by We’re moving on here in Tulsa. After a brief respite, it’s back to the mats for the round of 16 and consolation games. And we’re here to blog it all for you LIVE in real time from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
16-18 March · Resumes yesterday at 16:00 UTC
2023 NCAA Championships Watch Party
It’s raining here in Tulsa, but I still think it’s a great night for NCAA wrestling!
A second stunning rendition of the national anthem and we’re just minutes away.
What are you saying? Don’t care about blogs, just want the results? Ok great, here is a link to the results only, not a blog. Check them out and ignore this blog. It’s okay, I’ll get over it.
round of 16
125 pounds
A minute into the round, Spencer Lee is 10-0 ahead of Michigan’s Jack Medley. And it’s a 16-0 tech fall for Spencer Lee. He’s pretty good.
Wyoming’s Jore Volk and Killian Cardinale in a battle for the 21st and 28th seeds, respectively, despite Cardinale sitting 14th. Cardinale showed no signs of injury which slowed him down this season and 5-1 after 2 periods. Cardinale will take it by decision and is just one game away from his second AA medal.
Lock Haven’s Noto is technically higher seeded than Wisconcin’s Barnett, the All-American Badger is ranked higher, #6 through #10. In the third it is 3:3. Barnett escapes to make it 4-3 in his favor late in the third, but Noto gets the takedown in the dying seconds to advance to the quarters.
Jarrett Trombley and Matt Ramos in overtime, 4-4. A few scrambles will get any wrestler close to scoring points, but the score remains tied and it’s down to the tiebreak. Trombley made the Boilermakers fans sweat, but number 4 Matt Ramos survived to the quarterfinals.
Nebraska’s Liam Cronin, the No. 3 who never had an AA, advances to the quarterfinals against UMD’s Braxton Brown.
Glory leads Ungar 4-0 and pours it out on his EIWA rival. The Princeton Tiger flattens the Cornellian to win with Major.
Brandon Courtney ends Jack Wagner’s Cinderella deal. The Sun Devil beats the Tar Heel by regular decision.
Notable consolation results
4th and 12th seed Mike DeAugustino of Northwestern wins to eliminate 5th and 11th seed Caleb Smith of App State.
Penn’s Ryan Miller wins after a lengthy concussion protocol by injury default over Oklahoma State’s Reece Witcraft. Injuries continue to be the worst.
133 pounds
#1 Roman Bravo-Young continues his march in third place. UTC’s Brayden Palmer makes him work but RBY concede the win without too much trouble.
NC State’s Kai Orine takes on Chance Rich, the only representative from CSU-Bakersfield. Orine takes it seriously and hosts the iguana tongue celebration (I assume) for the sizable wolf pack contingent that is in attendance.
CRAZY ALERT: #19 Eddie Ventresca knocks out #7 and two-time All-American Pat McKee. Here, however, McKee thrives in the consolation class. He retired early in the last two NCAAs where he placed 3rd and 5th.
One of the most anticipated fights of the tournament, at least after the 133-pound bracket was updated after Lehigh’s McGonagle scraped, begins as ASU’s Michael McGee takes on Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez. McGee never lets Mendez get his offense and defeats the newcomer 6-2.
Red hot Aaron Nagao has Pitt’s Mickey Phillippi, a three-time Bloodrounder looking for his first trip to the medal round in his final year of eligibility. And Nagao goes into beast mode, battling through a scramble and getting two sets of nearfall before securing the pinfall.
Vito Arujau leads the scores on Zach Redding, at least over two periods.
Three-time NCAA runner-up Daton Fix, eager to add a title to that list of accolades, is racing to an early lead at the arena closest to his hometown of Sand Springs, Oklahoma. And it’s an 8-4 win for Fix, his 100th win of his collegiate career, stats courtesy of arena announcer Bryan Hazard. That’s a lot of wins!
Sam Latona, Virginia Tech All-American over Alabama, grabs another narrow win, this time 2-1 thanks to drive time, over Air Force’s Cody Phippen.
Lucas Byrd of Illinois defeats Michael Colaiocco of Penn in a slight flurry, 10th seed 11th via 7th seed 6th.
Notable consolation results
Dylan Ragusin defeated Wisconsin’s Taylor LaMont, ending LaMont’s stellar career that began in Utah Valley and included a fifth All-American in 2021.
141 pounds
Cole Matthews of Pitt (and sponsored by Primati Brothers) takes his first win in the weight class with a 1-0 win over Cael Happel.
NC State via Connecticut’s Ryan Jack leads Purdue via Montana’s Parker Filius in a match between two wrestlers from states not often represented at NCAAs. And Filius wins from behind – belated UPSET ALERT – and Purdue promotes their second wrestler to the quarterfinals. Filius will see Nebraska’s Brock Hardy defeating Big Ten nemesis Jakob Bergeland of Minnesota.
Real Woods was almost upset with Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio, but Iowan narrowly escaped, much to the approval of the Hawkeye fans and the disapproval of almost everyone else in the arena.
2021 Canada U20 8th place finisher Lachlan McNeil of UNC defeats 2022 U20 5th place finisher for Team USA Vince Cornella of Cornell.
Penn State’s Brau Bartlett defeated SDSU’s Clay Carlson 3-2 to win a date with Cole Matthews in the quarterfinals.
Notable consolation results
In a rare battle in Central Florida, Malyke Hines of Lehigh defeated Shannon Hanna of Campbell 5-4.
149 pounds
Yianni Diakomihalis earns a first-period pin and two extra bonus points for Cornell over NC State’s Jackson Arrington. Yiann is looking to join fellow countryman Cornellian Kyle Dake in the exclusive four-time NCAA champions club.
Wisconsin’s Austin Gomez and ASU’s Kyle Parco delight the crowd with some acrobatic scrambles. What a pleasure to watch such fearless wrestlers. Parco wins 6-3 but the real winners are the fans who got to enjoy such an excellent fight.
Northwest over South Florida’s Frankie Tal Shahar had excited antennae high, but No. 1 Andrew Alirez would not be denied.
PSU’s Shayne Van Ness put ISU’s Paniro Johnson on his back early and then survived a furious comeback attempt to give the Nittany Lions another quarterfinalist.
#8 Brock Mauller moves ahead of Michigan’s Chance Lamer to give Missouri the quarterfinalist after Hart moves on at 141.
CRAZY ALERT: Graham Rooks built an early lead then held on to VT’s #4 seeded and ranked Caleb Henson for his life. The 21st seeded and 18th ranked Rooks give the Indiana Hoosiers a quarterfinalist. A smart move by head coach Angel Escobedo to bring a multiple All-American like Chad Red back to his home state and add him to the coaching staff.
Yahya Thomas pulled off a sudden victory to give the Wildcats of Northwestern a much-needed boost. 7th seed Thomas defeats a familiar opponent in 11th seed Michael Blockhus of Minnesota.
tOSU’s Sammy Sasso completes an expert 9-2 win over UNI’s Colin Realbuto and Sasso is in the third quarter-finals of his career.
Notable consolation results
Former All-American Dom Demas kept his hopes of repeating the feat alive as he won his first match of the consolation round 8-2 over Rider’s Quinn Kinner. Four doesn’t sound like a big number until you consider the level of talent represented here at the NCAAs.
157 pounds
Josh Humphreys and Kendall Coleman are involved in a match between two wrestlers who aren’t quite American yet, but really feel like they both already are. Humphreys wins a crucial scramble in the third, then throws in the boots to end the drive and win 3-0. Humphreys remains undefeated and Coleman has to try to reach the medal round from the consolation prizes.
Another undefeated wrestler of the season is UNC’s Austin O’Connor. The No. 1 remains unbeaten, beating Missouri’s Jarrett Jacques, who from Day 2 has to try to reach the podium from behind for the first time in his career. O’Connor will wrestle Michigan’s Will Lewan, who defeated Ed Scott in an avalanche of points, 7-5.
Fargo’s own Jared Franek of NDSU will advance to the Quarterfinals with a 5-3 win over Northwestern’s Trevor Chumbley.
Levi Haines provides a familiar spot for Penn State fans as he advances to the quarterfinals against Wyoming’s Jacob Wright. He has a marquee matchup with Bryce Andonian over Virginia Tech who defeated Oklahoma State’s Kaden Gfeller.
Notable consolation results
Northern Colorado’s Vinny Zerban, number 32, defeats Anthony Artalona, ending the Quaker quest for the podium, at least as a UPenn wrestler. At least I think so. Artalona wrestled for Penn for four seasons but may get a medical redshirt. Or could transfer and wrestle for another school. He made the blood round in 2019 and 2022.
165 pounds
David Carr is the first 165-pounder to take to the mat on the championship side of the session. He flashed past UNI’s Austin Yant 15-4.
2021 NCAA champion Chane Griffith leads 7-0 ahead of Nebraska’s Bubba Wilson, who defeated No. 4 Cornell’s Julian Ramirez in the preliminary round.
Pitt’s Holden Heller and Michigan State’s Caleb Fish in a battle of 20 seeds. And it’s a 7-2 win by No. 29 seed Caleb Fish as Sparty becomes a quarter-finalist.
DJ Hamiti suffers a fall and a much-needed win for the Wisconsin fans as he wraps Danny Braunagel in a cradle and advances to the quarterfinals for the second time in his second NCAA tournament.
Princeton gets a second quarterfinalist as the larger of two 2022 finalists Quincy Monday earns a 4-1 win over NIU’s Izzak Olejnik.
Two-time Michigan All-American Cam Amine seeks revenge on Iowa’s Pat Kennedy, who beat the former 3-2 in the Big Tens.
174 pounds
Carter Starocci’s quest for a third straight title goes to their Indiana native DJ Washington, who defeated Starocci during the Nittany Lion’s freshman season.
