Wrestling Session 3 Recap: Penn State Extends Their Lead

It was another good session for the Nittany Lions.

The Look Back

Penn State entered with 6 Quarterfinalists and three in the consolations. They went 6-0 in the Quarters and 1-3 in the consolations, where all have been eliminated.

Michigan had 7 Quarterfinalists and 2 in the consolations. They went 5-2 in the Quarters and 3-1 in the consis, where one has been eliminated.

Arizona State had 5 Quarterfinalists and 2 in the consolations. They went 4-1 in the Quarters and 2-2 in the consis, where each wrestler has been eliminated. They enter Session 4 with 4 Semifinalists and one in the R12.

Iowa had 6 Quarterfinalists and 4 in the consolations. They went 2-4 in the Quarters and 2-4 in the consis, where 4 of their wrestlers have been eliminated.

The Look Ahead

The Lions enter tonight with 6 Semifinalists, and another 42 non-Bonus Points available.

At the risk of stating the obvious, Kerkvliet has the biggest challenge, but the other 5 Semis are winnable. If Penn State goes 5-1 and adds 35 points to their current 73, for ~108, they should be in good shape versus both Michigan and Arizona State.

Michigan enters tonight with 5 Semifinalists:

#1 Suriano vs #4 Courtney (ASU)

#8 Lewan vs #5 Monday (PRIN)

#6 Amine vs #2 O’Toole (MIZZ)

#3 Massa vs #2 Lewis (VT)

#1 Amine vs #6 Truax (CP)

They are favored in 125 and 184, while the other three could be considered uphill battles. Remember it’s a crazy tournament, but if you’re a Penn State fan looking for advantages, those middle three are they. I’ll guess they’re in line for 2 or 3 wins tonight, for 14 or 21 points.

They’re also in the running for 3.5 points (plus the always wildcard Bonus Points) in the R12:

#6 Ragusin vs #7 Byrd (ILL)

#24 Micic vs #12 Composto (PENN)

#7 Parris vs #13 Orndorff (tOSU)

They could very fairly win all three of those to bolster their Semifinalists.

Arizona State has four Semifinalists tonight:

#4 Courtney vs #1 Suriano (MICH)

#3 McGee vs #2 Fix (OKST)

#3 Teemer vs #2 Deakin (NW)

#2 Schultz vs #6 Wood (LEH)

Those first three look like extremely uphill battles for Sparky, but are favored in the last one.

Their lone R12 battle is #5 Parco vs #18 Artalona (PENN), but Parco looked really banged up in that last round. On the whole, Sparky will have to put up a remarkable and consistent set of upsets to be able to climb competitively into PSU & Michigan’s orbit.

Iowa’s two Semifinalists and four R12s are wrestling for pride tonight.