2023 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Notebook • 125 pounds

WIN Magazine will provide notes and quotes about the 125-pound wrestlers at the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

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Semifinals (March 17 – 7 p.m.)

#4 Matt Ramos (Purdue) fall #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa), 6:59 — In an instant classic, Ramos jumped out to an early lead with a big throw in the first period to go up 4-1. Lee, who chose top to start the second period, used a bar tilt to rack up four nearfall points and a 5-4 lead plus riding time advantage. But the third period belonged to Ramos, who surrendered an early third period takedown but hit a cement mixer in the final minute and secured a fall with just one second left to dethrone the three-time NCAA champion Hawkeye.

#2 Pat Glory (Princeton) dec. #3 Liam Cronin (Nebraska), 8-2 — Glory scored in the first 10 seconds with a shot right off the whistle and never looked back. The Tiger scored two more takedowns and racked up nearly five minutes of riding time to punch his second consecutive trip to the national finals.

Quarterfinals (March 17 – 11 a.m.)

#1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) major dec. #8 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), 14-4 — While the three-time defending national champ added a 14^th all-time bonus point victory, he also got a scare from Noto in the first meeting between these two. Lee led 10-0 after scoring a takedown and a pair of four-point nearfalls, before Noto put Lee on is back in the second period for a four-point nearfall. Lee eventually scored two escapes and ended the bout on a takedown with three seconds left.

#4 Matt Ramos (Purdue) dec. #28 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia), 8-7. – In a wild back-and-forth battle, Ramos controlled much of the match before surrendering a late takedown that put the upset-minded Mountaineer in the lead with under 20 seconds to wrestle. Ramos then hit a series of Granby rolls and found himself on the winning end of a scramble with four ticks remaining, giving Tony Ersland his first All-American for the Boilermakers.

#3 Liam Cronin (Nebraska) dec. #27 Eddie Ventresca (Va. Tech), 3-1 sv – The Husker earned a second win over the Hokie this season but it was much tougher and ended with 1:12 left in sudden victory when Cronin scored the takedown.

#2 Pat Glory (Princeton) dec. #10 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State), 8-4. –  While Glory controlled the match early in this battle of former NCAA finalists. Courtney rallied in the third period, scoring two takedowns of his own to bring the deficit to within two. With 20 seconds remaining, the Sun Devil’s late Flying Squirrel attempt was stifled, as the Tiger punched his ticket to the semifinals for the second consecutive season.

Second Round (March 16 – 6 p.m.)

• Iowa’s three-time defending national champ Spencer Lee continued his roll as the Hawkeye senior scored a 17-0 technical fall over Michigan’s Jack Medley. This marks the 13^th time that Lee has scored bonus point in his 17 all-time NCAA victories.
• Lock Haven’s #8 seed Anthony Noto scored a reversal (1:39) and takedown (0:11) in the final period to beat Wisconsin’s No. 9 Eric Barnett, 4-3.
• West Virginia All-American Killian Cardinale once again ignored his No. 28 seed to beat Wyoming true freshman and No. 21 seed Jore Volk, 8-3.
• Purdue’s #4 Matt Ramos scored a takedown with four seconds left in the second tiebreaker to beat NC State’s Jarrett Trombley, 6-5. After the Wolfpacker rode out Ramos in the first tiebreaker, Trombley scored an escape before the deciding takedown.
• Virginia Tech’s No. 27 Eddie Ventresca scored a takedown with 48 seconds left, then rode out Minnesota’s #11 Patrick McKee the rest of the way to earn a 3-2 victory. Minnesota coaches challenged for a locked hands call with two seconds left but were denied.

First Round (March 16 – 11 a.m. CDT)

• Top two seeds, Iowa’s Spencer Lee and Princeton’s Pat Glory each scored first-period pins.

• West Virginia’s No. 28 seed Killian Cardinale upset Appalachian State’s No. 5 seed Caleb Smith, 3-2. This was not really an upset since the Mountaineer senior has qualified for four NCAAs and finished seventh in 2021. Cardinale scored the only takedown with 1:21 left in the second period.
• Wyoming’s true freshman Jore Volk, seeded No. 21, upset a former All-American in Northwestern’s Michael DeAugustino, 3-1 by scoring a takedown with 34 seconds left in sudden victory. DeAugustino was seeded No. 12 but finished fourth in the 2022 NCAAs.
• NC State’s Jarrett Trombley, seeded No. 20, defeated No. 13 Dean Peterson of Rutgers, 4-3. The Wolfpack wrestler used a first-period takedown to lead 3-1 before the Scarlet Knight tied the bout with a third-period reversal. The final point came with 1:06 left in the bout.
• Maryland’s Braxton Brown, seeded No. 19, defeated No. 14 seed Noah Surtin of Missouri 8-6. The Terp score three takedowns and used a two-point nearfall in the second period to lead 8-3 before the Tiger fought back with a third-period reversal and added a riding time point to cut the margin.
• Michigan’s Jack Medley, seeded No. 26, upset Pac-12 champ and No. 7 seed Brandon Kaylor, 3-1, scoring the bout’s only takedown with two seconds left in the first period.
• Virginia Tech’s Eddie Ventresca, seeded No. 27, upset No. 6 seed Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado, 4-2 in overtime. The deciding takedown by the Hokie came with 21 seconds left in sudden victory.

All-American Round (March 18 – 10 a.m.)

Finals (March 18 – 6 p.m.)