NCAA Div I Wrestling - 2015 National Championship

[SoxJox]

For those inclined to the grappling world, the 2015 National Championships are underway.
 
Brackets after Day 1 are here.
 
Entering the quarterfinals, standings are:
 
Ohio State: 23
Iowa: 21
Oklahoma State: 19.5
Penn State: 18.5
 
Positioning for the team championship looks to remain close, with five schools placing 5 wrestlers in the quarterfinals: tOSU, Iowa, OkSU, PSU, and VaTech.  Penn State, thought to be somewhat of a long shot to win its 5th consecutive national championship, looks to have positioned itself well.
 
A first-day highlight was Logan Steiber of tOSO winning both of his matches to remain in the hunt for his 4th national championship.  He would join only 3 others to do so: Pat Smith (OkSU, 1990-1992, 1994), Cael Sanderson (Iowa State, 1999-2002) and Kyle Dake (Cornell, 2000-2003).

 

[SoxJox]

Live scoring and video stream available here with ESPN3 access.

 

[EvilEmpire]

Thanks for posting this.

 

[SoxJox]

tOSU is rolling through the consols and 1st quarters.
 
Current standings:
 

1. tOSU: 50.5
2. Iowa: 37
3. Missouri: 35.5
4. OkSU: 35.5
5. PSU: 32
6. Cornell: 32
7. Edinboro: 30
8. Minnesota: 28.5
9. Nebraska: 27.5
10. Illinois: 23.5
11. Michigan: 18.5
12. N. Carolina: 18.0
13. N'Western: 17.5
14. Oklahoma: 17.5
15. Iowa State: 15.5
16. Old Dominion: 15
17. VA Tech: 15
18. West VA: 14.0
19. Pittsburgh: 13.5
20. UVA: 13
21. Lehigh: 11
22. Wisconsin: 11
23. Indiana: 10.5
24. N. Iowa: 9.0

 

[SoxJox]

In key quarter bouts at 184, Kenny Courts (tOSU) wins 7-5 over Matt McCutcheon (PSU) in OT.
 
And Iowa's Sam Brooks (Iowa) loses to Gabriel Dean (Cornell), 3-2.

 

[SoxJox]

tOSU now 2-0 in the quarters with its second win, with Kyle Snyder 3-2 over Scott Shiller (Minn) at 197.
 
and PSU is 0-2 in the quarters, with its second loss, with Connor Hartmann (Duke) edging Morgan McIntosh 3-2 at 197.  Both were 28-2 going into the match.

 

[SoxJox]

PSU now 0-3 in the quarters, with #1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) pummeling James Lawson 11-3 at 285.
 
Quarters for other team leaders on tap.

 

[SoxJox]

tOSU now with a 20 point lead over 2nd place Iowa: 64.5 - 44.5.

 

[SoxJox]

Standings at the conclusion of quarterfinals:
 
 

1. OSU: 64.5
2. Iowa: 47.5
3. Missouri: 45
4. Cornell: 41.5
5. Edinboro: 40.5
6. Nebraska: 36.5
7. OkSU: 36
8. PSU: 33.5
9. Minnesota: 29.5
10. Illinois: 26.5
11. N'Western: 24.5
12. N. Carolina State: 22
13. Lehigh: 20
14. Wisconsin: 20
15. Michigan: 26.5
16. Iowa State: 26
17. North Carolina: 18
18. Oklahoma: 17.5
19. Pittsburgh: 13.5
20. VA Tech: 16
21. Old Dominion: 15.5
22. UVA: 15.5
23. West VA: 14.5
24. Duke: 14
25. Oregon State: 11.5

 

[SoxJox]

Bracket results can be found here by weight class.
 
Semifinals:
 
125: MIZZ vs tOSU; IOWA vs WVU
133: MINN vs OU; Iowa vs PSU
141: tOSU vs NCSU; ODU vs EDIN
149: MIZZ vs CORN; EDIN vs NW
157: ILL vs NEB; MINN vs CORN
165: OkSU vs tOSU; IND vs UNC
174: PITT vs OkSU; IOWA vs PSU
184: EDIN vs CORN; tOSU vs. LEH
197: MIZZ vs tOSU; ISU vs DUKE
285: NCSU vs WIS; MICH vs NW

 

[DanoooME]

Hard to see my alma mater, Clarion, falling on hard times.  They didn't qualify anyone for nationals, lost almost all of their dual meets, barely showed up for EWLs.  It's a long way from the glory days now.

 

[SoxJox]

Final matchups, 8 PM on ESPN.
 

• 125: Nathan Tomasello (tOSU, 32-4) vs Zeke Moisey (WVU, 31-13).  True Freshman Tomasello reached the finals by stunning reigning national champion Alan Waters (MIZZ) with a takedown with only 2 seconds remaining in the 3rd to win 4-2.
• 133: Cody Brewer (OU, 21-1) vs. Cory Clark (IOWA, 30-5)
• 141: Logan Steiber (tOSU, 28-0) vs. Mitchell Port (EDIN, 36-1).  This should be a battle, as Mitchell is considered one of the few wrestlers who has a legitimate chance to halt the Steiber juggernaut.
• 149: Drake Houdashelt (MIZZ, 36-1) vs. David Habat (EDIN, 36-2).  This will be a great match.  Both are very strong - and quick.
• 157: Isaiah Martinez (ILL, 33-0) vs. Brian Realbuto (CORN, 23-2).  This one may either end quickly or be one of the higher scoring matches.  Martinez had one TF and a Fall, plus a 10-4 decision in the quarters. Realbuto had a MD, Fall, and high-scoring but very close decision in the quarters against the #3 seed.
• 165: Alex Dieringer (OkSU, 33-0) vs. Taylor Walsh (IND, 38-5)
• 174: Tyler Wilps (PITT, 19-3) vs. Matthew Brown (PSU, 28-3).  
• 183: Gabriel Dean (CORN, 43-2) vs. Nathaniel Brown (LEH, 29-5).  Dean has wrestled more matches than any finalist.
• 197: Kyle Snyder (tOSU, 30-3) vs. Kyven Gadson (ISU, 29-1)
• 285: Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU, 34-0) vs. Adam Coon (MICH, 32-4).

 
Only 4 finalists are undefeated - so just about anything can happen.  Even as a PSU alum, I'm rooting for Logan Steiber.  He'll join elite company with a win.

 

[SoxJox]

Hard to see my alma mater, Clarion, falling on hard times.  They didn't qualify anyone for nationals, lost almost all of their dual meets, barely showed up for EWLs.  It's a long way from the glory days now.

Hey, if Edinboro can put themselves in a position like they did this year, Clarion can return.  They have a proud program with a great tradition.

 

[SoxJox]

Standings going into the finals:
 
 

1. OSU: 86.5
2. Iowa: 73.0
3. Cornell: 66.5
4. Edinboro: 64.5
5. Missouri: 60
6. PSU: 58
7. OkSU: 55.5
8. Michigan: 51
9. Minnesota: 49
10. Nebraska: 49
11. Illinois: 42.5
12. VA Tech: 41
13. Lehigh: 39.5
14. Iowa State: 33
15. N. Carolina State: 29
16. Wisconsin: 27
17. Oklahoma: 25.5
18. N'Western: 24.5
19. UVA: 24.5
20. WVU: 23.5
21. Pittsburgh: 23
22. N. Dakota State: 19
23. Old Dominion: 19
24. Indiana: 18
25. North Carolina: 18

 

[SoxJox]

tOSU crowned national champions.
 
Logan Steiber joins rarified air with his 4th title.
 
Finals results:
 
 

• 125: Nathan Tomasello (tOSU, 32-4) vs Zeke Moisey (WVU, 31-13). Tomasello. Dec 9-5.
• 133: Cody Brewer (OU, 21-1) vs. Cory Clark (IOWA, 30-5). Brewer, Dec 11-8.
• 141: Logan Steiber (tOSU, 28-0) vs. Mitchell Port (EDIN, 36-1).  Steiber, Dec 11-5.
• 149: Drake Houdashelt (MIZZ, 36-1) vs. David Habat (EDIN, 36-2).  Houdashelt, SV-1, 3-1.
• 157: Isaiah Martinez (ILL, 33-0) vs. Brian Realbuto (CORN, 23-2).  Martinez, MD 10-2.
• 165: Alex Dieringer (OkSU, 33-0) vs. Taylor Walsh (IND, 38-5). Dieringer, Dec 14-7.
• 174: Tyler Wilps (PITT, 19-3) vs. Matthew Brown (PSU, 28-3).  Brown, Dec 5-4.  This one ended in a controversial and bizarre manner.  Brown was leading 3-2 when he was taken taken down by Wilps with 20 seconds to go in the 3rd.  Wills, who had been warned for stalling earlier in the match was called for stalling with 3 seconds left to knot the match.  When Brown down and trying to escape, Wilps was called for locked hands with 1 second left and Brown was awarded the winning point on the technical foul.
• 183: Gabriel Dean (CORN, 43-2) vs. Nathaniel Brown (LEH, 29-5).  Dean, Dec 6-2.
• 197: Kyle Snyder (tOSU, 30-3) vs. Kyven Gadson (ISU, 29-1). Gadson, Fall 4:24.
• 285: Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU, 34-0) vs. Adam Coon (MICH, 32-4). Gwiazdowski, Dec 7-6.

 

[SoxJox]

[tablegrid= 2015 NCAA National Wrestling Championships - Final Team Standings ]Place School # of Wrestlers Competing Team Points 1 Ohio St, OH 10 102 2 Iowa, IA   10 84 3 Edinboro, PA   6 75.5 4 Missouri, MO   10 73.5 5 Cornell, NY   9 71.5 6 Penn St., PA   7 67.5 7 Oklahoma St., OK   9 65 8 Minnesota, MN   8 59.5 9 Nebraska, NE   9 59 10 Virginia Tech, VA   8 56 11 Michigan, MI   10 54 12 Illinois, IL   10 51 13 Lehigh, PA   7 39.5 14 Iowa St., IA   7 39 15 Northwestern, IL   6 34.5 16 North Carolina St., NC   5 34 17 Wisconsin, WI   7 32.5 18 Oklahoma, OK   5 29.5 19 Virginia, VA   7 26.5 20 West Virginia, WV   4 23.5 21 Pittsburgh, PA   6 23 22 Old Dominion, VA   7 22 23 North Dakota St., ND   6 19.5 24 Indiana, IN   2 18 24 North Carolina, NC   5 18 26 Kent St., OH   5 16 27 Rider, NJ   6 15.5 28 Duke, NC   5 14 29 Arizona St., AZ   6 12.5 30 Oregon St., OR   7 11.5 31 Ohio, OH   6 9.5 31 Princeton, NJ   5 9.5 31 Rutgers, NJ   5 9.5 34 Northern Iowa, IA   4 9 35 Hofstra, NY   2 8 35 Stanford, CA   5 8 37 Lock Haven, PA   3 7.5 38 Penn, PA   5 6.5 39 Maryland, MD   3 6 39 Wyoming, WY   6 6 41 Drexel, PA   4 5 42 Purdue, IN   8 4.5 43 Appalachian St., NC   3 4 43 Boise State, ID   2 4 45 Chattanooga, TN   7 3.5 46 American, DC   2 3 46 Brown, RI   2 3 46 Bucknell, PA   4 3 46 Northern Colorado, CO   3 3 50 Army, NY   4 2.5 50 Central Mich., MI   3 2.5 52 Air Force, CO   2 2 53 Cleveland St., OH   2 1.5 53 Davidson, NC   1 1.5 53 Eastern Mich., MI   2 1.5 53 Navy, MD   2 1.5 53 South Dakota St., SD   3 1.5 58 Binghamton, NY   2 1 58 Cal Poly   2 1 58 Citadel, SC   3 1 61 Columbia, NY   3 1 61 CSU Bakersfield, CA   2 1 61 SIU Edwardsville, IL   2 1 61 Utah Valley, UT   3 1 65 George Mason, VA   2 0.5 65 Harvard, MA   1 0.5 67 Gardner-Webb, NC   1 0 67 Northern Ill., IL   1 0 69 Michigan St., MI   1 -0.5 [/tablegrid] 

 

[Fred in Lynn]

I just got finished watching the DVR of the finals. Some good matches. Too bad for Brown and Wilps that the ending was so strange, but I think they got it right. That 174 was a murder's row this year, and they're all graduating - Kokesh, Storley, Evans, Brown, Wilps. Odd that two of the most anticipated matches ended up effectively being injury defaults, as Port and even more so Moisey had nothing after their respective hyperextensions. Too bad for Martinez and Dieringer because I think either of them could have won the Outstanding Wrestler had Stieber not been there.

I think for a sport that has so much unrest because of cuts in the Olympics and internal debates over team duals v. tournaments, having the tournament broadcast on ESPN over three days and any match available online was great. My wife had the flu and I had to take off to watch the kids, and I think I watched every match. The only black eye was the Realbuto-Miller fiasco. I don't know if it was the referee who didn't signal the escape or the scorer's table that didn't record it, but the pooch was seriously screwed.

Lastly, who knew Billy Baldwin was actually the coolest of his brothers? He actually knows the sport. I was impressed. Now if I ever run across him, we don't have to talk about his horrible movies.

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

How do you get negative team points? (Sparty)
 
Thank you, SJ
Fabulous.

 

[SoxJox]

How do you get negative team points? (Sparty)

John Rizqallah (184) was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in his 4-2 loss to Jack Deckow of Old Dominion in the 2nd Sudden Victory period in the 2nd consolation round.
 
Edit: Also meant to add...unsportsmanlike conduct penalties count both against the match and the team point total.

 

[SoxJox]

Lastly, who knew Billy Baldwin was actually the coolest of his brothers? He actually knows the sport. I was impressed. Now if I ever run across him, we don't have to talk about his horrible movies.

Baldwin wrestled at Berner HS in Massapequa, NY, and was an outstanding wrestler at Binghamton University.
 
He wrestled at 145 and was named All County and recorded most team pins his senior year.  He was a teammate of and wrestled at the same weight  as Penn State's Chris Bevilaqua, a 2-time All American and 4-time NCAA qualifier.
 
Here's a video of an interview with his HS coach, Jim Norland.

 

[Fred in Lynn]

Yeah, I could tell he wrestled. Great to see someone famous for something other than wrestling out promoting it like that.

Here's a random interesting match where a high schooler who will never wrestle collegiately does whatever he wants to the only guy who beat Stieber the last two years: https://youtu.be/HxXQxbTcBZE

 

[SoxJox]

Yeah, I could tell he wrestled. Great to see someone famous for something other than wrestling out promoting it like that.

Here's a random interesting match where a high schooler who will never wrestle collegiately does whatever he wants to the only guy who beat Stieber the last two years: https://youtu.be/HxXQxbTcBZE

All I can say is, "Wow!"  Aaron Pico's wiki reads like a superstar.  As you stated, as a true freshman Zain Retherford defeated Steiber when the latter was a junior.  In this video Retherferd is completely overmatched by Pico.  Too bad we won't see him at the collegiate level, but I can understand why he's made the decision he has.