Penn State and Iowa enjoy perfect first round at NCAAs

Photo: Anthony Cassar (top) prepared to pin Antonio Pelusi of Franklin & Marshall during this first-round heavyweight bout in Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena. (Photo by Ginger Robinson)

RETURN TO WIN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS WEBSITE

By Mike Finn

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Penn State made a strong opening statement in its goal to win a fourth straight championship – and eighth in the last nine years — as all nine Nittany Lions won their first-round matches Thursday morning at the PPG Paints Arena.

The Nittany Lions also scored 12 bonus points among their 21 total points, led by pins by 141-pound Nick Lee (over Purdue’s Nate Limmex), 157-pound Jason Nolf (over Duke’s Ben Anderson), 165-pound Vincenzo Joseph (over Clarion’s Evan Delong), 197-pound Bo Nickal (over Rider’s Ethan Laird) and heavyweight Anthony Cassar (over Franklin and Marshall’s Antonio Pelusi).

2019_ncaa_d1_session1_teamscores_brackets

Standing in second place was Ohio State with 15.5 points, which currently edges out Oklahoma State (14.5), Iowa (14) and Minnesota (13.5). Of those teams, the Hawkeyes were the only other to enjoy an undefeated round as all nine wrestlers won their bouts. That included a come-from-behind victory by top-seed Alex Marinelli over Oklahoma State’s Joe Smith and (No. 28-seeded) heavyweight Sam Stoll’s upset of Michigan’s No. 5 seed Mason Parris.

Iowa’s Sam Stoll was only seeded No. 28 at heavyweight after the Hawkeye earned All-American honors last year. Stoll avenged that low ranking when he upset Michigan’s No. 5 seed Mason Parris in their first-round bout. (Ginger Robinson photo)

Overall, there were 21 lower-seeded wrestlers to claim victories. This was the first year that the NCAA seeded all 33 wrestlers in a weight class.

The second round of the NCAA championships will begin at 7 p.m. EDT.

Ohio State’s Ke-Shawn Hayes controlled Ohio University’s Zac Carson, 7-1, in their first-round bout at 157 pounds. (Ashley DeJager photo)

First-round upsets (victories by lower-seeded wrestlers)

133 pounds

#24 D.J. Fehlman (Lock Haven) dec. #9 Chas Tucker (Cornell), 7-2

141 pounds

#19 Sa’Derian Perry (Old Dominion) dec. #14 Jamel Morris (NC State), 5-1

#22 Max Murin (Iowa) dec. #11 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 3-2

149 pounds

#20 Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) dec. #13 Anthony Artalona (Penn), 5-4

#19 Cole Martin (Wisconsin) dec. #14 Requir van der Merwe (Stanford), 8-6 sv2

#26 Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) dec. #7 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), 5-1 sv

157 pounds

#21 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) dec. #12 Taleb Rahmani (Pitt), 7-1

#20 Luke Weiland (Army) dec. #13 Jarrett Jacquez (Missouri)_, 4-0

#19 Griffin Parriott (Purdue) dec. #14 Zach Hartman (Bucknell), 7-4

165 pounds

#24 Cael McCormick (Army) pinned #9 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley), 2:28

#21 Te’Shan Campbell (Ohio State) dec. #12 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel), 6-0

174 pounds

#20 Spencer Carey (Navy) dec. #13 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois), 10-5

#22 Ben Harvey (Army) dec. #11 Dylan Lydy (Purdue), 8-3

184 pounds

#19 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) dec. #14 Dylan Wisman (Missouri), 16-7

#26 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) dec. #7 Nick Reenan (NC State), 6-0

197 pounds

#24 Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) dec. #9 Ben Honis (Cornell), 8-5

#21 Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) dec. #12 Rocco Caywood (Army), 8-3

#18 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) dec. #15 Randall Diabe (Appalachian State), 4-3 tb

Heavyweight

#28 Sam Stoll (Iowa) dec. #5 Mason Parris (Michigan), 8-5

#20 Zach Elam (Missouri) dec. #13 Matt Voss (George Mason), 3-1 sv

#19 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) dec. #14 A.J. Nevills (Fresno State), 9-2