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The first day of fighting trimmed about 1/3rd of the 330 wrestler field. This morning, those who survived Day One will weigh in and step back out on the mats for what they each hope will be another 12 hours of fighting. Welcome to Session Three (of six) of the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Current Team Scores
- Penn State: 27.5
- Ohio State: 24
- Oklahoma State: 24
- Nebraska: 20
- three teams tied at 17.5
HOW TO WATCH
Video: ESPN3 / WatchESPN (Free)
Audio: Jeff "Ironhead" Byers via GoPSUSports.com (Free)
Live Team Scoring: Penn State Wrestling Club (Free)
Brackets: Brackets (PDF)
Spacebook/Tweeters: Cari (@NotCarlotta) and JP (@jtothemfp)
WHAT HAPPENS IN SESSION THREE
We'll see the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. Quarterfinal winners advance to the semi-final round (no kidding) - and are guaranteed to finish as an All-American, no worse than 6th place. Lose your quarterfinal fight, and you're guaranteed nothing. Since you get team points for placing in the top 8, this is the round where you'll see true separation in the team standings. You need to put as many wrestlers through the quarters to the semis as possible.
Meanwhile, we'll also be watching two rounds of consolation matches. Consolations are win-or-die. And by the time this Session Three finishes (around 3pmET-ish), another 1/3rd of the field will have been wiped out, leaving only 120 of the original 330 entrants still standing. Brutal.
LAST NIGHT'S RESULTS
| WT | Penn State | Result | Opponent | Team Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | #3 Megaludis | DEC 4-2 | #14 Rodriguez (NDSU) | 1.0 |
| 133 | #5 Conaway | DEC 8-5 | #12 Taylor (WIS) | 1.0 |
| 141 | UN Gulibon | L, 0-6 | #12 Mecate (ODU) | 0.0 |
| 149 | #1 Retherford | WBF (6:37) | #16 Lugo (BORO) | 3.0 |
| 157 | #3 Nolf | TF 25-10 | UN Bethea (PENN) | 2.5 |
| 165 | UN Morelli | L, 1-3SV2 | #6 Rodrigues (ILL) | 0.0 |
| 174 | #1 Nickal | DEC 7-2 | #16 Barnes (NEB) | 1.0 |
| 184 | #16 McCutcheon | L, 1-6 | UN Dechow (ODU) | 0.0 |
| 197 | #1 McIntosh | WBF (6:02) | #16 Conel (KENT) | 3.0 |
Penn State went 6-3 overall in the Session Two last night. Nico, Jordan, Zain, Nolf, Nickal, and Morg all advanced to the quarterfinals. Jimmy and Geno lost, and will be in the consolations this morning. Mouse lost in the consolations, and has been eliminated from the tournament.
NEXT MATCHES
| WT | Penn State | Round | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | #3 Megaludis | Quarters | UN Youtsey (MICH) |
| 133 | #5 Conaway | Quarters | #4 Brewer (OU) |
| 141 | UN Gulibon | ConsiRd2 | UN Nickell (CSUB) |
| 149 | #1 Retherford | Quarters | #9 Oliver (CMU) |
| 157 | #3 Nolf | Quarters | #6 Smith (OKST) |
| 165 | UN Morelli | ConsiRd2 | UN Faust (DUKE) |
| 174 | #1 Nickal | Quarters | #9 Rogers (OKST) |
| 184 | #16 McCutcheon | Eliminated | |
| 197 | #1 McIntosh | Quarters | #8 Studebaker (NEB) |
You're starting to recognize familiar opponents now. Nico gets Michigan's Youtsey, against whom he's never lost, and mostly majored. Jordan hits defending champion Cody Brewer, an athletic freak. Morg gets a rematch of his Big Ten semifinal against Nebraska's Studebaker, who'll do his best to slow the pace.
Two key fights for the team title fall to our freshmen. Jason Nolf will tangle with Joe Smith, in a rematch from the Southern Scuffle Final. Bo gets Chandler Rogers. Both Rogers and Smith wrestle for 2nd place Oklahoma State.
Down in the consolations, Jimmy has a familiar opponent in Ian Nickell, whom Jimmy beat at the CSUB dual 7-1. If Jimmy wins that match, he'll face the winner of Sabatello (PUR) vs Seth Gross (SDSU) - that's probably Gross, a RSFR originally recruited to Iowa. He finished as Big12 runner-up to Dean Heil.
Geno gets someone named Faust from Duke. Faust, Blue Devils, there's a joke here, somewhere, maybe. If Geno wins, then he's likely getting #14 McFadden of Virginia Tech.