Stieber wins fourth, leads Ohio State to first NCAA title

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ST. LOUIS -- On Saturday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Logan Stieber finished his college wrestling career on top of the college wrestling world.

The Ohio State senior not only capped his collegiate wrestling career with a fourth NCAA Division I title, becoming just the fourth wrestler ever to accomplish the feat, but he also led the Buckeyes to their first national championship in wrestling.

Ohio State's Logan Stieber defeated Edinboro's Mitchell Port (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

"I'm extremely proud of my teammates," said Stieber, who finishes the season with a perfect 29-0 record. "As an individual to win it's amazing. For the team, it's something I've dreamed of ever since I came to Ohio State. When I was a freshman in high school I dreamed of doing it my senior year of high school. We did it and I've been dreaming of it for four years here at Ohio State and to finally do it, it's unbelievable."

Ohio State clinched the team title earlier in the day during Saturday's first session, and put an exclamation point on it Saturday night with two Buckeyes winning NCAA titles, Stieber and freshman Nathan Tomasello, who claimed the title at 125 pounds. Ohio State finished the tournament with 102 points, 18 points in front of runner-up Iowa. Edinboro finished third in the team standings with 75.5 points. Missouri and Cornell rounded out the top five teams.

Stieber handled Edinboro's Mitchell Port, 11-5, in the championship match. He came out strong, picking up two takedowns in the opening period and raced out to a 5-1 lead heading into the second period. Stieber added another takedown in the second period to lead 7-2 after two periods. He extended the lead to 10-2 in the third period before Port found some offense, scoring a takedown off an ankle pick, but it was too little too late.

Tomasello, who entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, claimed a 9-5 decision over another freshman, unseeded Zeke Moisey of West Virginia. The Buckeye freshman picked up takedowns in each of the first two periods to take a 4-2 lead into the third period. Moisey added some intrigue to the match in the third period when he put Tomasello on his back briefly, but was unable to secure the pin or get himself back in the match.

"It's been a dream of mine and a goal of mine for many years now," said Tomasello. "Putting in the time every single day makes it worth it. Just going through the grind of the season ... This is where you can let yourself fly and see who is the best. At this tournament I feel like I peaked at the right time and was wrestling at my best through the Big Tens and then here."

Tomasello was one of two freshmen to win an NCAA title on Saturday night. Isaiah Martinez of Illinois was the other. Martinez, a native of Lemoore, California, capped an undefeated (34-0) freshman season with a national championship at 157 pounds.

Isaiah Martinez became the first undefeated freshman NCAA champion since Cael Sanderson accomplished the feat in 1999 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Martinez was dominant in the finals, winning by major decision, 10-2, over Cornell's second-seeded Brian Realbuto. The match was close early before Martinez blew it open. Martinez struck first, scoring a takedown off a double leg to go up 2-0. He added another takedown in the second period to go up 5-1 going into the final period. Martinez picked up two nearfall points early in the third period and added a takedown and riding time point for the major decision.

"I knew it was going to be a dogfight," said Martinez. "I just stayed with what my coaches told me and it worked out for the best for me. So I'm very happy right now. It's just been an amazing journey that led up to that match on that stage, and it's been awesome."

Martinez becomes the first undefeated freshman NCAA champion since Cael Sanderson accomplished the feat while at Iowa State in 1999. So is Martinez ready to be compared to Cael?

"I was made ready for it," Martinez said confidently. "I've been working at this for 14 years. Wrestling is my life. I don't plan on doing anything else for the rest of my life. I plan on being around it forever. As far as comparisons go, we'll get there when the time comes. But if I can stay undefeated, I'm going to do it."

Of his 35 wins this season, 24 were bonus-point victories. He led NCAA Division I wrestling in technical falls with 11.

Two wrestlers won their second NCAA titles, Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer (165) and North Carolina State’s Nick Gwiazdowski (285).

Dieringer was dominant in the finals and finishes the season unbeaten at 35-0.

Dieringer was all over his finals opponent Taylor Walsh of Indiana in a 14-7 victory. The Cowboy junior led 4-2 after the opening period and extended the lead to 9-4 after two periods. Dieringer finished the match strong, scoring two takedowns in the final period to win convincingly.

"Coach always told me the second one was harder," said Dieringer, who won the title at 157 pounds last year. "So I feel like this one feels a lot more special to me. Just coming back and going undefeated and pretty much getting ninety percent bonus matches. And moving up too, which made it a lot harder. So I feel like I did pretty good this season."

Dieringer, a Junior World silver medalist in 2013, has his sights set on competing with the best U.S. wrestlers on the senior level, in arguably the deepest weight class, 74 kilos. The weight class includes Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Dake, David Taylor and Andrew Howe, among others.

"I want to wrestle those top guys," said Dieringer. "I feel like I'm ready. I don't know if I'm going to the Open, but for sure I'm going to the Trials."

Gwiazdowski edged Michigan's Adam Coon, 7-6, to claim his second straight title at heavyweight.

NC State's Nick Gwiazdowski takes down Michigan's Adam Coon (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Gwiz struck first, scoring a takedown off a double leg midway through the first period. After a couple Coon escapes, which tied the score at 2-2, Gwiz shot another double leg and converted it to a takedown to take a 4-2 lead. After a Coon escape, Gwiz led 4-3 heading into the final period. The NC State big man picked up a reversal early in the third period to go up 6-3 and looked to be in total control. But Coon battled back, escaping and scoring a takedown of his own to tie the match at 6-6. Gwiz quickly escaped to retake the lead, 7-6, which is how the match would end.

"I knew it was going to be a war," said Gwiazdowski. "It was not going to be easy. You look at all his matches, he doesn’t stop. So I went in there with the mentality of, You're going to have to kill someone or you’re going to get killed.' So I thought about my preparation."

He becomes first wrestler in school history to win two NCAA titles.

In the first match of the night, top-seeded Drake Houdashelt of Missouri lived up to his No. 1 seed, claiming the title at 149 pound with a 3-1 win in sudden victory over Edinboro's David Habat. After a scoreless first period, the two wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods. In sudden victory, Houdashelt scored a takedown off a counter attack to give the Tigers a national championship.

Houdashelt becomes just the third wrestler in Missouri history to earn three or more All-American honors in their careers, joining Ben Askren and Max Askren.

"It was a tough match, said Houdashelt. "But nothing really matters but winning, and I pulled it off. I'm excited."

Houdashelt is a native of O'Fallon, Missouri, right outside St. Louis. Winning in his home state only added to the accomplishment.

"It's kind of nice to come back to St. Louis and finish my career off especially like I just did,” said Houdashelt. "It's unreal."

Six No. 1 seeds came through to win the title: Stieber (141), Houdashelt (149), Martinez (157), Dieringer (165), Gwiazdowski (285) and Cornell's Gabe Dean (184).

Dean topped Lehigh's Nathaniel Brown, 6-2, in a rematch of the EIWA finals two weeks earlier. It was Dean’s fourth win over Brown this season.

Dean won the takedown game 2-0, picking up takedowns in the second and third periods and shutting down Brown’s offense.

"It hasn't really set in yet," said Dean of winning his first title. "It's a surreal atmosphere to wrestle in and I guess no other words describe it but it’s just incredible, especially to share this with my family and close friends and my teammates and my school. It's the best. I'm truly blessed."

Penn State, NCAA champions from 2011-2014, finished sixth in the competition and crowned its lone champion, Matt Brown, who edged Pitt's Tyler Wilps, 5-4, in the championship match at 174 pounds. Brown was an NCAA runner-up in 2013 and finishes his PSU career as a three-time All-American.

The first two periods in the Brown-Wilps match saw little scoring. In the third period Brown broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown off a single leg to go up 3-1. Wilps escaped and picked up a takedown to take the lead, 4-3, with 23 seconds remaining. Brown continued to push the action. Late in the match Wilps was hit for his second stalling call, which tied the match, and in the process the Pitt wrestler clasped his hands, which gave Brown the dramatic one-point victory as time expired.

"I didn't expect the match to end like that," said Brown. "But that's how the ball bounces and it landed my way this time."

Cody Brewer, despite entering the tournament ranked No. 3 by InterMat, became the lowest seed in the history of the tournament to win a national championship, doing so as a No. 13 seed. The Sooner three-time All-American was offensive through the first two periods, picking up two takedowns in the opening period and three more in the second period to build a 10-5 lead. Clark found some offense in the third period and scored a takedown, but was unable to get back in the match.

"Like Coach Cody talks about all season, the only seed that matters is that NCAA tournament," said Brewer, who avenged his only loss of the season in the Big 12 finals against Iowa State's Earl Hall. "Whether I would have lost or I would have won, I was top two in the country."

Iowa State's Kyven Gadson pinned Ohio State's Kyle Snyder (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Iowa State's Kyven Gadson picked up the only pin in the finals. The Cyclone senior decked Ohio State true freshman Kyle Snyder at 4:24 in the 197-pound final. After a scoreless first period, Snyder escaped within five seconds in the second period to lead 1-0. Snyder then attacked Gadson and nearly scored a takedown off a high crotch. Gadson, though, fought off the attack and threw the Buckeye freshman to his back and secured the pin.

"Wednesday night I wrote myself a letter," said Gadson. "I sat down in the hotel room and I told myself, I put all the stuff in there that I needed to know that I needed to do to dominate this tournament."

Team Standings (Top 10):
1. Ohio State 102
2. Iowa 84
3. Edinboro 75.5
4. Missouri 73.5
5. Cornell 71.5
6. Penn State 67.5
7. Oklahoma State 65
8. Minnesota 59.5
9. Nebraska 59
10. Virginia Tech 56

Placement Match Results

125:
1st: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), 9-5
3rd: Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 7-4
5th: Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. Connor Youtsey (Michigan), 9-3
7th: Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) dec. Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 5-4

133:
1st: Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) dec. Cory Clark (Iowa), 11-8
3rd: A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) dec. Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), 4-3
5th: Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 9-5
7th: Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) dec. Rossi Bruno (Michigan), 7-3

141:
1st: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) dec. Mitchell Port (Edinboro), 11-5
3rd: Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) dec. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 17-8
5th: Kevin Jack (North Carolina State) dec. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 3-0
7th: Lavion Mayes (Missouri) wins by medical forfeit over Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers)

149:
1st: Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. David Habat (Edinboro), 3-1 SV
3rd: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), 3-1 SV
5th: B.J. Clagon (Rider) dec. Chris Villalonga (Cornell), 6-3
7th: Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) pinned Daniel Neff (Lock Haven), 2:38

157:
1st: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 10-2
3rd: James Green (Nebraska) dec. Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech), 3-2
5th: Ian Miller (Kent State) won by medical forfeit over Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
7th: Brian Murphy (Michigan) won by medical forfeit over Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh)

165:
1st: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. Taylor Walsh (Indiana), 14-7
3rd: Bo Jordan (Ohio State) pinned Jackson Morse (Illinois), 1:00
5th: Nick Sulzer (Virginia) dec. Ethan Ramos (North Carolina), 12-4
7th: Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) dec. Jim Wilson (Stanford), 3-2

174:
1st: Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh), 5-4
3rd: Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) dec. Logan Storley (Minnesota), 6-4 SV
5th: Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) dec. Mike Evans (Iowa), 2-1 TB1
7th: Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) dec. Kurtis Julson (North Dakota State), 3-2

184:
1st: Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. Nate Brown (Lehigh), 6-2
3rd: Victor Avery (Edinboro) dec. Blake Stauffer (Arizona State), 3-2
5th: Kenny Courts (Ohio State) dec. Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 4-3
7th: Willie Miklus (Missouri) dec. Tim Dudley (Nebraska), 6-5

197:
1st: Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) pinned Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), 4:24
3rd: Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. Scott Schiller (Minnesota), 12-7
5th: J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. Conner Hartmann (Duke), 4-2 TB1
7th: Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. Max Huntley (Michigan), 6-4

285:
1st: Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) dec. Adam Coon (Michigan), 7-6
3rd: Mike McMullan (Northwestern) dec. Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 3-2
5th: Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 6-0
7th: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) dec. Michael Kroells (Minnesota), 6-2

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Stieber wins fourth, leads Ohio State to first NCAA title

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