Most top NCAA seeds move to quarters; so too 13 double-digit seeds

Photo: Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla (top), the No. 10 seed at 165 pounds, defeated North Dakota State’s No. 7 seed Michael Calliendo in a second round match in Tulsa. The Buckeye is one of 13 wrestlers with a double-digit seed to reach Friday morning’s quarterfinals. (Ginger Robinson photo)

By Mike Finn & Tristan Warner

TULSA, Okla. — The top three seeds in each weight class remain alive for a championship following the second round of the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships that was held Thursday night.

But so too do 13 double-digit seeds, who moved onto Friday morning’s quarterfinals, which begin at 11 a.m. in the BOK Center.

This group included a pair at 125 pounds: West Virginia’s Killian Cardinale, who was seeded No. 28 despite earning All-American honors in the past, and Virginia Tech’s No. 27 seed Eddie Ventresca.

UPDATED BRACKETS

The other double-digit seeds to advance to Friday morning’s quarterfinals are Purdue’s Parker Filius (No. 12 at 141), North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil (No. 10 at 141), Penn State’s Shane Van Ness (No. 12 at 149), Michigan State’s Caleb Fish (No. 29 at 165), Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla (No. 10 at 165), Michigan’s Cam Amine (No. 11 at 165), Iowa’s Nelson Brands (No. 11 at 174), Maryland’s Jaxon Smith (No. 11 at 197), Illinois’ Zac Braunagel (No. 12 at 197), Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger (No. 11 at Hwt) and Missouri’s Zach Elam (No. 10 at Hwt)

In the team race, defending champion Penn State continues to lead with a 26-21.5  advantage over Iowa.

The Nittany Lions will send seven wrestlers to the quarterfinals, including three defending champions: Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks. The other four Nittany Lions, who remained perfect in Tulsa were Beau Bartlett (141),  Shane Van Ness (149), Levi Haines (157) and heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet.

But not everything was perfect for Penn State, especially for defending national champ Max Dean, who lost in a rematch to Nebraska’s Silas Allred. But Iowa’s Jacob Warner, a 2022 national finalist, also lost a second-round match at that weight class.

Overall, the Hawkeyes will send five wrestlers to the quarterfinals, including three-time defending national champion Spencer Lee, who scored a technical fall and has earned 13 bonus-point victories in his 17 NCAA career wins.

Also advancing for Iowa were Real Woods, the No. 1 seed at 141 pounds, as well as Max Murin at 149 pounds, and Nelson Brands, who advanced as a No. 11 seed at 174.

Missouri moved into third in the team raced with 17.5 points as the Tigers advance six to the quarterfinals, including defending national champ Keegan O’Toole at 165 pounds. The other Missouri quarterfinalists are Allan Hart (141), Brock Mauller (149), Peyton Mocco (174) and the Elam brothers: Rocky at 197 and Zach at heavyweight.

There is a two-way tie for fourth place between Minnesota and NC State. The Gophers advanced three to the quarterfinals: Aaron Nagao at 133, Bailee O’Reilly at 174 and Isaiah Salazar at 184. Moving on for the Wolfpack are Kai Orine (133) and Trent Hidlay (184).

RETURN TO WIN’S 2023 NATIONALS CENTRAL

Team Standings

Individual Weight Highlights

2023 NCAA: 125 Pounds Second Round Notes

• 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.

2023 NCAA: 133 Pounds Second Round Notes

• Seven of the top eight seeds advanced to the quarterfinals at 133 pounds.
• Minnesota freshman No. 8 Aaron Nagao scored a takedown straight into a turk to finish off veteran No. 9 Micky Philippi (Pitt) with a fall in 2:50.
• No. 6 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) kept the nail-biting wins coming with a narrow 2-1 decision over upset-minded No. 22 Cody Phippen (Air Force), as a riding time point was the difference in a bout where no offensive points were scored.
• In a battle of All-Americans, No. 10 Lucas Byrd controlled No. 7 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) for a 6-3 decision.

2023 NCAA: 141 Pounds Second Round Notes

• Iowa’s top-seed Real Woods overcame a late takedown attempt and a coach’s challenge to hold off Ohio State’s No. 17 Dylan D’Emilio, 7-5.Woods had jumped on top with two first-period takedowns before the Buckeye rallied to take a 5-4 lead on a takedown with 1:17 left in the second period.
• Pitt’s Cole Matthews, seeded No. 3, scored the bout’s only escape early in the third period to edge Northern Iowa’s No. 14 Cael Happel, 1-0.
• Purdue’s No. 12 seed Parker Filius scored a takedown in both the first and second periods to lead NC State’s No. 5 Ryan Jack, 5-1, then overcame a pair of takedowns in the third period by the Wolfpacker to win 7-6.
• Penn State’s No. 6 Beau Bartlett scored the bout’s only takedown in the second period and held on to beat South Dakota State’s No. 11 Clay Carlson 3-2.
• Missouri’s No. 8 Allan Hart rode out Oklahoma’s No. 9 Mosha Schwartz in a tiebreaker to give him a 30-second riding time advantage for the 2-2 criteria win.
• North Carolina’s No. 10 Lachlan McNeil built up a two minutes of riding time to beat Cornell’s No. 7 Vince Cornella.
• Northern Colorado’s No. 2 Andrew Alirez scored a takedown in each period and added a riding time point for an 8-5 win over Northwestern’s No. 18 Frankie Tal Shahar.

2023 NCAA: 149 Pounds Second Round Notes

• Three-time NCAA champ and No. 1 seed Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) locked up a cradle in the first minute and pinned true freshman No. 16 Jackson Arrington (NC State) who fought for over a minute on his back at the 2:11 mark.
• No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) used a second period takedown to defeat No. 9 Jaden Abas (Stanford), 3-1.
• No. 12 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) used a six-point move in the first period and never looked back, knocking off No. 5 Paniro Johnson (Iowa State), 14-8, to give the Nittany Lions their third quarterfinalist.
• Two takedowns for No. 20 Graham Rooks (Indiana) earned the Hoosier his second upset victory of the day, this time over true freshman No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), 5-4.
• Despite surrendering the first takedown, No. 3 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) fended off a late upper body throw attempt and converted it into a takedown of his own to knock off No. 14 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin), 6-3.
• No. 6 Brock Mauller (Missouri), No. 7 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) and No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) all earned decision victories to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.

2023 NCAA: 157 Pounds Second Round Notes

• Top-seed Austin O’Connor (North Carolina) scored a first-period takedown and rode Missouri’s No. 17 Jarrett Jacques for 2:30 for the 4-1 victory.
• Michigan All-American Will Lewan, a No. 9 seed, scored a takedown in each period to beat NC State’s No. 8 Ed Scott, 7-5.
• Nebraska’s No. 3 Peyton Robb scored four takedowns and twice put Wisconsin’s No. 19 Garrett Model on his back for a 16-1 win, the Husker’s second straight technical fall of the tournament.
• Stanford’s true freshman No. 6 Daniel Cardenas scored a takedown in the first and second periods to win 6-1 over Northern Iowa’s No. 22 Derek Holschlag.
• Lehigh’s No. 5 Josh Humphrey remained undefeated on the year, scoring the bout’s only takedown with 56 seconds left to clinch a 3-0 shutout of Purdue’s No. 12 Kendall Coleman.
• A first-period takedown and four-point nearfall by Virginia Tech’s No. 7 Bryce Andonian led to a 10-3 victory over Oklahoma State’s No. 10 Kaden Gfeller.

2023 NCAA: 165 Pounds Second Round Notes

• Top-seeded David Carr (Iowa State) dominated with a 15-4 major decision over No. 19 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa).
• No. 9 Shane Griffith (Stanford) will meet Carr in a battle of 2021 NCAA Champions after decisively beating No. 25 Bubba Wilson (Nebraska), 10-0. This sets up a quarterfinal meeting between champs Griffith and ISU’s Carr.
• No. 29 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) continued his onslaught of the 165-pound bracket, upsetting No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt), 7-2, to earn a berth into the quarterfinals.
• No. 3 Dean Hamiti hasn’t allowed a first period to expire yet, as the Badger pinned No. 19 Dan Braunagel (Illinois) in 2:47.
• No. 11 Cameron Amine (Michigan) upended No. 6 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), 3-2, with a late takedown.
• No. 10 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) controlled No. 7 freshman Mikey Caliendo (NDSU) with two early takedowns and an 8-3 decision.

2023 NCAA: 174 Pounds Second Round Notes

• Penn State’s defending national champ No. 1 Carter Starocci scored the match’s only takedown with 16 seconds left in the first period as he shut out Indiana’s No. 17 Donnell Washington, 4-0.
• Minnesota’s No. 8 Bailey O’Reilly scored the match’s only takedown with 1:12 left in the first and added a riding time point for a 4-2 win over Illinois’ No. 9 Edmond Ruth.
• Oklahoma State’s No. 5 Dustin Plott rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second period by scoring three takedowns the rest of the way for a 10-6 win over Oregon State’s No. 12 Aaron Olmos.
• A third-period escape and a riding time point provided the winning margin for the 2019 NCAA champ Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech as the No. 3 Hokie prevailed 5-4. Lewis jumped out with a takedown 48 seconds into the match before the Wildcat rallied to score a takedown and lead 4-3 after two periods.
• Iowa’s No. 11 seed Nelson Brands scored a takedown with three seconds left in the first period that held up for a 3-1 upset of Ohio State’s No. 6 Ethan Smith.
• Nebraska’s No. 2 Mikey Labriola scored a takedown with 38 seconds left to give the second-ranked Husker a 3-1 win over Utah Valley No. 15 Demetrius Romero.

2023 NCAA: 184 Pounds Second Round Notes

• Top-seeded Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) used a second-period takedown to edge Lehigh’s Tate Samuelson, 4-2.
• No. 9 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) still has not been scored upon as the Gopher dominated Drexel’s No. 25 Brian Bonino, 12-0.
• No. 5 Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) was just four seconds short of securing a riding time point in regulation, but still got the job done in the tiebreakers, advancing over Iowa’s No. 12 Abe Assad, 2-1 TB.
• No. 3 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) opened up a 5-2 lead late in the second period, throwing a headlock for the fall over No. 14 Will Feldkamp (Clarion) at the 5:00 mark.
• No. 2 Trent Hidlay (NC State) used four takedowns and a two-point nearfall to cruise to a 12-4 major decision over true freshman No. 18 Brian Soldano (Rutgers).

2023 NCAA: 197 Pounds Second Round Notes

• There will be two new finalists at 197 pounds as defending champ Max Dean of Penn State and 2022 runner-up Jake Warner of Iowa both lost in the second round.In a rematch of the 2023 Big Ten final (with a similar outcome), Nebraska sophomore and No. 8 ranked Silas Allred ended the reign of Penn State’s defending national champ Max Dean when he scored a 7-2 victory. The Husker ended any doubt when he scored a third takedown late in the match before adding a 1:02 riding time advantage. Warner, meanwhile, lost to Missouri’s No. 3 seed Rocky Elam, 6-2, as the Tiger scored a takedown in both the first and second periods.
• Illinois’ No. 12 seed Zac Braunagel rallied to score two takedowns in the final period, the second coming with 37 seconds left to earn a 7-6 victory over Lehigh’s No. 5 seed Michael Beard. The Mountain Hawk had scored a takedown in both the first and second periods to lead 5-2 after two periods.
• Rider’s Ethan Laird scored a takedown with 21 seconds left to give the No. 4 seed a 3-1 victory over Iowa State’s No. 13 Yonger Bastida.
• Maryland’s No. 11 seed Jaxon Smith was leading NC State’s No. 6 Isaac Trumble 4-1 when the Terp scored the fall in 2:16.

2023 NCAA: Heavyweight Second Round Notes    

• Top-seeded Mason Parris (Michigan) earned a workmanlike 6-1 decision over No. 17 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell).
• No. 9 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) used two escapes, the second coming after an injury timeout, to defeat No. 8 Sam Schuyler (Iowa State), 2-1.
• No. 5 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) broke a late 1-1 deadlock, clamping No. 12 Colton McKiernan (SIUE) in a body lock for a fall at the 6:10 mark.
• No. 11 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) used a second period escape and fended off late takedown attempts to knock off No. 6 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard), 1-0.
• A takedown with four seconds left in the opening period helped No. 10 Zach Elam (Missouri) upset No. 7 Owen Trephan (NC State), 4-0.
• No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson was hungry for bonus points again, tallying four takedowns and four nearfall points in a 14-1 major decision over No. 15 Grady Griess (Navy).

RETURN TO WIN’S 2023 NATIONALS CENTRAL