Wrestling: Buckeyes Put Four in NCAA Semifinals and Sit in Second Place in Team Race

The Buckeyes entered the second day of the NCAA Championships trailing first place Penn State by just two points heading into the quarterfinals, but the Buckeyes (and all the other teams in the field) were unable to close the gap on the Nittany Lions in Session III. 

Four Buckeyes ended Session III as guaranteed All-Americans with a spot in Friday night's semifinals, while Myles Martin and Micah Jordan still have work to do in the wrestlebacks to earn a spot on the podium.

Nathan Tomasello

Nathan Tomasello kicked off the action for the Buckeyes in the quarterfinals, earning a hard-fought 3-1 decision over Illinois' No. 8 Zane Richards. Tomasello scored the deciding takedown late in the third period to advance to the semifinals. Tomasello previously earned a major decision over Richards, but the Illini senior didn't go down easily this time. Tomasello advanced to his third NCAA semifinal in as many years and will look for his second career NCAA title. In Friday night's semifinal, Tomasello will face No. 4 Cory Clark of Iowa for a trip to the championship match. In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 2 seed Seth Gross of South Dakota State will face Oklahoma State's No. 3 Kaid Brock.

Micah Jordan

At 149, No. 4 Micah Jordan was unable to join Tomasello in the semifinals, as he lost 3-0 to Iowa's No. 5 Brandon Sorensen. While Sorensen's style is not for everyone (especially people that enjoy offense), there can be no doubt that he is certainly effective at implementing his defense, counter-attacks, and top game. Sorensen advanced to the semifinals, where he will once again face No. 1 Zain Retherford of Penn State. In the bottom half of the bracket, Missouri's No. 3 Lavion Mayes will take on Northern Iowa's outstanding freshman No. 7 Max Thomsen for a trip to the NCAA finals. Micah will face Lehigh's No. 10 Laike Gardner in the bloodround, with the winner earning an All-American finish and the loser being eliminated.

Bo Jordan

Third-seed Bo Jordan advanced to the semifinals at 174 after winning a nail-biter against No. 11 Alex Meyer of Iowa 4-3. Jordan scored a reversal in the third period and rode Meyer to negate the riding time advantage Meyer had accrued. While it was closer than Buckeye fans would have liked, Bo advances to his third straight NCAA semifinal. Now that he is in the semis, the elder Jordan would like to break his 0-2 streak in the semis with a win tonight over Cornell's No. 2 Brian Realbuto. In the top half of the bracket, a pair of outstanding freshmen will battle for a spot in the finals as No. 1 Zahid Valencia of Arizona State will take on Penn State's No. 5 Mark Hall. 

Myles Martin

Myles Martin suffered a surprising upset loss last night to Illinois' No. 11 Emery Parker, but Martin bounced back in a big way, rolling to a tech fall and major decision in the wrestlebacks. In the bloodround on Friday night at 184, Martin will face returning All-American Jack Dechow of Old Dominion for a spot on the podium. Dechow very nearly defeated two-time NCAA Champ Gabe Dean of Cornell in the quarterfinals, but fell 4-3 in the tiebreaker. Dean advanced to the semifinals, where he will face No. 4 Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State. The bottom half of the bracket will see a rematch between Iowa's No. 3 Sammy Brooks and No. 2 Bo Nickal of Penn State.

Kollin Moore

No. 3 seeded freshman Kollin Moore advanced to the semifinals at 197 against No. 2 Brett Pfarr of Minnesota after rolling to a major decision over Oklahoma State's No. 6 Preston Weigel. Moore showed off his offensive prowess on the way to a 13-5 major decision. Moore will face Pfarr for the fourth time this season as Pfarr defeated Old Dominion's Kevin Beazley in the quarterfinals. In the other half of the 197 bracket, No. 1 J'Den Cox of Missouri stayed on track for his third NCAA title with a quarterfinal victory over No. 8 Ryan Wolfe of Rider. Cox will face No. 4 Jared Haught of Virginia Tech, who defeated Penn State's Matt McCutcheon.

Kyle Snyder

Kyle Snyder advanced to the semifinals, though it wasn't the way he wanted to do it as he'll go into Friday night's semifinals at less than his best. Snyder was putting on a takedown clinic against Minnesota's No. 8 Michael Kroells, but the much-larger Kroells did a number on Snyder from the top position. Snyder appeared to injure his ribs, but he advanced with a 13-7 decision. Snyder will face No. 4 seed Jacob Kasper of Duke, who edged Penn State's Nick Nevills. In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 3 Ty Walz of Virginia Tech advanced to the semifinals and will face No. 2 Connor Medbery of Wisconsin.

In wrestleback action during Session III, a pair of Buckeyes bowed out of the tournament with their second loss of the weekend. Jose Rodriguez scored a pin on Thursday, but was derailed by No. 5 Tim Lambert of Nebraska by 6-1 decision. Luke Pletcher won a wrestleback match against Iowa's Topher Carton 9-6, but ended his freshman campaign two wins short of All-American status with an 11-4 loss to Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon. 

In the team scores, Penn State widened the gap between themselves and the field as they stormed out to a fifteen point lead. The Nittany Lions, led by four semifinalists, have 74 points after Session III. Ohio State is in second place with 59 points, while Iowa is in a close third with 58 points. Oklahoma State's title hopes took a huge hit in the third session as they only have three semifinalists. 

The semifinals will air live tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN, while the consolation rounds will stream on Watch ESPN.