Second-Round NCAA Highlights

Photo: Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto held off  Jaden Bullock of Michigan to advance to Friday morning’s NCAA quarterfinals. (Ginger Robinson photo)

The following are notes from Thursday night’s second-round action at the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Kansas City, Mo. Friday’s quarterfinals begin at 11 a.m. (CDT) at the T-Mobile Center.

Return to WIN’s National Championships Central

Updated Brackets

Updated Team Scores

Top 10 Teams (with Quarterfinalists)

125 pounds

WIN Magazine will produce its post-NCAA issue on April 6., Click on the cover or call 888-305-0606 to subscribe.

• Penn State’s No. 1 seed Braeden Davis used a 1:43 riding-time advantage to beat Cornell’s Brett Ungar 2-1
• Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto scored three takedowns, including two in the first period to beat Harvard’s Diego Sotelo and avenge an earlier-season loss to the Crimson wrestler.
• Nebraska’s No. 15 seed Caleb Smith scored the bout’s only takedown with 1:43 left to upset Lehigh’s No. 2 Luke Stanich, 4-1
• Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett, seeded No. 10, scored a takedown in both the first and third periods to knock off NC State’s Jakob Camacho, 8-1

133 pounds

• No. 13 seed Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) and No. 4 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) were knotted at zero going into the second. Phipps with a full rideout in the second period. Third period started in the neutral position. With less than a minute remaining in the match, Shawver initiated a scramble that looked like possible points for each wrestlers. Shawver held on for the 1-0 victory.
• Top-seed Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) eeked out a 5-4 win over No. 16 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State). After a long challenge delay shortly after the start of the match, the score remained 0-0. Fix scored on an inside trip to go up by three. A Bouzakis takedown brought the score to 5-4 midway through the third period. Fix held off an array of attacks as the clock ran out.
• No. 8 Evan Frost (Iowa State) escaped at the start of the second for a 1-0 lead over No. 24 Julian Chlebove that remained through the end of the period. Frost was on top to start the third. Chlebove created a cradle counter, Frost broke the lock and rolled through for no points. Frost hits a double that lands Chlebove on his backside, then powers through for three with seconds remaining on the clock.
  

  Little Rock’s Nasir Bailey (left) advanced to the quarterfinals with an 11-7 victory over Virginia’s Marlon Yarbrough. (Ginger Robinson photo)

• No. 7 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) and No. 23 Marlon Yarbrough (Virginia) were in a tight match throughout that saw three lead changes, before Bailey took Yarbrough feet to back for six an 11-7 win to move on.
• No. 3 Kai Orine (NC State) pulled out a stingy 2-0 victory over No. 14 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska). After a 0-0 first period. Orine got the ride out in the second and an escape in the third for the win.

141 pounds

• Top-seed Jesse Mendez of Ohio State recorded his second straight bonus-point victory with a fall in 4:37 against Chattanooga’s Isaiah Powe.
• Nebraska’s Brock Hardy scored two of his three takedowns in the first period to beat Michigan freshman Sergio Lemley, 10-4.
• Iowa’s Real Woods rode Arizona State’s Jesse Vasquez for 2:31 en route to an 8-0 major decision. It was the Hawkeye’s second bonus-point win.
• Minnesota’s Vince Vombaur, the No. 26 seed, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-0 decision against No. 23 seed Danny Fongaro of Indiana.
• North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil, a native of Canada, defeated Navy’s Josh Konderhandt, 8-5. The Tar Heel scored the deciding points of an escape with 31 seconds left and takedown with two seconds remaining.

149 Pounds

• No. 8 seed Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) and Cornell’s No. 9 Ethan Fernandez traded takedowns and escapes in the first. Swiderski was on top to start the second. After an escape Fernandez was up by one, but Swiderski hit a barrage of shots, but Fernandez fights them off, but was warned for stalling. Swiderski got out in the third and regulation ended knotted at five. Swiderski gets the ride on the strength of a couple of mat returns. Fernandez opts for neutral before Swiderski clinched the 8-5 tiebreaker win with another takedown.
• In a pair of workmanlike wins by the identical 4-2 scores, a couple of higher seeds move on as #4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) defeated #20 Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) and #2 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) defeated #18 Cody Bond (Appalachian State).

157 Pounds

• After a scoreless first period, Nebraska’s Peyton Robb sandwiched a pair of second-period takedowns with a four-point near fall to lead 10-3 after two frames en route to an 11-6 decision over Michigan’s Will Lewan.
  

  Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian (bottom) found himself in a tough spot but still prevailed with a 9-6 victory over Northern Iowa’s Ryder Downey. (Ginger Robinson photo)

• Virginia Tech All-American Bryce Andonian, the No. 12 seed who has battled through injuries this season, scored two takedowns in the first period before he added a second-period reversal and a riding-time point to best Northern Iowa’s No. 5 seed Ryder Downey, 9-6.
• Iowa’s No. 10 seed Jared Franek scored all his points in the first period, including takedown midway through the initial frame to edge Ohio’s No. 7 seed Peyten Keller.
• Cornell freshman Meyer Shapiro recorded his second straight bonus-point win with a 17-2 technical fall over Appalachian State’s Tommy Askey.
• No. 2 seed Jacori Teemer scored the bout’s only takedown with 11 seconds left in sudden victory to edge South Dakota State’s No. 15 Cael Swensen.

165 pounds

• In an action packed match, No. 8 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) outlasted No. 9 Peyton Hall (West Virginia 11-9. Tylor opened the match with a takedown and two back points in the first. Hall cut the lead with an escape and takedown in the second. Taylor escaped to go up 7-4. Hall was in on a deep shot but couldn’t finish as the period ended. Hall escaped to start the third period and added a takedown. With the score 11-9, Hall was again deep on a single, but could not convert as the final whistle sounded.
• Returning All-Americans, #7 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) and #10 Cameron Amine (Michigan) ended the first period at 0-0. Olejnik got out for a 1-0 lead early in the second, and another stingy period results in a 1-0 lead. Amine went down in the third and got out quickly. The match was forced into sudden victory when neither could get in on a shot. In the sudden victory period, the action picked up and Amine scored on a double-leg reattack to move on to the quarters.

174 pounds

• The predicted quarterfinal between two former champs will happen Friday morning after Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis and Penn State’s Carter Starocci won their second-round matches. The Hokie, a 2019 NCAA champ and No. 1 seed, scored the match’s only takedown with a minute left to beat Rutgers’ Jackson Turley, 5-2. The Nittany Lion, a three-time NcAA champ and given the No. 9 seed after injuries forced him to default in the Big Tens, defeated Cal Poly’s Adam Kemp, 5-3, as he scored the final five points. That included a first-period takedown after the Mustang jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a takedown seven seconds into the bout.
• Northern Iowa’s Jared Simma, a No. 28 seed, became a surprising quarterfinalist when the Panther, scored a reversal with five seconds left to beat North Carolina’s No. 21 seed Tyler Eischens, 6-5.
• Illinois’ No. 3 seed Edmond Ruth earned a stalling point call against Central Michigan’s Alex Cramer with 55 seconds left for a 2-1 victory.

184 pounds

• After both #24 Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) and #25 David Key (Navy) scored upsets in the first round, it was the Midshipman, who prevailed 4-2 as Key scores a takedown in the third period.
• Nebraska’s No. 5 Lenny Pinto avoided the upset with a 4-2 win over No. 12 Jaden Bullock (Michigan). After a scoreless first period. Bullock went up 1-0 with an escape in the second and Pinto did the same to start the third. A stall call on Pinto gave Bullock the lead with time running out before Pinto hit a duckunder to score with 20 seconds remaining in the match.
• In sudden victory #2 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) scored a takedown to beat #18 Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) 4-1.

197 pounds

• Missouri’s Rocky Elam, a past All-American but seeded No. 12, benefitted from a pair of stalling calls against Cornell’s No. 5 Jacob Cardenas in the second period, then added an escape and riding time point for a 4-0 victory.
• Otherwise, the remaining top 7 seeds stayed intact, including a fall by No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State), his second bonus-points victory, and a second straight technical fall by No. 2 Trent Hidlay (NC State).

Heavyweight

• No. 4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) and No. 13 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) had a tight 2-1 third period match going after a Salvikouski escape to start the period. Schultz held off the game Scarlet Knight for the one-point victory.
• After two scoreless periods, No. 6 Zach Elam (Missouri) escapes in the third period and scored a takedown late in the third to secure a 4-0 win over No. 11 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma).