Buckeye 174 Bo Jordan advanced to his first career NCAA championship match with a dramatic victory over Cornell's No. 2 Brian Realbuto on Friday night. The older Jordan brother avenged his only regular season loss, which came to Realbuto in the NWCA Dual Championship Series.
Realbuto previously defeated Bo 3-2 last month, but Jordan managed to even the season series with his win in the NCAA semifinals. Realbuto frustrated Jordan from the opening whistle, preventing him from finishing his shots, but he earned the big win as Realbuto tried to counter a Jordan takedown attempt with a high-risk high-reward throw.
Jordan anticipated the throw and caught Realbuto on his back for a takedown and four backpoints. Jordan earned the 11-7 victory and will wrestle Saturday night in his first NCAA championship match.
Jordan will face Penn State's No. 5 Mark Hall, who narrowly defeated top-seed Zahid Valencia of Arizona State in the top half of the bracket. Jordan defeated Hall in sudden victory two weeks ago in the Big Ten Championship match.
The NCAA Championships will air live on ESPN on Saturday night at 8 p.m.
