Simaz, who is ranked second nationally at 197 pounds, admits that Cornell doesn't put much emphasis on this event from a team standpoint, but it's an important event for other reasons.
"For us, we just want to come out here and wrestle some great competition, score a lot of points, win, and just get better," said Simaz, who will face 18th-ranked Matt Powless of Indiana in the semifinals.
Simaz, a two-time All-American, was pushed in the quarterfinals by Mario Gonzalez of Illinois, but prevailed for an 11-6 victory.
Cam Simaz (Photo/Larry Slater)Simaz began the season ranked No. 1 at 197 pounds, but was knocked off by Kent State's Dustin Kilgore, 10-9, in an action-filled finals match at the Body Bar Invitational on Nov. 15.
"I'm willing to accept a loss early on, especially if I wrestle well and get some attacks off," said Simaz. "Obviously, I lost and I'm not happy with that. But as long as I wrestle well, I'm willing to accept some of those early-season losses as long as I trade them in for wins come nationals."
All 10 No. 1 seeds advanced to the semifinals and eight No. 2 seeds moved on. The two No. 2 seeds to fall on Friday were Mike Miller of Central Michigan (165) and Jordan Blanton of Illinois (174). Miller was defeated by Trevor Hall of Cal State Bakersfield in the round of 16, while Blanton lost to Jake Swartz of Boise State.
Hall, a senior, was the lone unseeded wrestler reached the semifinals. After his 7-1 victory over Miller, Hall followed that performance up with a dominating 16-3 win over Michigan's Dan Yates to reach the semifinals.
Hall is proud to be representing a wrestling program that was on the chopping block in February and reinstated less than four months later.
"I feel like I owe all these people that have supported us from the community of Bakersfield that got our program back," said Hall. "I feel like the more successful we are this year as a team, and the more successful I am as an individual, the better the chance we will have at keeping the program at the school for years to come because they'll know that we have a tradition of winning."
Hall will now face one of the nation's top wrestlers, Justin Kerber, from the nation's No. 1 team, Cornell, in the semifinals. But it's something he chooses not to focus on.
"I don't really focus on the guys I wrestle or worry about where my opponent is from," said Hall. "I just go out and try to wrestle my best. All I can do is my best. As long as I wrestle my best, I'll feel fulfilled with what I have done. All the work I have done will give me the satisfaction I need."
The most top-heavy weight class is 141 pounds, which includes the nation's top three wrestlers: No. 1 Zack Bailey of Oklahoma, No. 2 Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois, and No. 3 Kellen Russell of Michigan. All three advanced to the semifinals.
Bailey, a returning All-American, won a hard-fought match in the quarterfinals, 4-1, over Elijah Nacita of Cal State Bakersfield. With the match tied 1-1 after two periods, Bailey scored the go-ahead takedown early in the third period and rode out Nacita for the victory.
"You have to learn to wrestle in all positions," said Bailey. "The last couple years I haven't had my top game where it needs to be. All summer I have been working on it. It paid off in that match. He's a tough guy, somebody I'm probably going to have to wrestle at nationals, so I have to be ready. I'm just trying to stay in good position and do what my coaches tell me."
Bailey is excited about being in a tournament with the nation's top three wrestlers in his weight class.
"It's awesome," said Bailey. "It gets me prepared for nationals. That's what this ... It's a mini NCAA tournament. That's why we came here ... so that we can compete with the best guys in the country. So that when we show up to nationals, we're ready to go and battle-tested. My bracket is pretty loaded, so it's going to fun to see how it turns out."
Bailey's semifinals opponent is Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly, a champion at this event last season at 133 pounds. Russell and Kennedy will battle in the other semifinal match.
Russell had his hands full in the quarterfinals against 17th-ranked Cole Von Ohlen of Air Force, but held on for the 4-3 victory.
"I was getting angles on my shots, but I just wasn't able to finish," said Russell, who won this event as a true freshman in 2007. "I got in deep a bunch of times. It's just one of those things I have to keep working on, finishing shots, especially on the edge of the mat. I had him a couple times, but I just couldn't bring him back in and get the takedown."
Russell is excited about the opportunity to wrestle Kennedy in the semifinals.
"He's real tough," said Russell. "I have seen him wrestle a bunch at 133. It looks like it has been a good transition up to 141 for him. He's wrestling tough. It's going to be another close match like that one."
Russell is one three semifinalists for Michigan, along with Anthony Biondo (197) and Ben Apland (285). The Wolverines finished Friday in fourth place in the team standings, 7.5 points behind third-place Boise State and 20 points behind leader Cornell.
"I definitely think we were underestimated at the beginning of the year and even right now," said Russell. "We have talked about making a statement at this tournament and people will start to realize we're a real tough team and a team to be reckoned with."
Team Standings after Day 1 (Top 10)
1. Cornell 78.5
2. Oklahoma 74.5
3. Boise State 67
4. Michigan 59.5
5. Wisconsin 55.5
6. Illinois 47.5
7. Hofstra 46.5
8. Ohio State 46
T9. Indiana 45
T9. Virginia Tech 45
Semifinals Matchups
125:
No. 3 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) vs. No. 14 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech)
No. 8 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma) vs. No. 5 Logan Stieber (Ohio State)
133:
No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State) vs. No. 7 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech)
No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) vs. No. 8 Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra)
141:
No. 1 Zack Bailey (Oklahoma) vs. No. 9 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly)
No. 2 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) vs. No. 3 Kellen Russell (Michigan)
149:
No. 3 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) vs. No. 13 Kurt Kinser (Indiana)
No. 7 Corey Jantzen (Harvard) vs. Eric Terrazas (Illinois)
157:
No. 2 Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State) vs. No. 8 Bryce Saddoris (Navy)
No. 3 Adam Hall (Boise State) vs. No. 4 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State)
165:
No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) vs. No. 6 P.J. Gillespie (Hofstra)
No. 4 Justin Kerber (Cornell) vs. Trevor Hall (Cal State Bakersfield)
174:
No. 1 Mack Lewnes (Cornell) vs. No. 7 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma)
No. 6 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) vs. Jake Swartz (Boise State)
184:
No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) vs. No. 13 Erich Schmidke (Oklahoma)
No. 11 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin) vs. No. 15 Andrew Saunders (UNC Greensboro)
197:
No. 2 Cam Simaz (Cornell) vs. No. 18 Matt Powless (Indiana)
No. 10 Logan Brown (Purdue) vs. No. 15 Anthony Biondo (Michigan)
285:
No. 5 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) vs. Ben Apland (Michigan)
No. 10 Clayton Jack (Oregon State) vs. No. 11 Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma)
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