Two No. 1s fall as Cornell and Lehigh earn upsets in National Dual quarterfinals
By Mike Finn
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The 2015 NWCA National Duals are all about what school has the best team. But it’s also about who are the top individuals and that is what happened especially for Missouri and Cornell which each two one of their wrestlers upset a top-ranked wrestler and advance to the semifinals of this 27th annual event held in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
In the semifinals, which begin at 3 p.m. (CST), top-ranked Iowa will face Cornell and No. 2 Missouri takes on Lehigh.
For Missouri, ranked second as a team, the Tigers got a good spark from 125-pound Alan Waters, who was ranked No. 2 before the Duals, and upset two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado, 6-2. That was one of six wins for Missouri, which prevailed over Illinois, 23-13.
Waters earned the win with a takedown and a two-point near fall in the second period, which also helped the senior garner a 2:34 riding time … even though there were moments it appeared that Delgado might score a defensive pin.
“I know they were yelling for the pin,” Waters said. “I’m confident in that riding position and confident that I had my shoulders up. I knew that I could get a turn and use it to my advantage and maybe get some back points out of it so I wanted to stick with it.
The Tigers will face Lehigh, which earned a 21-18 victory over third-ranked Ohio State in a match that came down to heavyweight where the MoutainHawks’ Doug Vollaro upset Nick Tavanello 4-2 in double overtime.
“Doug has had a consistent season but after losing last week, that has really eaten at him,” said Lehigh coach Pat Santoro. “Anytime you seed an athlete coming through like that, it’s good for the postseason.”
Among Lehigh’s six wins included a 4-2 win by Santiago Martinez Mark Martin at 174 pounds.
“Since (Martinez) moved up to 174 at the Southern Scuffle, he is 13-1 and more explosive now,” Santoro said. “Before moving up, something was missing. But since we bumped him up, he fights hard.”
Meanwhile, Cornell’s Brian Realbuto scored a 9-3 upset of top-ranked Dylan Ness to help the Big Red earn a 19-17 upset of the fourth-ranked Gophers.
“I felt good going into that match,” Realbuto said. “Last year I got pinned by him at the (2014 National Duals) so this was kind of revenge. Last year I got caught in the first period cradle and I went out tentatively. This year, I knew if I stayed in good position, I’d win the match.”
The victory sends the Big Red into today’s semifinal match against No. 1 Iowa, a 44-3 victor over Chattanooga.
In winning nine bouts, the Hawkeyes scored five pins … all of the wins coming after Chattanooga’s Sean Boyle upset Iowa’s Thomas Gilman, 3-1 in sudden victory.
NWCA National Duals
Feb. 21, 2015 • Iowa City, Iowa
Quarterfinal Duals
Iowa 44, Chattanooga 3
125 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) dec. Thomas Gilman, 3-1 SV
133 Cory Clark (Iowa) pinned Nick Soto, 4:16
141 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) dec. Mike Pongracz, 4-2
149 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) won by TF over Jacob Murphy, 20-4
157 Mike Kelly (Iowa) pinned Austin Sams, 4:32
165 Nick Moore (Iowa) dec. Justin Lampe, 11-6
174 Michael Evans (Iowa) pinned Sean Mappes, 4:44
184 Sam Brooks (Iowa) pinned McCoy Newberg, 1:53
197 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. Scottie Boykin, 7-4
285 Bobby Telford (Iowa) pinned Jared Johnson, 2:50
Cornell 19, Minnesota 17
125 — Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) won by TF over Ethan Lizak, 18-2
133 Christopher Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. Mark Grey, 7-4
141 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) major dec. over David Logan, 19-10
149 Christopher Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Jake Short, 2-1
157 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) dec. Dylan Ness, 9-3
165 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) won by TF over Nicholas Wanzek, 18-2
174 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. George Pickett, 7-5
184 Gabriel Dean (Cornell) dec. Brett Pfarr, 10-4
197 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. Jace Bennett, 7-1
285 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) major dec. Jacob Aiken-Phillips, 10-1
Lehigh 21, Ohio State 18
125 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Scott Parker, 10-3
133 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Johnni DiJulius, 1-0
141 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) pinned Randy Cruz, 4:52
149 Drew Longo (Lehigh) dec. Randall Languis, 2-1 TB
157 Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Josh Demas, 3-1
165 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) won by TF over Marshall Peppelman, 22-6
174 Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) dec. Mark Martin, 4-2
184 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) pinned Kenny Courts, 3:30
197 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) major dec. Elliot Riddick, 9-1
285 Douglas Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Nick Tavanello, 4-2 SV
Missouri 23, Illinois 13
125 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. Jesse Delgado, 6-2
133 Zane Richards (Illinois) dec. Zach Synon, 9-2
141 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) major dec. Steven Rodrigues, 11-3
149 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. Kyle Langenderfer, 6-3
157 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) major dec. Joseph LaVallee, 17-6
165 Jackson Morse (Illinois) over Mike England, 4-3
174 John Eblen (Missouri) pinned Zach Brunson, 0:50
184 Nikko Reyes (Illinois) dec. Willie Miklus (Missouri) 3-1 SV
197 J`Den Cox (Missouri) major dec. Jeffrey Koepke, 15-3
285 Devin Mellon (Missouri) dec. Brooks Black (Illinois) 5-1 TB