125: Iowa's Cory Clark gets his shot at No. 1 seed Jesse Delgado who looked sluggish in getting a hard fought-win over Virginia Tech's Joey Dance. Penn State's No. 3 seed Nico Megaludis (Penn State) and No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) are on a collision course facing Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma) and David Terao (American) respectively. There won't be much issue with Garrett making it past the spirited Terao, but Megaludis will need his best stuff to keep Patterson from building a head of steam. Oklahoma is wrestling as well as any other team in the tournament.
133: Iowa's No. 3 Tony Ramos needed overtime to make it past No. 14 Zane Richards (Illinois). That makes two straight matches where the Hawkeye has struggled to separate and with No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) in the quarters he's likely to have trouble again, although he did notch a 3-1 win over the Lehigh wrestler earlier this season. Wisconsin's Tyler Graff looked susceptible in a 10-5 win over Joe Roth (CMU), but he's facing Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) who avenged his six straight losses to Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) with a fall in 2:45. Expect fireworks in all four matches.
141: No. 4 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) was sluggish in the second round and if Richard Durso (Franklin & Marshall) can keep up the pressure for seven minutes he'll be able to find points. Maybe not enough, but Carter needs to be on edge. There was plenty for No. 9 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) to cheer for after his fall of No. 8 Luke Vaith, and though Mitchell Port (Edinboro) should be able to manage the offense, it'll be closer than the Fighting Scots would like.
149: With No. 3 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) giving up a fall in the second round, the bottom side of the bracket is blow wide open. No. 7 Gus Sako (Virginia) and No. 10 Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) battled to a 3-2 decision, with Neibert, the returning All-American, finding a late takedown for the win. If you like fun, then stay tuned for No. 9 Eric Grajales (Michigan) and No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (Mizzou). As everyone knows Grajales has been on the cusp for three years -- a fall, or five-point throw could be in the works. Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) and Scott Sakaguchi will battle for a spot in the semifinals.
157: Best matchup of the day is always Dylan Ness (Minn) versus anyone, but the quarterfinals are even better as they pit Ness against top-seeded James Green (Nebraska). On the bottom side, Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) has been unbelievable in the opening rounds with a technical fall and a fall, but he'll meet emotional favorite No. 6 Nestor Taffur (Boston U.), who used 6:55 to find the fall against No. 11 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) -- his second for the day. Could be an entertaining back-and-forth between the heavy technical favorite and everyone's favorite emotional story.
165: No. 3 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) will face No. 11 Turtogokh (The Citadel) in what could be nice wrestling from neutral, but heavily favors Sulzer on the mat. No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) should cruise past Iowa State All-American Mike Moreno. On the other side of the bracket No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) could be in for a dogfight with No. 7 Pierce Harger (Northwestern), who is looking career best on the mats and on his feet.
174: No. 3 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) earned a 14-5 second-round win and should match up well with No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota). No. 4 Mike Evans (Iowa) and No. 5 Matt Brown (Penn State) will renew their rivalry in the quarterfinals, and in a match that has early national title implications. No. 2 Andrew Howe (Oklahoma) versus No. 7 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) should also be a good scrap.
184: Bracket buster Vic Avery (Edinboro) fell to No. 12 Ophir Bernstein (Brown). Bernstein will face the other bracket buster, No. 13 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) for a place in the semifinals. Two lower seeded guys battling for a place on the podium will make for intense wrestling. No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) will have No. 2 Ed Ruth, but it won't be much of a match, as Ruth is in overdrive and Steinhaus looked less impressive.
197: The only match that matters is No. 4 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) and No. 5 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State). Iowa's heart rests right now with No. 11 Nathan Burak (Iowa), who faces a very solid No. 14 seed Chris Penny who was comfortable in a 3-2 upset win over No. 3 Morgan McIntosh. No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) takes on unseeded Conner Hartman (Duke).
285: No. 1 seed Tony Nelson (Minnesota) and No. 5 Bobby Telford (Iowa) both advanced without issues and face Big Ten opponents before their expected semifinal showdown. On the bottom side, No. 11 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) upset No. 6 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) and will face No. 3 Adam Chalfant (Indiana), who is a fun heavyweight to wrestle and should give some indication about Oklahoma State's national championships hopes.
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