The NCAA tournament is a magical world full of triumph and heartbreak. The unwinnable somehow find a way to win and the invincible unbeatable somehow manage to get beat. It can be the most rewarding environment and at the exact same time be the most unforgiving. It is a world all within its own.
125 lbs NotesTwo Time NCAA Champion Jesse Delgado fell 4-2 to American's David Terao. Terao, a junior from Hawaii looks to become the second wrestler in the entire history of the NCAA DI wrestling tournament to capture All American status from the Aloha state. The other being four time All American Travis Lee of Cornell who was 7th-1st-5th-7th.
Returning All American Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa, who placed 6th last season, went 0-2.
Kory Mines of Edinboro is having himself a so far miraculous tournament. The senior fighting Scott upset Chattanooga's Sean Boyle in the second round.
Another huge upset in this weight class was West Virginia freshman Zeke Moisey, who is unseeded with 12 losses, upset the #2 seed Nahshon Garrett of Cornell. Garrett has finished 3rd-2nd the last two years.
133 lbs NotesOklahoma's Cody Brewer is showing us why giving him the #13 seed was ridiculous as he manhandled Ohio State's #4 seed Johnni DiJulius 9-1.
Edinboro's A.J. Schopp is our first reminder of how injuries often negatively effect someone's performance. Schopp is still alive in the wrestlebacks however.
141 lbs NotesWhat better place to make a name for yourself than the NCAA tournament? Freshman Kevin Jack of North Carolina State was an unknown nobody in the world of college wrestling all year long. With wins over Iowa's Josh Dziewa and North Carolina's Joey Ward, we now know who he is.
Nick Dardanes of Minnesota also went down early, as he lost to Old Dominion's Chris Mecate. In the wrestlebacks Dardanes will face Iowa's Dziewa. They are 1-1 against one another this year, and have faced each other in year's past as well. Tomorrow marks the final time the two will meet. The illustrious feud will come to an end.
149 lbs NotesJosh Kindig of Oklahoma State is another reminder to us of how much injuries just plain suck as the Cowboy did his best to fight through an injury but just couldn't hold up. The same can be said for Iowa State's Gabe Moreno.
157 lbs NotesIf both Isaiah Martinez of Illinois and James Green of Nebraska win their quarterfinal matches they will meet in the semi-finals. I really hope this happens as I've been looking forward to this rematch for a very long time.
Iowa needed every point they could get to win this NCAA tournament. Kelly not giving them any, hurts the Hawkeyes chances at a team title a lot.
165 lbs NotesNick Moore going 0-2, especially to two guys that he could have beaten may have very well ended Iowa's chances at a team title. I sure would like to know what went wrong with him and why. Moore has the talent to beat anyone at his weight class with exception to Dieringer . How a guy with a win over Chris Perry of Oklahoma State, never even makes the Round of 12 is beyond me. Could have been a finalist.
Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa looks to be in the running for the Gorriaran Award with two first period falls, one of which is over Nick Sulzer of Virginia the #4 seed.
Iowa State's Michael Moreno is yet more evidence of just how gruelingly unforgiving this tournament can be, when he was upset by Austin Wilson of Nebraska in the first round. Yet, mark my word, he may also prove to be an example of how rewarding this tournament can be. Every year someone loses first round at the NCAA tournament and comes back to take third. If anyone can make that incredible journey, it's Moreno.
174 lbs Notes
Senior Joe Latham of Oregon State is making a name for himself in his last run as a Beaver upsetting the #4 seed John Eblen of Missouri and finding himself in the quarterfinals.
Mike Evans of Iowa faces Minnesota's Logan Storley for the third time this season tomorrow. Thus far Evans has won two close matches. They say it's difficult to beat someone three times in a row. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
184 lbs Notes
Taylor Meeks of Oregon State has a way of repeating himself. As a sophomore in 2013, he entered the tournament with three losses to Wyoming's Alfonso Hernandez and when they met in the quarter-finals he pinned him. This year Meeks lost 9-3 to Oklahoma State's Nolan Boyd and today he beats him 8-2.
Speaking of Revenge the last time Vic Avery of Edinboro wrestled Old Dominion's Jack Dechow, Dechow whipped him 8-1. Today Avery won.
Freshman Matt McCutheon of Penn State, is illustrating just how effective of a coach Cael Sanderson is. His guys are always ready for tournaments.
197 lbs NotesThis is the one weight were things are actually going as they were predicted to go for the most part.
HWT NotesIt's not fun for Iowa fans that Bobby Telford lost in the first round to Maryland's Spencer Myers, but they ought to not be so hard on him about it. Myers is no slouch. When on, he's extremely dangerous. He was 6th in the nation as a true freshman and owns a win over three time NCAA finalist Tony Nelson of Minnesota. We're not dealing with just anybody here.
Points of Interest
True freshman Dom Forys of Pittsburgh who qualified for the NCAA championships this year, did not qualify for his state tournament last season. While 5th as a sophomore and 3rd as a junior, he failed to qualify for the state tournament as a senior last year.
Santiago Martinez of Lehigh, who went 1-1 today, spent his first three years wrestling in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA), (a non-varsity, club or club-like status program) for Central Florida University. Just another example that NCWA wrestlers are no slouches and that there IS a NEED for collegiate wrestling, VARSITY collegiate wrestling in the state of Florida. We start with Southeastern an NAIA program next year. Hopefully it's one of many to come.
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