NCAA final is set as Penn State clinches title with two consolation champs

Photo: Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson ended his junior season Saturday morning with a victory over Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi for third place at heavyweight in the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships. (Ginger Robinson photo)

By Mike Finn & Tristan Warner

TULSA, Okla. — After seeing their individual championship dreams end on Friday, a pair of Arizona State wrestlers (Brandon Courtney and Michael McGee) and a Penn State duo (Beau Barnett and Shayne Van Ness) came back Saturday morning to claim third place at their weight classes at the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships

The other consolation champions were Lehigh’s Josh Humphrey (157), Princeton’s Quincy Monday (165), Cornell’s Chris Foca (174), Ohio State’s Kaleb Romero (184), Missouri’s Rocky Elam (197) and Air Force’s Wyatt Hendrickson (Hwt).

This was the final round before the individual championships are decided tonight in the BOK Center, which begin at 6 p.m. Penn State, which clinched its 11^th all-time NCAA title and tenth in the Cael Sanderson coaching era, will send five finalists into the finals.

The Nittany Lions, which have 127.5 points heading into the finals, will end this year with eight All-American honors as defending national champ Max Dean came back to finish in seventh place.

Iowa stands in second place with 82.5 points and will end with six All-American honors, including a fourth-place finish by Tony Cassioppi (Hwt) and fifth-place finishes by Nelson Brands (174) and Jacob Warner (197).

There will be a battle for third place between Ohio State (70.5) and Cornell (68.5). The Buckeyes end with four All-American and none in the finals while the Big Red also have four All-Americans, including two (Vito Arujau, 133, and Yianni Diakomihalis, 149), who will wrestle in the finals.

Team Standings

 All-American Match Highlights

125 pounds

3^rd place – #10 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) dec. #8 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), 4-2 SV. -Courtney scored a second period takedown and chose neutral in the third period but was unable to break a 2-2 deadlock in regulation. The Sun Devil scored a takedown quickly into the sudden victory period to finish third.

5^th place — #4 Liam Cronin (Nebraska) won by medical forfeit over #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) — The Hawkeye announced before this round that he would medically forfeit his consolation matches after losing his semifinal Friday night. For the Husker, who spent seven years in the sport, including his first three at Indiana, this marked is first All-American honor and ends his college career with a 90-58 record.

7th place – #27 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) dec. #28 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia), 7-6. – The pair of surprise All-Americans traded takedowns in the first period, but the Hokie used an escape and takedown in the third period to narrowly edge the two-time All-American Mountaineer.

133 pounds

3^rd place –  #4 Michael McGee (Arizona State) dec. #2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), 2-1 – The Sun Devil, who began his career at the dropped Old Dominion program, finished his career on a high note, defeating three-time NCAA finalist Fix on the strength of a riding time point.

5^th place – #8 Aaron Nagao (Minnesota) dec. #13 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), 4-0 – In a battle of Big Ten freshman, it was the Gopher who scored with a takedown in just four seconds and accumulated nearly three minutes of riding time for a convincing victory in the fifth-place bout.

7^th place – #6 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec. #5 Kai Orine (NC State), 3-1 – The Hokie scored a takedown with nine seconds remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 deadlock in a battle of ACC foes.

141 pounds

3^rd –  #6 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec. #10 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina), 4-1 – The Nittany Lion scored a third period escape, takedown and a riding time point to claim third place.

5^th place – #11 Clay Carlson (SDSU) won by injury default over #4 Brock Hardy (Nebraska), 2:11. – The Jackrabbit was leading 2-0 on a takedown with 1:11 left when the Cornhusker was forced to injury default.

7^th place –  #12 Parker Filius (Purdue) dec. #17 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), 8-4 SV – The match was knotted 4-4 after regulation as the pair of Big Ten foes traded third period takedowns, but it was the Boilermaker who scored a takedown and two-point nearfall just 30 seconds into the sudden victory period to secure a seventh-place finish.

149 pounds

3^rd place – #12 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) dec. #3 Kyle Parco (Arizona State), 7-2 – The Nittany Lion freshman continued his hot streak, placing an exclamation point on his first-ever NCAA tournament by pouring on two takedowns in the final period.

 5^th place – #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) major dec. #8 Max Murin (Iowa), 12-3. – Takedowns in the first and second period built the Hokie a comfortable lead, but the true freshman from Georgia was relentless late, adding a takedown and cradle for four-point nearfall to score a major decision.

7^th place – #6 Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. #10 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota), 6-2 – The Tiger controlled the bout, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods to earn a seventh-place finish.

157 pounds

3^rd-place –  #5 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) major dec. #4 Jared Franek (NDSU), 8-0 – In a rematch of the quarterfinal, Humphreys expanded his margin of victory, scoring two sets of nearfall points in the second period.

5^th place – #8 Ed Scott (NC State) won by injury default over #3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 0:01.

7^th – #7 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) dec. #9 Will Lewan (Michigan), 6-4 – Andonian used a cradle to secure a four-point nearfall count to go up 5-0 in the third, as the Wolverine’s late rally fell short.

165 pounds

3rd place – #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec. #11 Cameron Amine (Princeton), 3-1 – Monday capped off his tournament by scoring the bout’s only takedown in the final period to finish in third for the Tigers.

5^th place -#9 Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. #3 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin), 4-1 – A third-period takedown gave the former NCAA champion a 3-1 lead late in the third period, and a riding time point as the clock expired extended the margin of victory.

7^th place – #7 Mikey Caliendo (NDSU) dec. #12 Izaak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), 6-2 – The Bison freshman struck with a takedown just 17 seconds into the match before adding a second period escape, takedown and riding time point to cruise to a seventh-place finish.

174 pounds

3^rd place –  #4 Chris Foca (Cornell) dec. #3 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech), 3-2 TB-1 – In a match where no offensive points were scored, the pair traded escapes in regulation and sudden victory before Foca emerged victorious via riding time advantage.

5^th place – #11 Nelson Brands (Iowa) dec. #5 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 4-2 SV – The Hawkeye scored a third period reversal to force overtime and struck early in the sudden victory period for a match-ending takedown.

7^th place – #6 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) major dec. #7 Peyton Mocco (Missouri), 12-2 – The Buckeye mounted a massive third period of scoring, using a takedown, four-point nearfall and another takedown in the final frame to dominate Mocco for a seventh-place finish.

184 pounds

3^rd place –  #6 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) dec. #2 Trent Hidlay (NC State), 3-1 SV – Romero scored a takedown with one second left on the clock in sudden victory to upset the number two seed and finish third for the Buckeyes.

5^th place –  #5 Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) won by medical forfeit over #4 Trey Munoz (Oregon State)

7^th place – #14 Will Feldkamp (Clarion) pinned #11 Gavin Kane (North Carolina), 2:38 – Clarion’s first All-American since 2013, Feldkamp scored a takedown and four nearfall before turning the Tar Heel for a first period fall.

197 pounds

3^rd place –  #3 Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec. #2 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly), 5-2 – The two-time All-American Tiger scored takedowns in the first and third periods to finish off the three-time All-American Mustang.

5^th place –  #14 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. #4 Ethan Laird (Rider), 7-3 – Laird struck first with a takedown, but Warner escaped and scored a takedown and two-point nearfall of his own and never looked back.

7^th place – #9 Max Dean (Penn State) dec. #10 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 4-2 – Dean surrendered an early takedown, but quickly escaped and scored a takedown of his own before adding a second period escape for a seventh-place finish.

Heavyweight

 3^rd place – #2 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) pinned #4 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), 4:16 – Moments after the Hawkeye scored a reversal to tie the bout, 4-4, the second-seeded Falcon packed Cassioppi, hipping over and planting him to the crowd chanting “USA” as Session 5 of the tournament concluded.

5^th place – #9 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) dec. #10 Zach Elam (Missouri), 4-3 – Davison scored a late takedown in a 2-2 bout to close out his tournament with a victory.

7^th place – #5 Colton Schultz (Arizona State) won by injury default over #11 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), 0:01.