NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Senior
Nahshon Garrett opened the night and closed his collegiate career with his first national title and junior
Gabe Dean put the cherry on top with his second consecutive crown
in front of a frenzied, sold-out Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships. An ESPN audience and 19,270 fans the World's Most Famous Arena witnessed Garrett's 7-6 win over No. 2 seed Cory Clark of Iowa at 133 pounds and Dean's 5-3 triumph over No. 7 seed TJ Dudley of Nebraska at 184 pounds.
Cornell finished seventh in the team race with 67 points, crowning three All-Americans after qualifying nine for the national championship meet. It is the Big Red's ninth consecutive top 10 team finish and eighth straight among the top seven teams. The two individual titles bring Cornell's haul to 19 in program history, while its three All-Americans give the Big Red 76 all-time, including 15 national crowns and 59 All-Americans under head coach
Rob Koll.
The four-time All-American Garrett punctuated the season with a perfect 37-0 record, matched a school record for most wins without a loss in a season (Kyle Dake in 2012-13), and ended his career with 149 wins - second on the school's list. He became Cornell's 13th national champion, and his 20 wins in NCAA tournament competition tied a record previously held by four-time national champion Dake and fellow former title-winner Troy Nickerson. He concluded his career with 38 consecutive wins. Garrett joins fellow Big Red wrestlers David Hirsch and Travis Lee in advancing through the 133-pound field for a championship.
Garrett picked up a takedown 46 seconds into the match and rode him hard for a half-minute before Clark was able to escape to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Iowa junior was able to defend a deep shot sandwiched between a pair of stall warnings, one for each wrestler, before time ran out in the first. Clark escaped immediately, but Garrett responded by taking him down immediately following the award to extend the lead to 4-2. Clark escaped and then defended a late shot in the second as time ran out before Garrett could finish. The Big Red senior escaped after opening the third on bottom to extend his lead to 5-3 with 90 seconds left. A second stall call on Garrett gave Clark a penalty point to get within 5-4, but an emphatic takedown after the call gave Garrett a 7-4 edge. He again rode Clark hard before giving the Iowa wrestler another penalty point and an escape with seven seconds left, but Garrett avoided a final push to claim the 7-6 win and his first national title.
"[Our crowd is] awesome. It's easy to get caught up in when they were singing the national anthem - I was in tears because I was overwhelmed by the glory of the spectating and just everything emanating from me and from everybody else and it's just a pretty amazing thing," Garrett said. "I was a little emotional before my match, so I had to calm myself down."
He did that and more. With the craziness that surrounds the championship - from the noise and distractions from the crowd to the wait for television breaks and pyrotechnic introductions - Garrett waited calmly, silently and motionless, in the center circle while his opponent bounded around, trying to get rid of nervous energy and keep his body warm. But Garrett's serenity won out - securing the only three takedowns en route to standing at the top of the podium for the first time after three other trips lower down, including a runner-up finish in 2014 at 125 pounds. His next stop will be the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, from April 9-10.
Dean's second straight title came in a controlled nail-biter against Nebraska's Dudley. Dean took nearly every shot in the match and defended one third period shot for the decisive takedown in the 5-3 victory. Dean had the match's only two takedowns, and that was enough to return to the top of the podium and become the fourth multiple-time NCAA champion in Cornell history, joining four-timer Dake and two-time champs Dave Auble and Travis Lee. Dean finished his junior campaign 34-1 and is now 117-6 over his three-year career.
The three-time All-American took the only real shots of the first period, getting to a leg three times, but only drawing a stall warning on Dudley for consistently backing away in the first three minutes. Dudley chose bottom to begin the second and earned a quick escape to take a 1-0 lead. Dean was credited with a takedown with 40 seconds left in the second, and after a Nebraska coach's challenge, the call was confirmed, though Dudley was also awarded the escape to knot the match 2-2. Dean began the third on bottom and took a 3-2 edge with an escape six seconds in and kept significant pressure on Dudley. He got in on a leg but couldn't finish several times before the Nebraska junior took a shot. Dean countered with a go-behind for a takedown to extend his edge to 5-2 and kept away from his opponent for the final 20 seconds to leave the mat with his second national title.
"I remember coming into Cornell when I was a kid, getting my butt kicked every day by Cam Simaz. I guess it's great to be on the other end of that now and not getting my head shoved into the bleachers every day," Dean said. "But the point was these kids, not just me but my whole class, we kept coming back and didn't take no for an answer. And you know what, we didn't have the perfect NCAA Tournament, but we've got a lot of fighters on our team and a lot of support. I'm just happy to be a part of it."
SESSION VNEW YORK, N.Y. -- Cornell junior
Dylan Palacio capped off his first All-America season with a fourth-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The EIWA champion closed his season with a 19-3 record in the157-pound weight class.
Palacio received a medical forfeit against fourth-seeded Ian Miller of Kent State in the consolation semifinals, an anticlimactic finish to a highly-anticipated match between two of the nation's most exciting wrestlers. That propelled him into the third place match against Virginia Tech's Nick Brascetta, the No. 8 seed.
A scoreless period spent circling included only one scoring opportunity, a shot by Brascetta that Palacio was able to successfully defend. Palacio took bottom to begin the second and escaped 39 seconds into the period after a near-reversal to get on the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead. Palacio got in on a single leg, but Brascetta was able to re-shoot for the opening takedown and rode out Palacio to take a 2-1 lead with riding time into the third. Brascetta took down to begin the third and earned a quick escape to go up 3-1. Needing a big move, Palacio wasn't able to attack as the Hokie tied him up most of the final two minutes for a 4-1 final.
SESSION IVNEW YORK, N.Y. -- An electric evening session full of drama and falls boosted the Cornell wrestling team into eighth place in the team standings when all was said and done on Friday evening in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden. The Big Red went 4-0, advancing both senior
Nahshon Garrett (133) and junior
Gabe Dean (184) to the national finals and guaranteeing junior
Dylan Palacio (157) his first All-America honor.
Dean will wrestle for his second consecutive NCAA title, Garrett will look to cap off a legendary career with his first and Palacio will attempt to finish as high as third place on Saturday as the three-day tournament concludes. Cornell brings 53.5 team points into the final sessions and is within striking distance of Nebraska (56), Missouri (58.5) and even Ohio State (61) in a race for a top five finish. The Big Red was able to do so thanks to a pair of thrilling pins and two workmanlike, but emphatic, decision victories to get Cornell inside the top 10 of the team race.
Garrett electrified the crowd of more than 18,000 with a pin of defending national champion Cody Brewer of Oklahoma in just 21 seconds, exploding at the Sooner off the whistle and taking him down to his back. Garrett earned four nearfall, readjusted and got four more swipes before Brewer's shoulders hit the mat and sent the sizable Big Red contingent into a frenzy. If was the first of four Big Red celebrations on the night. Garrett will face second-seeded Cory Clark of Iowa in the finals in the second match of Saturday's televised event.
Dean was dominant in a completely different way, picking up all three takedowns in the match, reversing No. 13 Pete Renda of NC State to open the second period and earning a riding time point for a 9-4 victory. Dean repeatedly got to Renda's legs and he
never threatened the defending champion. Dean will wrestle seventh-seeded TJ Dudley of Nebraska in the finals and will attempt to become the fourth multiple-time national champion in Cornell history, joining four-timer Kyle Dake and two-timers Dave Auble and Travis Lee.
Palacio came all the way back through the consolation bracket to earn his first All-America honor with a pair of wins in the evening session and can now finish no lower than sixth. He began the night in the blood round, cementing his national honor with a 12-6 triumph over seventh-seeded Cody Pack of South Dakota State. Palacio's big eight-point second period that included a reversal, takedown and two nearfall points after each, gave him an insurmountable 8-1 edge heading into the third and he finished with a 12-6 win. With the pressure off, Palacio reversed Oklahoma State's Joseph Smith to his back in the second period and turned a 2-1 deficit into a fall at 4:38 for big team points and more momentum heading into Saturday morning's session.
SESSION IIINEW YORK, N.Y. -- Senior
Nahshon Garrett became the sixth four-time All-American in school history by advancing to Friday night's semifinal round, as did three-time All-American and defending national champion junior
Gabe Dean as the Big Red bounded up the team standings as day two of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships commenced at Madison Square Garden. In addition,
Dylan Palacio advanced through the wrestlebacks and needs to win one match in the evening session to earn All-America honors.
Garrett and Dean both controlled every aspect of their matches in winning decisions. Garrett became the sixth four-time All-American in school history after a 5-0 victory over No. 8 seed Earl Hall of Iowa State, while Dean avenged his only loss of the year with a dominant 10-4 decision over Oklahoma State's Nolan Boyd. He becmae a three-time All-American in the process and will have a chance to advance to the national title match for the second consecutive year with a victory over No. 13 Pete Renda of NC State this evening.
Garrett controlled a 5-0 decision over eighth-seeded Earl Hall of Iowa State, getting the only takedown of the match, being credited with a pair of escapes - one after Hall was forced to wipe down in the opening minute of the match - and another for a riding point bonus. He became a four-time All-American in the process, just the sixth Cornellian to reach that milestone.
Dean was never threatened by the same wrestler who earned a 14-9 victory over him earlier this season in a dual meet. This time, Dean took down the Cowboy wrestler 15 seconds into the first and never looked back. In doing so, Dean became a three-time All-American, the 10th Cornellian to capture at least three awards.
Dylan Palacio won a pair of decisions to get to Friday night's blood round, topping both No. 11 Luke Smith of Central Michigan and No. 14 Austin Matthews of Edinoro to advance. He will wrestle No. 7 Cody Pack of South Dakota State for All-America honors.
Dalton Macri won his first wrestleback of the day before dropping the second, and
Owen Scott and
Joe Galasso were eliminated in their first consolation matchups.
SESSION IINEW YORK, N.Y. -- A day full of ups and downs was all up for two of the Big Red's national title contenders, as both senior
Nahshon Garrett (133) and junior
Gabe Dean (184) moved into the quarterfinals with a pair of wins on day one of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden. Both will need two wins on Friday to advance to Saturday night's main event. Four other wrestlers remain alive in the wrestlebacks with All-America status on the line. As a team, the Big Red sits 13th with 11.0 points, just 6.5 points out of the top five.
After tight matches in the morning session, both Garrett and Dean wasted little time picking up first period falls in the evening. Garrett won by fall 99 seconds into his match with un-seeded Nathan Kraisser of Campbell) in his second round bout, while Dean finished off Bucknell's Tom Sleigh 1:57 into their match. Garrett will face No. 8 Earl Hall of Iowa State in the quarters, while Dean will have a chance to avenge his only loss when he meets No. 8 Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State. In the process, Garrett moved into second place on the school's career wins (146) and bonus wins (91) lists.
Freshman
Dalton Macri and junior
Dylan Palacio dropped second round matches, meaning they need to each win four more matches in the wrestlebacks to capture All-America honors and six to finish as high as third. Both dropped decisions by a takedown or less to Michigan grapplers, Macri a 7-5 contest to Conor Youtsey and Palacio an 8-7 decision to No. 12 Brian Murphy.
A near takedown for Palacio in his match turned into near disaster, as the junior tried attacking Murphy after elevating the leg for nearly 30 seconds. The attack saw him land on his back with Murphy atop him for two takedown and two nearfall points. Though Palacio controlled the rest of the match, he could never claw all the way back. He essentially tied the match with a takedown with a minute remaining, getting within 7-6 and holding a minute of riding time, but cut the Wolverine grappler looking for the win. It didn't work, as Murphy continued to hold him off and tie him up over the final minute, evading a last-second shot to claim the win.
Those four will be joined on day two by freshman
Joe Galasso and senior
Owen Scott, both alive after winning their first matches in the consolation bracket.
Galasso got his first NCAA win with a solid 4-1 victory over Alex Griffin of Purdue to keep his season alive. After a scoreless first period, the wrestlers traded escapes before Galasso earned a third period takedown and rode him out, accumulating more than a minute for the extra point.
Scott controlled his match with Northern Colorado's Trent Noon, earning an 8-4 win thanks to three big takedowns. Noon picked up a late reversal to make the match intersting, but couldn't overcome the deficit as Scott won his first career NCAA tournament match.
Senior
Duke Pickett saw his
excellent four-year career come to an end with a 90-44 record and a pair of NCAA tournament appearances. Wrestling 11th-seeded John Staudenmayer of North Carolina in the consolation first round, Pickett never got over a first period takedown and rideout. He was able to get within 3-2 before an escape to open the third and a tough stall call made it 5-2. Heading into the final seconds, a Pickett shot was defended and Staudenmayer was able to get a takedown to seal the deal in the final seconds.Wrestling against Chattanooga's Sean Mappes on one leg after injuring it in the first session, Realbuto had the gutsiest effort of the tournament, including a takedown - first given, then confirmed, then waived off after a coach's challenge - at the buzzer that would have won it. Instead, Realbuto bowed out on day one after the 6-5 loss. Despite trailing 4-1, Realbuto had a pair of third period takedowns on essentially one leg to make the match one the entire Big Red contingent stayed for - and awarded Realbuto a standing ovation for the effort.
Sweany bounced back from his morning loss with a solid showing against Bucknell's Joe Stolfi, the EIWA runner-up, right up until the third period. Leading 6-1, Sweany chose down looking for the escape point. Instead, Stolfi was able to turn the ride into a headlock and took the rookie down to his back for the pin in 5:24 to end his tournament.
SESSION INEW YORK, N.Y. -- Cornell's two top seeds (
Nahshon Garrett at 133 and
Gabe Dean at 184) were able to avoid the upset bug against nationally-ranked wrestlers, but the Big Red went just 4-5 in session I and saw second-seeded
Brian Realbuto knocked off at 174 on Thursday afternoon at Madison Square Garden at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championship. Four Big Red wrestlers remain alive in the championship bracket and the other five will attempt to wrestle back to All-America status in the consolation draw. Cornell is tied for 18th in the team standings with 4.0 points.
Garrett and Dean both had tougher than normal first round matchups. Garrett went head-to-head with fellow EIWA finalist Mason Beckman of Lehigh and Dean met up with Old Dominion's Jack Dechow, a rematch of the 2014 NCAA third-place contest and the NWCA All-Star Classic matchup later that fall.
Garrett earned a takedown five seconds in and never looked back, riding him out and piling up nearly three full minutes of time on top after one. Garrett chose bottom to began the second with an escape and a takedown. Garrett cut Bekman to open the third, but immediately took him down to go up 7-1. Another cut and takedown pushed him to 9-2, but Garrett couldn't get the final two for the major and settled for the decision. The win was Garrett's 145th, matching Cam Simaz for second on the school's career list.
Dean went toe-to-toe with Dechow for the full seven minutes, using an escape and two stalling points to pull out a close victory. The defending national champion controlled the center to advance to the second round.
Freshman Dalton Maci pulled an upset to open the Big Red's tournament, using an escape and a locked hands call for a 6-4 win over 11th-seeded Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State in the second tiebreaker, and he will meet unseeded Conor Youtsey of Michigan in round two. Bresser opened the scoring after he was able to turn a single-leg attack into a takedown a minute into the match, with the Big Red freshman's ensuing escape 20 seconds later the only other scoring in the period. A quick second period escape by Macri tied the match, a point that was recovered when Macri cut Bresser to open the third. Bresser took a stall warning, and a second came seconds later to knot the match at 3-3 with 30 seconds left,sending it into sudden victory. After two scoreless sudden victory periods and two rideout periods that ended in escapes, Macri used a riding time factor, as well as a third restart caution, to take the upset, 6-4.
Junior
Dylan Palacio also picked up a victory, topping Missouri's LeRoy Barnes for the second time this season, this time by a 7-3 margin. Palacio won a first period scramble after starting on Barnes' back, earning the takedown after coming out from underneath and riding out the Tiger grappled for the final 41 seconds of the period. Palacio started on bottom and was able to reverse Barnes to extend the lead to 4-0 and pushed his riding time over a minute. The Tiger picked up a point with an escape in the third, but Palacio won another wild scramble to extend the advantage to 6-1 with under a minute left and cruised to the victory.
Realbuto's loss at 174 included a late injury that concluded the 7-4 loss to Iowa State's Lelund Weatherspoon. Additionally,
Owen Scott's loss at 197 came by a single point and
Duke Pickett's 165-pound loss to the sixth-seed came in a 5-2 contest. A pair of freshmen lost bonus point matches to ranked wrestlers in their NCAA debuts.
Joe Galasso fell at 149 pounds to seventh-seeded Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska and heavyweight
Jeramy Sweany was pinned by Oregon State's Amarveer Dhesi to close out the session.
First Round: Dalton Macri (Cornell) won by decison over #11 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), 6-4 (tb2)
Second Round: Conor Youtsey (Michigan) won by decision over Dalton Macri (Cornell), 7-5
Consolation Second Round: Dalton Macri (Cornell) won by fall over Drew Romero (Air Force), 4:49
Consolation Third Round: #14 Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State) won by decision over Dalton Macri (Cornell), 5-4 First Round: #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) won by decision over Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 10-3
Second Round: #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) won by fall over Nathan Kraisser (Campbell), 1:39
Quarterfinals: #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) won by decision over #8 Earl Hall (Iowa State), 5-0
Semifinals: #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) won by fall over #4 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma), 0:21
Finals: #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) won by decision over #2 Cory Clark (Iowa), 7-6 First Round: #7 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) won by major decision over Joe Galasso (Cornell), 8-0
Consolation First Round: Joe Galasso (Cornell) won by decision over Alex Griffin (Purdue), 4-1
Consolation Secound Round: BJ Clagon (Rider) won by major decision over Joe Galasso (Cornell), 19-6 First Round: #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) won by decision over LeRoy Barnes (Missouri), 7-3
Second Round: #12 Brian Murphy (Michigan) won by decision over #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 8-7
Consolation Second Round: #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) won by decision over #11 Luke Smith (Central Michigan), 5-3
Consolation Third Round: #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) won by decision over #14 Austin Matthews (Edinboro), 12-6
Consolation Fourth Round: #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) won by decision over #7 Cody Pack (South Dakota State), 12-6
Consolation Quarterfinals: #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) won by fall over #6 Joseph Smith (Oklahoma State), 4:38
Consolation Semifinals: #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) won by medical forfeit over #4 Ian Miller (Kent State)
Third Place Match: #8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) won by decision over #5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 4-1 First Round: #6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) won by decision over Duke Pickett (Cornell), 5-2
Consolation First Round: #11 John Staudenmayer (North Carolina) won by decision over Duke Pickett (Cornell), 7-2 First Round: Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) won by decision over #2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 7-4
Consolation First Round: Sean Mappes (Chattanooga) won by decision over #2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 6-5 First Round: #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) won by decision over Jack Dechow (Old Dominion), 3-1
Second Round: #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) won by fall over Tom Sleigh (Bucknell), 1:57
Quarterfinals: #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) won by decision over #8 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State), 10-4
Semifinals: #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) won by decision over #13 Pete Renda (NC State), 9-4
Finals: #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) won by decision over #7 TJ Dudley (Nebraska), 5-3 First Round: #13 Jake Smith (West Virginia) won by decision over Owen Scott (Cornell), 3-2
Consolation First Round: Owen Scott (Cornell) won by decision over Trent Noon (Northern Colorado), 8-4
Consolation Second Round: #14 Zach Nye (Virignia) won by decision over Owen Scott (Cornell), 8-2 First Round: vs. #7 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State) won by fall over Jeramy Sweany (Cornell), 1:17
Consolation First Round: #10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) won by fall over Jeramy Sweany (Cornell), 5:24
