes feet to back on Taylor but they rule it OOB. Close call. Fish riding tough. Shapiro up 5-1. Kasak up 3-2 with choice in 3rd. Vinny R2 to make it 5-3. Chumbley down 2-0 and chooses down. Taylor up 4-2. Kasak out. 6-3 Shapiro after 2. Blaze with TD and the lead 5-4. P1 against Fish and R2 Chumbley. It’s 3-2 on the board but RT is locked so it’s 3-3. Blaze is going to upset Kasak as the 2nd PSU 1 seed goes down! Trelly into the semis. 3-3 Chumbley and Fish and Fish has RT. Chumbley gets the TD to take the lead. Up 2 with :07 to go. Chumbley into the semis and Shapiro into the semis. 157 is CHAOS folks. #8 Blaze vs #20 Chumbley and #3 Trelly vs #2 Slicedawg. Team score updates shortly. PSU 2-3 so far in the quarters. 165 lbs 165 let’s set the table people. #1 MM vs #8 Amine, #12 Minto vs #4 Barraclough, #3 Mikey C vs #6 BMant and #7 Garvin vs #2 Hall. Minto vs BClough is interesting to me. BClough super tough on top Minto very crafty on his feet. PSU only up 0.5 points over NEB at this point. Wild. Garvin scores 1st and that is SIGNIFICANT. Hall is a monster on top and now Garvin does not need to choose down. BMant chest to chest with Caliendo. Amine trying to make it a street fight with Mesenbrink. Hands to the face warning against Amine. Minto BClough scoreless so far. BClough chooses down. My guess is Minto will choose neutral. BClough up and out. MM/Amine scoreless after 1. Hall with a TD at the buzzer to go up 4-3. Minto TD, Bclough E1. Now TD BClough to go up 5-3. Hall now up 6-3. MM up and out. Caliendo with the TD and the lead. MM TD to go up 4-0. 33 to go. Minto chose down which idk was a good decision.RT accruing for BClough. MM up 4-0 after 2. Amine down. BMant in striking distance down 3-2. Minto still down, gets the R2. Cuts him and gets TD3 at the buzzer on a go behind for the DUB!! At the moment NEB is leading the tournament, Caliendo into the semis. MM with a saddle in the 3rd period to win 5-0 and into the semis. 1 match left. PSU back in the lead. Hall up 6-5 great defense by Hall from Garvin bodylock. 60 to go. 20 to go and Hall head hands D Garvin trying everything but it won’t be enough. Semis tonight Mesenbrink vs Minto and Caliendo vs Hall. 174 lbs 174 on deck. Keegan vs Wolak, Ruiz vs Devos, Hamiti vs PK and Wask vs Levi. Keegan for TD right away. He is not 100% physically but a complete stud mentally and intellectually. Levi TD3. Hamiti up 3-1. He wrestled Brands in the dual not PK. E1 Wask. Devos up 3-0. Keegan in again, his finish % is soooo good and he gets it. Devos 3-1 lead. Hamiti up and out to make it 4-1. Keegan with NF3 to go up 9-1. PK TD3 and E1 Hamiti. 5-4 DJ. 8-5 Hamiti now. 9-1 Keegan going into the 3rd. Brick in Devos match. Levi up 4-2. PK E1 down 2 now 40 to go. Levi TD to ice it. Hamiti wins 8-6. Lost brick I believe for SDSU. Keegan up 10-1 10 to go and he gets a TD. Top semi will be Keegan vs Devos/Ruiz winner and the bottom is the match a lot of people want to see DJ Hamiti vs Levi Haines. Devos up 4-1 going into 3rd. Ruiz will choose down. Blood for Devos. Ruiz out quickly to make it 4-2. Devos in on a leg, Ruiz sitting corner, Devos shelfing the foot, stalemate. 60 to go. Blood again. NEB is wrestling SO WELL. Very realistic chance to end up 2nd. Devos in on a leg and stalemate. 18 left. Time to run if you are Devos. P1 with 8 to go and Devos wins. 184 lbs 184 quarterfinals: Starocci vs Jaxon Smith, Allred vs DPlott, McEnelly vs Foca and Ruth vs Keckheisen. Keckheisen with TD 30 in to go up 3-0. Plott TD3 and blood time. McEnelly TD3. This kid is special. Quick E1 for Foca. Keckheisen hard ride. Plott on top. Jaxon/Starocci scoreless 2:00 in, now TD Starocci. Plott with another TD. Keckheisen 3-0 and 2:34 RT after 1. McEnelly up and Foca tied at 6s. 3 of these matches seem to be in control with Starocci, Plott and Parker all building leads. Foca good D and it’s 6-6 and Max picks down. He’s out 7-6 lead 90 to go. 60 left. Barnburner finish coming I’d guess. Max with the go behind. E1 Foca. 10-7. 20 to go. McEnelly into the semis and 7 team points for the Gophers. Plott 11-5 and RT lead. Keckheisen with the major and UNI jumps into 4th place. Starocci with a major. Plott will win 12-5. Semis are awesome and chalk! Starocci vs Plott and McEnelly vs Keckheisen. 197 lbs 197: Cardenas vs Sollars, Barr vs Beard rematch, Ferrari vs Stout, Shumate vs Buchanan, 5 B10 guys in this weight. Ferrari greeted with scattered boos. Cardenas quick TD and the lead. Shumate with huge throw of Buchanan but Buchanan rolls through and no points. Ohio State brick. tOSU had a TERRIBLE brick last night at 157 where they took 2 points off the board and lost the challenge smh. Barr TD3 and the lead. Beard is out. NF4 Cardenas E1 Sollars 7-1 lead. Barr is dialing it up on Beard 10-2. Shumate takes the lead 3-0 vs Buchanan. Ferrari up 1-0 going into the 3rd. Stout chooses down. Buchanan R2 to tie it up 3-3. Sollars TD3, still down 8-5 and trying to kill RT. Barr is stacking up points and Ferrari now has RT. Cardenas will survive and advance. Buchanan with NF4 to break the match open. Barr with the major. Cardenas Barr rematch tonight. Ferrari vs Buchanan is 90 away from being a reality. Buchanan was down 3-0, said hold my drink and ran off 18 straight for the tech. Beastmode. Idk about you but I am here for Ferrari vs Buchanan and Barr vs Cardenas. 8.5 points for Iowa. Buchanan 1st ever to AA for 3 schools (WYO, OU, IA). 285 lbs 285 quarters on deck: Olympians Gable vs Schultz (1st time ever this has happened?), Kueter vs Trephan, Kerk vs Heinz57, Trumble vs Captain America. Gable quick TD, Wyatt quick TD, Kerk TD, 285s are off and running. Minnesota will go from 9th to 6th with a win. Wyatt up 6-1 and going for the fall. Steveson 2nd TD. Fall Hendrickson!! 9 points for OSU. Kerk up 4-0 with a lot of RT. Keuter/Trephan scoreless after 1. Trephan down 1st. Gable 9-3 1:10 to go. Trephan with E1 and massive lift to go up 4-0. Trephan was sitting behind Trumble and now in position to AA. E1 Ben. 12-4 Gable. 4-0 Kerk going into the 3rd. Gable is SOOOO freaking good. Schultz is a beast and Gable making it look easy. 20-5 TF. 8.6 points for MINN. Keuter down 4-2 30 to go. Kerk up 4-0 and RT 20 to go. Lehigh with an AA Owen Trephan and Kerk AA as well. PSU went 7-3 this round and has 90.5 points as of 2:55pm. See you guys tonight for the semis!!!

Round of 16 live! Eight mats! Frontsides in the middle! Consis on the outside. You all know the drill. Lilledahl strikes first in the four frontside matches and leads 3-0 after one. Marc Anthony McGowan with a funky scramble and a 3-0 lead as well. Richie Figs up 4-1. Peterson with a TD, it’s 4-4 and Figs needs an escape for the lead. Seymour up 7-1 on Smith. Man, this is fun!! Dean Peterson with a reversal, cradle, and a FALL over Figueroa! There will be a new champion at 125. McGowan up 4-0 going into the third. Seymour beats Caleb Smith and Lighting Luke with the TF. Three new matches and M.A.M. 1 minute from the upset. Ventresca strikes 1st. Stalling McGowan. Caution McGowan. TD VROB at the buzzer. Brick thrown!!! Coaches want to fight each other. Strickenberger is up big on Rivera. Poulin and Spratley tied with Stevo getting RT. Reversal Spratley. Waiting on VROB TD verdict. Spratley up 2-0 1:34 RT Stevo going into 3rd period. VROB wins at the buzzer challenge denied. Strickenberger up 11-5. Eddie V up 5-1. Ramos match scoreless early. Poulin down 2-1. 1:22 to go. No RT. Spratley riding tough. Strickenberger wins a major decision. :15 to go for Spratley. Another brick. Challenging a clasp on top. Braxton Brown vs Davis. Eddie V wins 6-3. Spratley wins. Lucas Byrd vs Ryan Miller. Ramos up 8-0. TD and four-pt NF breaks it open. Max points this round is three pts/win. Ramos wins by major. Super consistent this year. Just the one loss to LL. Davis 4-1 lead over BB. 1st period TD and trade escapes. Great scramble, no points! Angelo Rini early lead over Serrano NoCo. BB reversal 4-3 1:30 to go. Rini up 6-2 now. Potential fifth seed loss. Knox/Romney scoreless 1st period. Byrd in control. Davis is gonna make the one TD hold-up. Rini 6-3 chooses down going into third. Spidle vs Bouzakis. Byrd wins and into the quarters. Evan Frost vs McGonagle starting. Rini going to get the upset. He’s been a step faster every step of the way. Bouzakis strikes 1st. Romney going to hold on vs Knox. Bouzakis' second TD. McGonagle gets the first TD halfway through the period. Nasir Bailey an almost TD vs Zan the man. Frost down 3-0 chooses neutral. Ayala up early 3-0. Bouzakis 8-3 in control. 0-0 Bailey chooses down and he is out. The Drake in complete control. Three TDs to 0. McGonagle chooses down, he’s out it’s 4-0. Drake with TD #4. Bouzakis into the quarters with a decision. McGonagle gets the W. Bailey and Fugitt 1 each 3rd period. Frost vs Alirez. Hardy vs Henson. Zan and Nasir into OT. Ayala in major territory. Hardy up 6-1. Fugitt gets OT TD to beat the three seed. Frost chooses down 0-0. Koderhandt vs Saunders. Hardy up big on Henson. Frost up and out 1-0 in the second. Happel vs Chappell, say that 3x fast. Frost trying to get RT. Alirez has his head on the mat. Up and out and Frost with the TD. Hardy via TF. BIG TD for Frost he is going to BEAT ALIREZ! Koderhandt snakes Josh Saunders for the fall. Happel up 4-1 90 seconds to go. Mendez vs Lemley. Bartlett vs Tagg. Vombaur vs Cedeno. Chappell with a TD and Happel E1 to get the W 5-4. Cedeno in early, great upside down D by Vombaur. Mendez up 3-0. Composto vs Jameson. TD Vombaur. Clasping Mendez. TD Jameson. Tagg gets behind Bartlett and Beau hits standing Granby for an awesome TD to take the lead. Cedeno with a good ride. TD Mendez, up 6-2 after 2. Jesse chooses down. Jameson up 4-0. Cedeno chooses down. Bartlett up 3-1 and RT and he gets it done. Mendez by major. Jameson up 4-0 and RT, Composto chooses neutral. Hits Jameson in a Jonesy and he’s up 6-4. Jameson can tie it with an escape before his RT runs out. Vombaur advances. Composto rides him out for the W. Big hit to OSU trophy chances. Abas vs Henson. Cross W vs JW, Parco vs Stiles, D’Emilio vs Gioffre. Henson up 4-1. Injury time Parco. D’Emilio up 5-4 3rd period. JW 7-2 in control on his feet. Stiles up 1-0. D’Emilio with the W. Henson riding hard. Stiles with a TD up 4-0 on Parco. Webster vs Realbuto. Clark vs SVN. Parco has stopped wrestling, Stiles will advance most likely by major. SVN up early. Alvarez vs Lachlan. Whalen vs Lovett rocking the pink prototypes. Webster up 6-2. Injury time Alvarez. Ohio State climbing in the team standings to second. They won 125 backside and 133, 141, 149 into the quarters. Ridge all over Whalen 11-0. SVN up six with RT locked 1:15 to go. Webster wins 8-3. Kasak vs Chittum. Quick Merkel for the TD. SVN advances. Blaze vs Askey. Lachlan up 4-2 60 to go. Team update OK State third. 125 front, 133 not here, 141 upset loss, 149 TT by major. Lovett by TF. McNeil wins 4-2. Hipolito vs Chumbley, Hipolito is a joy to watch. Blaze/Askey scoreless, not surprised. Cannon vs Fish in the 5/12 matchup. 5-2 Kasak halfway through. Blaze Askey only one escape. Predicting OT now. Kasak opening it up - the kid just keeps grinding. Cannon 4-4 with Fish. Chumbley 1-0. Nebraska up to second now. Caleb L, Van Dee W, Hardy W, Lovett W. OT for Blaze Askey as predicted. Kasak wins 8-3. Swisher vs Trelly Taylor. Chumbley vs Hipolito OT. Crazy scramble Cannon reversed Fish to his back, no backs awarded, brick tOSU. Back points awarded later in different sequences. Very interesting decision here. Blaze wins on RT on OT TB. Hipolito into the rideouts. Trelly WBF! Nebraska is ROLLING. Mesenbrink vs Mosher. Downey vs Bianchi. Chumbley brick thrown wanting danger call. tOSU brick still going. TD Downey. Mesenbrink up early, shocking. Hipolito called for clasping but gets the rideout. If he gets out we will win on RT. Ohio State loses the brick AND loses the backpoints. Absolutely brutal. 7-6 Cannon, on top 1:18 to go, no RT. Chumbley rides out for the WIN!! Another #4 seed goes down to #20. Slicedawg vs Lovett, no Teemer here. Fish vs Cannon into OT. Mesenbrink for the TF. MASSIVE bear hug bomb and Tom Ryan throws a brick asap. Sorting out what is being challenged. Huge call in the match and team race. Fish wins. Down goes # five. Lovett up 4-3 early. Caliendo vs Thomsen. Downey up 4-1. Zerban vs Saldate. TD Caliendo. 4-4 Lovett vs Shapiro after one and Shapiro down first. Downey up 4-2 60 to go. 6-1 Mikey C after one. Downey hangs on barely vs Bianchi. Brick Little Rock wanting the TD. Shapiro TD up 8-4. Zerban Saldate scoreless after one. Saldate out. Zerban in on a single. Caliendo 11-3 in the third. Long brick Downey vs Bianchi. Zerban chooses down, on serve going into the third. Bianchi WINS the brick and advances into the quarters, bad for UNI. Caliendo wins by major, Slicedawg wins by decision. Zerban with a reversal and swipes to go up 4-1. Steed vs Amine in a rematch. Ramirez vs Minto. Zerban in control and will advance to the quarters. Big W for Northern Colorado. Garvin vs Sparks. Will Miller vs Barraclough. Garvin TD. Steed Amine scoreless, quick E1 for Amine. A second stall Steed P1 for Amine. Minto and Ramirez 0-0 after 1. E1 Ramirez. P1 for Amine. 3-0. Steed picks down. E1 Steed. Minto up 7-1; upset brewing. Steed wrestling like he doesn’t know he’s losing. Barraclough up 4-0. Garvin up 7-3. Amine wins 3-1 where no one took a committed leg attack. Minto up 8-1 60 to go. BeauMant vs Scoles. Garvin advances. Minto will major Ramirez the 5 seed 11-1. Sorry peeps had to plug in. Keegan wins an epic 10-8 match vs Norman. BeauMant advances. Devos vs Thompson. Hamiti vs Singleton. Wolak vs Harkins in OT. 24 vs 25. Wolak shows up in March people!! Gets the clutch TD to advance to the quarters. Ruiz vs Ogunsanya. Casella vs PK. Hamiti cruising 6-1, and Devos up 3-1. On a consolation match note, it is hard to watch Jacori Teemer if you’re a fan of his. He is beat up and struggling. Been an absolute pleasure watching him during his career. PK up 3-0. Ruiz gets the first E1. Hamiti all over Singleton 13-2. PK chooses down. Devos 5-2 going into the third. Cassella with a tough ride on PK. Hamiti with the major. Casella 2:00 ride. Ruiz up 4-2 30 to go. Devos beats the fourth seed Thompson. Ruiz advances. SCW vs Starocci, Sax vs Haines. Gaitan vs Wask. PK advances to the quarters. Starocci up 7-0. Levi up 3-0. Penn State has not lost a match, unbelievable. Jaxon Smith vs Heller. Wask up 3-0 on Gaitan. Starocci 15 rip for the TF. Savage. All timer. Jaxon Smith goes big and gets the fall. Alex Clemsen and Maryland have a quarterfinalist. Plott up 3-0 on Fine from Columbia. Haines up 4-0. Interesting matchup on three, Gabe Arnold vs Chris Foca. The teams are 1.5 points apart - so trophy implications. Foca's big sweep single stops the dive roll and gets 7 big points. Wask gets a major and Navy has 2 in the quarters!! McEnelly vs DJ Parker. Berge vs Allred. Foca up 11-1, absolutely cruising. McEnelly up 3-0. The incredibly consistent Dustin Plott gets a major. Foca with 3:00 of RT. McEnelly 3-1 after one. Keckheisen vs Fishback. Foca 12-1 into the quarters. Allred 1-0 vs Berge so far. McEnelly 3-2 and choice into the 3rd period. Sollars vs Brophy in a match absolutely no one had in their brackets. Pinto wins in OT and somehow Kharchla is out of the tournament. Sollars with a quick TD. Keckheisen 3-0 after one. McEnelly gets the major. Berge 4-1, 60 to go, Allred firing shots. Cardenas now vs Bates. Allred gets a FALL to advance. Huge for Nebraska who move into second place. Sollars with a major to advance, IU with 2 in the quarters. Ruth vs Dean. Keckeisen is so good and so consistent, that we almost take him for granted. He will win by major. Penn State is two matches away from going 20-0 which we don’t think has EVER happened. Barr vs Munoz. Beard vs Little in R16 AA battle. No TDs on any of the front-side bouts. Cardenas with the TD to go up 4-0, Nebraska second, OSU third, tOSU fourth, Cornell/Minnesota tied for fifth at 10:07pm EST. Cardenas wins 4-1, he’s into the quarters. Beard up 1-0 via escape. Ruth and Dean in OT. Ruth TD brick or official review. Barr was holding his head. No injury time. Not sure what happened. Munoz up 2-1 heading into the third. Mr. 675 lb deadlift vs Andy Smith. Beard up 4-1 30 to go. Munoz on bloodtime. Beard advances. Barr is out it’s 2-2. Ruth out in three seconds in the rideouts. Ferrari TD end of period, clutch. Munoz stalemated trying to come out the backdoor. Shumate has Zurawski in big trouble. Ruth going to win on RT and advance. Barr and Munoz to OT. Shumate up 6-3. Stout brothers on mat six. What a weird experience. Barr in on Munoz, foot is elevated, will he get the TD, he does!!!!! PSU stays perfect. Buchanan vs Novak. Buchanan’s muscles have muscles smh. Ferrari will advance. The Stout Bros making history tonight. Great scramble Buchanan and Novak and no points scored. Shumate advances in an absolutely huge win for Ohio State. Two cracks at being an AA now. Buchanan up 5-0 and in control. Mac up 4-1 on Luke. Want to see the hug after the match. Keuter early TD vs Feldman. This is their 3rd matchup of the year. Gable is up 7-1, 4 stall calls against Yara. Gable wins by stalling DQ in the 1st period - which I would guess is a first. Mac Stout wins and a nice moment with the brothers. Buchanan gets a TF. Keuter up 6-1. Schultz vs Luffman rematch. Kerkvliet vs Hoffman. Nebraska and OK State with good sessions this evening. Owen Trephan vs Seth Nevills. Schultz Luffman scoreless after 1. Keuter is a terrible matchup for Feldman. Trephan gets the first TD vs Nevills. Kerk up 3-0. HARD mat return by Greco Olympian Schultz. Three NF Schultz. Trephan 3-1 after 1. Schultz getting full 2:00 ride and stall pt. 4-0 going into the 3rd. Keuter wins 8-2 and advances. Trephan up 7-2 going into the 3rd. Schultz choosing down. Kerk 4:00 of RT. PSU goes 20-0, a good day at the office. Ten in the quarters. Schultz advances. Trephan into the quarters. Pitzer vs Trumble ACC rematch. Heidselman vs Colbert. Captain America vs Tinker. Trumble TD, Pitzer headhunts for the R2. Hendrickson up 7-0. Heindselman up 11-1. Trumble E1 up 4-2. Heindselman TF advances. Pitzer down 4-2 chooses down to start the Third. Hendrickson WBF to advance. Trumble putting on a great ride. 36 to go up 4-2 plus locked RT. He rides out for the win. This has been a lot of fun folks. Thank you for the read and the positive feedback. We will be back at Session 3.

The second session has come to an end. Upset after upset. Brothers wrestling off for their place in the championship bracket. It’s never a dull moment in March! It’s March Matness! Dean Peterson (Rutgers) vs. Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) This match was less than boring. You have three-time NCAA Qualifier Dean Peterson, who faced adversity after injuring his knee in the B1G semis, versus 2024 NCAA Champion Richie Figueroa. Now I was skeptical of Peterson’s knee entering this tournament. He looked sharp against Oklahoma’s Lorenzo. He was on fire against Richie Figs. Figueroa got the first takedown to start the scoring. Peterson escaped before the first period ends. Figs takes bottom to start the second and quickly escapes. Peterson gets the next takedown. Figs get hit with the cautionary start. The takedown took them out of bounds. Peterson chooses bottom in the third and escapes. Figs get the takedown. Peterson quickly hits a switch, reverses, cradles Figs, and gets the FALL! Dean Peterson pins returning NCAA Champion Richie Figueroa! Peterson (RUT) def. Figueroa (ASU) fall 5:42 Gabe Arnold (Iowa) vs. Chris Foca (Cornell) Three-time NCAA Qualifier and 2023 All-American Chris Foca is having himself a night. He majored Iowa’s Gabe Arnold 12-1. Foca opens up the match by taking a shot, getting in a brief scramble, and finally getting the takedown. He puts Arnold on his back and racks up near fall all within the first minute of the match. Foca rides him for two minutes in the first. Arnold defers, and Foca chooses down to start the second and gets a quick escape. Foca works for a takedown and gets the leg. Arnold splits to avoid the takedown, taking them out of bounds. They were brought back in and Foca gets the takedown. This results in him racking up another minute of riding time for Foca before the second period ends. He ends the second period with three minutes of riding time. Arnold chose neutral for the third. Both wrestlers had heavy hands throughout the third period. Foca gets hit for stalling for backing out of the circle. They continue to circle hard. Foca was in control of the whole match. He kept the inside control for the entire seven minutes. Foca (COR) def. Arnold (IOWA) maj. 12-1 Max Stout (Pittsburgh) vs. Luke Stout (Princeton) This is the first brother match-up in Division 1 Wrestling Championship history. Both wrestlers started the match with heavy hands, both fighting for that inside control. Each took shots and re-shots attempts. Nothing happened, score-wise, in the first period. Mac Stout chooses bottom to start the second. He gets the escape and fires back with a takedown. Luke Stout is back up on his feet to get the escape. Luke Stout chooses bottom to start the third. Mac Stout rides him a bit, but Luke eventually finds his footing for the escape. Mac ends up beating his older brother 4-2. At least they still hugged it out! Can’t expect a crazy scramble-filled match with brothers. Stout (PITT) def. Stout (PRIN) dec. 4-2