SESSION 6
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – For the seventh straight season, the Cornell wrestling team placed in the top 10 as a team at NCAAs thanks in large part due to its talented group of underclassmen. Nowehere was that on display more than in sophomore
Nahshon Garrett's national runner-up finish at 125 pounds.
Garrett dropped a narrow 3-2 contest against defending national champion and top seed Illinois despite being the aggressor throughout. It was his second straight All-America finish after claiming a third place effort as a freshman in 2013.
Garrett came out on fire, blasting through Delgado less than 10 seconds in, but the savvy senior was able to scramble to avoid the takedown after a video review. The stoppage allowed both wrestlers to settle in, and Garrett got in deep but wasn't able to finish it. Another video review came in, and for the second time in the first 90 seconds, Cornell lost its challenge. Garrett continued to push the pace, but after a shot by the sophomore, Delgado's scramble looked as though he had a takedown of his own on the edge of the mat. Garrett, however, controlled the leg and Illinois lost its challenge on the possible takedown. No one could break through in the final 20 seconds, leaving it scoreless after the first period.
Delgado opened the second period down and Garrett was able to ride the defending national champion for 1:23 before the Fighting Illini wrestler was able to escape and almost immediately earn a takedown to go up 3-0 heading into the final period. Garrett chose neutral in the third to maintain his riding time advantage and continued to pace the match as Delgado played keep-away for the first 25 seconds, drawing a stall warning. Garrett shot multiple times in the final 90 seconds and earned a stall point, but time ran out on Garrett and Delgado claimed the 3-2 decision.
SESSION 5
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Freshman
Gabe Dean earned his way to a third place finish at 184 pounds and classmate
Brian Realbuto finished sixth on Saturday morning at the 2014 NCAA Championships at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Sophomore
Nahshon Garrett will wrestle for a national title tonight against No. 1 seed Jesse Delgado of Illinois tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Dean needed to win two matches to get back to third, and he did just that. The rookie took out Penn's Lorenzo Thomas with a third period pin for important bonus points in the team standings to get him into the third place match, where he met fellow freshman Jack Dechow of Old Dominion. Dean built a 3-2 lead with the only takedown until his counterpart earned a late takedown of his own to take a momentary 4-3 edge. Knowing Dean had riding time in hand, Dechow tried to pick up a winning takedown, but was stymied and the Cornellian picked up the second-highest finish by a freshman in school history.
Brian Realbuto, who was so impressive over the first two days of the tournament, was forced to medically forfeit out to sixth place after suffering an injury in his semifinal loss on Friday evening.
SESSION 4
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Sophomore
Nahshon Garrett advanced to his first NCAA final, three Cornell underclassmen earned All-America honors and the Big Red moved up the team standings on Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Big Red sits seventh in the team standings with 46.5 points.
Garrett will attempt to avenge his only loss on the big stage on Saturday evening when he meets top-seeded Jesse Delgado of Illinois. Garrett picked up a 6-4 win over Nico Megaludis of Penn State, his third victory over the Nittany Lion this season. Garrett picked up a takedown 19 seconds into the match and Megaludis earned an escape to go up 2-1 after the first three minutes. Garrett chose down in the second and escaped 20 seconds in to make it 3-1, then cradled Megaludis up for a takedown to go 5-1 heading into the third. Megaludis took bottom in the third and was able to escape and then took Garrett down to get within 5-4 while also erasing the Big Red wrestler's riding time advantage. Garrett escaped with 48 seconds left to make it 6-4, then defended in the final 45 seconds to advance to his first national championship match.
Both freshmen
Brian Realbuto and
Gabe Dean fell just short of reaching the big match.
Realbuto suffering a first period injury in a 7-4 loss to Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer, the No. 3 seed. After taking injury time in the first period, Realbuto's opponent took the bottom position and was able to reverse the rookie to take a 2-0 lead after one. After Dieringer escaped to make it 3-0, Realbuto earned a takedown to get back within 3-2, but the Oklahoma State wrestler reversed it. A Realbuto escape brought it back to 5-3 heading into the third. After going down in the third, Realbuto escaped to get within 5-4, but was taken down late as he attempted desperation shots to get the late lead.
Dean wrestled a motivated Ed Ruth in one semifinal at 184 pounds. In the rubber match between the two, Ruth held off the hard-charging Dean, defending against a number of tough shots in the final 20 seconds after Dean got back within 4-3 and cut the two-time defending national champ. The difference ended up being Ruth's first period takedown and ride-out giving the senior his first decision of the tournament after bonus wins in each of his first three matches.
After an outstanding afternoon session, the evening was a a struggle as a pair of Big Red wrestlers had injuries that limited them in losses and three finished one win shy of All-America status. Despite all of that, every single one of Cornell's 46.5 team points heading into the final day will be back next season.
Freshmen
Mark Grey (133),
Dylan Palacio (165) and senior
Chris Villalonga (149) all dropped decisions prior to the All-America rounds, with Palacio struggling with a third period injury in a tie match that ended with a 9-6 loss. Grey lost a 6-1 decision to EIWA opponent Mason Beckman of Lehigh, while VIllalonga dropped a 4-1 contest to Michigan's Eric Grajales, the No. 9 seed.
Both Realbuto and Dean will attempt to wrestleback to third place, but are assured of becoming the second freshmen duo to capture All-America accolades in the same season, joining Mack Lewnes and
Mark Grey in 2008.
SESSION 3
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – There were dominating wins and last-second takedowns. In the end, there were lots of wins. The Cornell wrestling team sent three wrestlers to the semifinals and continued three in the wrestlebacks while jumping from 10th place to fourth entering Friday evening's session four at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Sophomore
Nahshon Garrett (125) and freshmen
Brian Realbuto (157) and
Gabe Dean (184) each clinched All-America honors with their quarterfinal victories, with all three capturing comfortable wins. Garrett earned a major decision, Dean took home a seven-point decision and so did Realbuto. Realbuto's came as an upset, knocking off defending national champion and No. 2 seed Derek St. John to enter the national championship picture.
The wins came was part of a 10-0 start to the day for Cornell, who also saw
Mike Grey (133),
Chris Villalonga (149) and
Dylan Palacio (165) advance to within a Friday evening win of capturing All-America honors.
With the team's 39.5 points, Cornell is just three points short of Iowa, who sits in fourth with 42.5 points. All of the Big Red's points are by wrestlers expected to return in 2014-15.
Garrett went after Terao from the whistle, getting a takedown and riding out his opponent for the final two minutes. Right before the whistle at the end of the first, Garrett tilted Terao for two nearfall points to lead 4-0 after one. Garrett chose down to start the second and earned a quick escape, then earned his second takedown 20 seconds later to make it 7-0. A stall point late in the second pushed it into major territory and the sophomore continued to push forward in the third, claiming another takedown in the final seconds after a Terao desperation shot. His 3:44 in riding time made it 11-0, good enough to give him a spot in the semifinals and earn him his second consecutive All-American honor. Next up is Penn State's Nico Megaludis, who Garrett has topped twice this season.
Realbuto earned a takedown of St. John in the very first minute and fought off a reversal attempt in a fast-paced first period. He earned an escape in the second to extend the lead to 3-1, then was able to rice St. John long enough in the third to regain the riding time advantage and added a pair of nearfall points to go up 5-1. St. John earned an escape and a takedown to get within 8-4, but Realbuto wouldn't be challenged the rest of the way, nearly picking up a major over the defending national champion. He'll face No. 3 seed Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State on Friday evening.
Dean picked up a takedown just 17 seconds in on Jacob Swartz of Boise State and nearly immediately picked up three nearfall points to extend the advantage to 5-0 less than a minute in. He started the second on top and allowed an escape, Swartz's second of the match, to make it 5-2, but Dean picked up another takedown and boosted his riding time to 1:41 heading into the final period. Dean escaped 12 seconds into the third to go up 8-3 and finished a double leg to push it to 10-3 with just under a minute to wrestle. An escape by Swartz helped the Boise State wrestler avoid the major, but the Big Red freshman advanced to the semifinals with an 11-4 victory. Awaiting him in the semis is a rubber match with Penn State's defending national champion and No. 2 seed Ed Ruth.
The Big Red advanced all four of its remaining wrestlers in the first session of wrestlebacks with
Jace Bennett earning a last second takedown and erasing riding time to advance with a 5-4 triumph over No. 8 seed Phillip Wellington of Ohio. Freshman
Mark Grey got within one win of All-America honors with his own last-second takedown, a 3-1 victory over Ohio State's Johnni DiJulius.
Chris Villalonga, who rallied in the third period to knock off the No. 6 seed Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska, also used a late takedown to advance.
Realbuto's win over No. 2 St. John wasn't the lone Big Red upset in Session III, as Palacio's dominant win over No. 5 Nick Moore of Iowa, Grey's 3-1 triumph over Ohio State's No. 9 Johnni DiJuilius and
Jace Bennett's comeback over Wellington at 197 made for a great morning.
Bennett was the lone Cornell wrestler eliminated in the session, losing by fall to Illinois' Mario Gonzalez after getting caught in a second period scramble to end his tournament 2-2 and his season 31-11.
SESSION 2
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – After day one of the 2014 NCAA Championships, Cornell has three wrestlers still alive for an NCAA title and seven of its eight with a chance to earn All-America status. Cornell ended day one in 10th place with 14 team points after a long day of wrestling at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Sophomore
Nahshon Garrett and freshmen
Brian Realbuto and
Gabe Dean each are alive in the championship brackets after picking up second round wins to send them through to the quarterfinals. A win in the quarters would guarantee each at least an All-America finish. In addition, four others are alive to earn national honors through the wrestlebacks.
Garrett won his second round match over No. 15 seed Anthony Zanetta with a dominant first period. Garrett earned a late takedown in the first period and rode out Zanetta in the second to lock in riding time, essentially taking a 3-0 lead into the third period. The sophomore earned an escape after going down to start and picked up another takedown to claim the 6-0 victory. Standing in the way of reaching the semifinals is a familiar foe – American's 10th-seeded David Terao. Garrett is 3-0 this season against his EIWA foe, including a 2-1 triumph in the EIWA finals.
Realbuto topped No. 10 seed Blaise Butler of Virginia with a takedown in the sudden victory overtime after both wrestlers earned escapes to send the match into the extra period. The 3-1 triumph propelled him into a matchup with Iowa's No. 2 seed Derek St. John on Friday.
Dean was dominant in his 11-4 decision over No. 14 John Rizqallah of Michigan State. Dean picked up a takedown less than 30 seconds in and another with just over a minute to go in the period en route to a 4-2 lead after one. A Dean reversal early in the second saved ride time and extended the advantage to 6-2. Another takedown pushed the edge to 8-3 heading into the final period. The freshman went for a major decision in the final minute, but was content to head into the quarterfinals where he will meet No. 6 seed Jake Swartz of Boise State. The two met in the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December with Dean winning 4-2 in overtime on his way to the tournament title.
Cornell's lone wrestler knocked out was two-time All-American
Mike Nevinger, who closed his career with 113 victories, the 12th-best total in Big Red history. An injury held him back in his final tournament and was knocked out in a 9-1 major decision loss to Daniel Neff of Lock Haven.
Two Big Red wrestlers answered a loss with a consolation victory to stay alive.
Mark Grey picked up a major decision over Navy's Colton Rasche (10-2) at 133 pounds, while
Jace Bennett picked up a high-scoring 12-10 win over Drexel's Brandon Palik.
The second round saw two Cornell wrestlers sent into the wrestlebacks, including 149-pounder
Chris Villalonga, who got caught for a defensive pin against Oregon State's Scott Sakaguchi. At 165 pounds,
Dylan Palacio was game against No. 3 Nicholas Sulzer of Virginia, but fell 12-6. Both are still very much alive in the back draw and need to win three additional matches to capture All-America accolades. Both could finish as high as third.
SESSION 1
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Cornell freshmen had a strong session one showing with three advancing through the first round with major decisions in their NCAA tournament debut on Thursday afternoon at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Big Red sits sixth as a team with nine points and advanced five of its eight wrestlers in the winner's bracket.
Cornell's obvious national championship contenders, No. 2 seed
Nahshon Garrett at 125 pounds and No. 3 seeds Chris Vilallonga at 149 and
Gabe Dean at 184, each advanced and will face seeded opponents in round two. Villalonga had the toughest time of the group, overcoming a second period deficit with a big final two minutes to earn a 5-2 decision over Pitt's Mike Racciata. Garrett had no problem dispatching Hofstra's Jamie Franco for the third time this season with a 12-1 major, while Dean's NCAA tournament debut was a success after a 12-4 win over Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State.
A pair of freshmen also earned majors in their first matches, with seventh seed
Brian Realbuto collecting a dominant 13-3 win over Eastern Michigan's Brandon Zeerip, followed minutes later by No. 14
Dylan Palacio's dominant 11-0 triumph over Ohio's Harrison Hightower at 165.
Three Cornellians lost in round one, including seeded wrestlers
Mark Grey at 133 (an 8-5 loss to Michigan's Rosario Bruno) and
Jace Bennett at 197 (a 2-1 loss to Conner Hartmann of Duke). Both wrestlers, as well as unseeded
Mike Nevinger, will need to go through the back draw to earn All-America status. Nevinger lost a 9-7 sudden victory decision at 141 to No. 7 Zach Horan of Central Michigan and will attempt to claim his third straight All-America honor the hard way.
#2 Nahshon Garrett – 125 pounds
First Round: Garrett won by major decision over Jamie Franco (Hofstra), 12-1
Second Round: Garrett won by decision over #15 Anthony Zanetta (Pitt), 6-0
Quarterfinal: Garrett won by major decision over #10 David Terao (American), 11-0
Semifinal: Garrett won by decision over #3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), 6-4
Final: #1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) won by decision over Garrett, 3-2
#15 Mark Grey – 133 Pounds
First Round: Rosario Bruno (Michigan) won by decision over Grey, 8-5
Consolation First Round: Grey won by major decision over Colton Rasche (Navy), 10-2
Consolation Second Round: Grey won by decision over Matt Manley (Missouri), 3-0
Consolation Third Round: Grey won by decision over #9 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), 3-1
Consolation Fourth Round: #6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) won by decision over Grey, 6-1
Mike Nevinger – 141 Pounds
First Round: #7 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) won by decision over Nevinger, 9-7 (sv1)
Consolation First Round: Daniel Neff (Lock Haven) won by major decision over Nevinger, 9-1
#3 Chris Villalonga – 149 Pounds
First Round: Villalonga won by decision over Mike Racciato (Pittsburgh), 5-2
Second Round: #14 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) won by fall over Villalonga, 4:43
Consolation Second Round: Villalonga won by decision over Tywan Claxton (Ohio), 3-2 (sv-2)
Consolation Third Round: Villalonga won by decision over #6 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska), 7-6
Consolation Fourth Round: #9 Eric Grajales (Michigan) won by decision over Villalonga, 4-1
#7 Brian Realbuto – 157 Pounds
First Round: Realbuto won by major decision over Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan), 13-3
Second Round: Realbuto won by decision over #10 Blaise Butler (Virginia), 3-1 (sv-1)
Quartefinal: Realbuto won by decision over #2 Derek St. John (Iowa), 11-4
Semifinal: #3 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) won by decision over Realbuto, 7-4
Consolation Semifinal: #1 James Green (Nebraska) won by medical forfeit over Realbuto
Fifth Place Match: #2 Derek St. John (Iowa) won by medical forfeit over Realbuto
#14 Dylan Palacio – 165 Pounds
First Round: Palacio won by major decision over Harrison Hightower (Ohio), 11-0
Second Round: #3 Nicholas Sulzer (Virginia) won by decision over Palacio, 12-6
Consolation Second Round: Palacio won by decision over John Staudenmayer (North Carolina), 5-2
Consolation Third Round: Palacio won by decision over #5 Nick Moore (Iowa), 8-1
Consolation Fourth Round: #8 Michael Moreno (Iowa State) won by decision over Palacio, 9-6
#3 Gabe Dean – 184 Pounds
First Round: Dean won by major decision over Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State), 12-4
Second Round: Dean won by decision over #14 John Rizqallah (Michigan State), 11-4
Quarterfinal: Dean won by decision over #6 Jake Swartz (Boise State), 11-4
Semifinal: #2 Ed Ruth (Penn State) won by decision over Dean, 5-3
Consolation Semifinal: Dean won by fall over #11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 6:42
Third Place Match: Dean won by decision over #13 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion), 5-4
#10 Jace Bennett – 197 Pounds
First Round: Conner Hartmann (Duke) won by decision over Bennett, 2-1
Consolation First Round: Bennett won by decision over Brandon Palik (Drexel), 12-10
Consolation Second Round: Bennett won by decision over #8 Phillip Wellington (Ohio), 5-4
Consolation Third Round: Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) won by fall over Bennett, 3:30
