2017 NCAA Semifinal Highlights

125 pounds

#4 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. #1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 4-2 sv — The Mountain Hawk scored his first takedown with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then clinched his first final when Cruz got behind the Hawkeye with 17 seconds left in sudden victory.

#6 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. #10 Jack Mueller (Virginia), 7-0 — The Gopher took a 4-0 lead in the first period off a takedown and a reversal after the Cavalier was force to ask for injury time. Lisak’s added a second takedown with 1:14 left in the second before adding a 3:50 riding time advantage.

133 pounds

#4 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State), 7-4 — Trailing 4-1 after Tomasello scored an escape to start the third period, the Hawkeye earned a third straight NCAA final appearance when he scored two takedowns it the final minute of the bout; the second coming with 19 seconds left. The final point came from a 1:11 riding time advantage.

#2 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) major dec. #3 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) 12-3 — Gross became his school’s first NCAA Division I finalist when he scored a takedown and four-point nearfall tilt in first period then benefitted from two stalling calls against the Cowboy to lead 8-0 after two periods. The two Big 12 rivals exchanged takedowns in the third period before Gross added a riding time point.

141 pounds

#1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) dec. #5 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), 4-2 — The defending national champ scored his only takedown off a counter with 51 seconds left in the first period, the fought off a rally from Ashnault, who scored a takedown in the third period to cut the margin to 3-2.

#6 George DiCamillo (Virginia) dec. #10 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming), 10-7 — A three-time loser in past Round of 12 bouts, the Cavalier made sure his final nationals would be special when he rallied from a 6-4 deficit in the second period with two takedowns; the second coming with 1:35 left to take a 9-6 lead.

149 pounds

#1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) pinned #5 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), 2:37 — Nearly a minute after scoring a double leg takedown against the Hawkeye, the defending national champ used a tough turk to turn and pin his Big Ten rival in a rematch of last year’s NCAA final.

#3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. #7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa), 4-2 — The Tiger scored the deciding takedown on a throw-by with two seconds left after the Panther held a 2-1 lead from a takedown early in the third period.

157 pounds

#1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) major dec. #4 Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 13-5 — The Nittany Lion scored five takedowns, including three in the final frame for his fourth straight NCAA victory with bonus points. Berger did score a takedown to cut the margin to 7-4 with 1:14 left before Nolf added two more takedowns.

#3 Joey Lavallee (Missouri) dec. #7 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 8-5 — Trailing 5-4, the Tiger junior became his school’s second finalist of 2017 when a takedown with 13 seconds left then added a two-point nearfall after a scramble on the edge of the mat.

165 pounds

#1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. #4 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), 2-1 — A 1:33 riding time advantage send the two-time NCAA champion to his third final. Most of the riding time for the Illini came in the second period before the Badger scored an escape.

#3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. #2 Logan Massa (Michigan), 5-4 — The PSU redshirt freshman broke a 3-3 deadlock with 30 seconds in the match on an inside trip to reach his first NCAA final.

174 pounds

#5 Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. #1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State), 4-3 — The true freshman got a big assist from the Penn State coaching staff, which challenged an apparent takedown from the Sun Devil — that would have given the redshirt freshman a 3-1 lead — but eventually lost that takedown and was penalized for pulling on the Lion’s headgear that turned into a 2-1 lead for Hall with 30 seconds left. Hall clinched the victory on a takedown of his own two seconds later.

#3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec. #2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 11-7 — Trailing 7-2, the Buckeye battled back and eventually took the lead for good on a takedown and four-point nearfall in the final 35 seconds of the bout.

184 pounds

#1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. #4 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State), 9-3 — The two-time champ earned another trip to the finals when he scored three straight takedowns to lead 6-1 with 1:35 left in the second period.

#2 Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned #3 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 1:02 — The Nittany Lion scored his second fall on the season against the Hawkeye when Nickal tied up Brooks’ arms and took him to a the mat for additional bonus points.

197 pounds

#1 J`den Cox (Missouri) dec. #4 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech), 6-2 — The two-time champion earned one more final when scored a pair of takedowns, one in each the first and third periods, and added a riding time point.

#2 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) dec. #3 Kollin Moore (Ohio State), 13-9 — The Gopher avenged his Big Ten final loss to the Buckeye when he scored four takedowns, including two in the final period. Pfarr also built up a 1:30 riding time advantage.

Heavyweight

#1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) major dec. #4 Jacob Kasper (Duke) 19-6 — The NCAA/World/Olympic champion reached the college finals a third straight year after he scored six takedowns. Snyder also added a four-point nearfall with 15 seconds left in the second period.

#2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) dec. #3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 4-3 — The two big men exchanged takedowns — one for the Badger with 15 seconds left in the second period — then broke a 3-3 deadlock with an escape in the final period.