Iowa's Austin DeSanto battled back to place third at 133 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)ST. LOUIS -- Iowa has won its 24th NCAA Division I wrestling team championship.
The top-ranked Hawkeyes mathematically clinched the team title during Saturday's medal round when Penn State failed to earn a fall at 197 pounds. It's the fourth team title for Iowa under head coach Tom Brands.
The Hawkeyes will enter tonight's championship finals with 125 points. Three Iowa wrestlers will compete for national titles: Spencer Lee (125), Jaydin Eierman (141) and Michael Kemerer (174).
Four Iowa wrestlers battled in Saturday's medal round. Austin DeSanto (133) and Tony Cassioppi (285) battled back to place third. Jacob Warner (197) finished fourth, while Kaleb Young (157) claimed seventh place.
"I know no matter what my teammates and coaches still love me, win or loss, and that's a great thing to have behind you … is an awesome team," said Austin DeSanto, who defeated Virginia Tech's Korbin Myers for third place. "No matter what happens, we're still getting better every day and they still love you.
"I wish I got it done this weekend, but didn't. Go back to Iowa City and regroup."
Penn State remains in second place with 97.5 points and four finalists.
Two Nittany Lion wrestlers, Michael Beard (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285), earned seventh-place finishes Saturday. Beard needed sudden victory to defeat No. 8 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) 10-8, while Kerkvliet cruised to a 13-1 major decision over No. 21 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State).
Oklahoma State is in third place, two points behind Penn State. Four Cowboys competed in the medal round. Boo Lewallen (149) and Travis Wittlake (165) finished fourth. Dakota Geer (184) placed fifth. One of the biggest stories of the tournament was Oklahoma State's unlikely All-American Wyatt Sheets (157), who qualified as an injury replacement and the No. 33 seed. He was edged in the seventh-place match by Young, 3-2.
Daton Fix (133) and A.J. Ferrari (197) will compete in the NCAA finals tonight for Oklahoma State.
Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen placed third at 184 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)A pair of freshmen, Missouri's Keegan O'Toole (165) and Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen (184), both Wisconsin natives, battled back to place third.
Northwestern's Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) finished third after entering the tournament as the No. 25 seed. He defeated five top-10 seeds over three days.
Northwestern's Yahya Thomas placed third as the No. 25 seed (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)"I know how good I am," said Thomas. "I just know if I'm able to get to my offense and keep other guys from getting to their offense, then I'll be able to win big matches like I did this weekend. I think that really carried me throughout this tournament."
Another Northwestern wrestler, Ryan Deakin, rebounded from a tough semifinal loss to place third at 157 pounds. He edged No. 11 Jacori Teemer of Arizona State 1-0 in the third-place match.
Another top seed, Michigan's Myles Amine (197), came back to place third. The Olympian for San Marino defeated Iowa's Warner for third place.
Minnesota's Patrick McKee had a strong run through the consolation bracket (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Minnesota's Patrick McKee, seeded No. 15, had a strong run through the consolation bracket to place third at 125 pounds.
At 141 pounds, NC State's Tariq Wilson rebounded from a semifinal loss to place third at the NCAAs for the second time in his career.
Nebraska's Mikey Labriola came back to place third at 174 pounds, avenging a loss to Cal Poly's Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 8-3.
"I came in the fourth seed," said Labriola. "Really expecting myself to win this whole NCAA tournament. Things didn't go as planned. I got beat by the kid from Cal Poly, Bernie. He's a real tough kid. But I battled back and finished with third. I'm very proud of myself for that."
Tonight's NCAA finals are set for 6 p.m. CT.
Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Iowa 125
2. Penn State 97.5
3. Oklahoma State 95.5
4. Arizona State 74
5. Michigan 69
6. NC State 68
7. Missouri 64
8. Minnesota 60
9. Ohio State 46.5
10. Northwestern 45
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Medal Match Results
125:
1st No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. No. 3 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
3rd: No. 15 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) dec. No. 4 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), 5-3
5th: No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) dec. No. 2 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), 4-1
7th: No. 17 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) dec. No. 19 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), 12-7
133:
1st: No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
3rd: No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), 10-6
5th: No. 7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) pinned No. 9 Michael McGee (Arizona State), 6:17
7th: No. 8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) maj. dec. No. 10 Louie Hayes (Virginia), 11-3
141:
1st: No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State)
3rd: No. 4 Tariq Wilson (NC State) maj. dec. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers), 15-5
5th: No. 14 Dylan Duncan (Illinois) dec. No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska), 3-0
7th: No. 10 Zachary Sherman (North Carolina) dec. No. 15 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), 11-4
149:
1st: No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina)
3rd: No. 25 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) dec. No. 4 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State), 5-3
5th: No. 3 Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. No. 17 Kyle Parco (Fresno State), 8-5
7th: No. 8 Jaden Abas (Stanford) dec. No. 7 Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State), 5-3
157:
1st: No. 3 David Carr (Iowa State) vs. No. 4 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider)
3rd: No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec. No. 11 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 1-0
5th: No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) maj. dec. No. 6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota), 11-2
7th: No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) dec. No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), 3-2
165:
1st: No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 8 Shane Griffith (Stanford)
3rd: No. 6 Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) dec. No. 10 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State), 4-3
5th: No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) dec. No. 5 Zach Hartman (Bucknell), 7-5 SV1
7th: No. 11 Cameron Amine (Michigan) by medical forfeit over No. 2 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)
174:
1st: No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) vs. No. 3 Carter Starocci (Penn State)
3rd: No. 4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) dec. No. 12 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly), 8-3
5th: No. 5 Logan Massa (Michigan) by medical forfeit over No. 2 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley)
7th: No. 8 Daniel Bullard (NC State) by medical forfeit over No. 26 Jackson Turley (Rutgers)
184:
1st: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Trent Hidlay (NC State)
3rd: No. 4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 6 John Poznanski (Rutgers), 5-4
5th: No. 11 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 7 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois), 6-0
7th: No. 5 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton), 6-3
197:
1st: No. 4 AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
3rd: No. 1 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 5 Jacob Warner (Iowa), 5-3
5th: No. 7 Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec. No. 26 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), 9-3
7th: No. 15 Michael Beard (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), 10-8 SV1
285:
1st: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Mason Parris (Michigan)
3rd: No. 5 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec. No. 4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State), 5-0
5th: No. 6 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) dec. No. 14 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), 4-0
7th: No. 9 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 21 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State), 13-1
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