Brewer’s victory at 141 highlights 50th NWCA All-Star Classic

By Jason Bryant

Atlanta, Georgia – Cody Brewer is open about his move up to 141 pounds. He’s simply trying to figure it out.

The Oklahoma senior scored the go-ahead takedown with six seconds remaining to  top Oklahoma State’s Dean Heil 13-12 at 141 pounds in the most exciting bout of the night at Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion on Sunday night in Atlanta in the 50th annual Hire Heroes NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the Wrestlers in Business Network.

50th annual NWCA All-Star Classic
McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Ga.
125: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) 7-1.
133: Rossi Bruno (Michigan) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 4-1, SV.
141: Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) dec. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) 13-12.
149: B.J. Clagon (Rider) dec. Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) 9-6
157: Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh) FALL Cody Pack (South Dakota State) 7:45, SV
165: Max Rohskopf (N.C. State) dec. Clark Glass (Oklahoma) 9-2
174: Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) dec. Kyle Crutcherm (Oklahoma State) 2-1
184: Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) dec. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 4-1, SV. 
197: Conner Hartmann (Duke) dec. Max Huntley (Michigan) 8-1
285: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) dec. Adam Coon (Michigan) 9-3. 

Showcase Matches
Women’s 125: Jennifer Juarez (Life) tech fall Cindy Calixto (Emmanuel) 11-0
125: Sean Russell (Edinboro) dec. Devane Dodgens (Life) 8-2
149: Chris Perez (Princeton) dec. Derek Arnold (Ursinus) 12-7
157: Chad Pyke (N.C. State) dec. Kamaal Shakur (Chattanooga) 7-6
174: Brandon Womack (Cornell) dec. Jason Grimes (American) 8-3
184: Willie Miklus (Missouri) dec. Hunter Gamble (Gardner-Webb) 5-2
197: Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) dec. Bryce Barnes (Army West Point) 15-10
197: Chip Ness (North Carolina-Unattached) dec. Chance McClure (Virginia-Unattached) 5-2

With experimental rules in place, specifically a three-point takedown, Brewer trailed 12-10 with under 15 seconds to go and converted the winning takedown to send the Georgia crowd to its feet, celebrating the victory with two flexing biceps.

“The coaches thought it would be a good idea,” said Brewer about wrestling up at 141 for the All-Star Classic. “(We’re) just trying to figure it out as I go. There’s not a whole lot to worry about right now. It’s great that I got the win. I was just kind of testing it.”

Brewer, while acknowledging the unofficial nature of the match, was still pumped to get a victory over an Oklahoma State Cowboy.

“It was cool, I like the three-point takedown rule,” said Brewer. “It was awesome and keeps a lot of guys in matches. I’m pretty good on my feet, so it kept me in the match when I gave up a couple takedowns. With Bedlam, it’s always exciting wrestling (Oklahoma State) guys.

Brewer led 3-1 after a period, but Heil turned it up in the second, scoring a pair of takedowns after an early escape to go into the third period leading 7-4.

Brewer got within a point on a reversal early in the third period, but Heil scored four points with an escape and a takedown with 1:15 left in the bout to seemingly take control with an 11-6 lead. Brewer, who hit his single-leg attacks crisply in the third, would get free, score a takedown, cut Heil and finish off the comeback.

Duke made history on Sunday night as Conner Hartmann made the school’s first appearance at the All-Star Classic and he also picked up the school’s first win with an 8-1 victory over All-American Max Huntley of Michigan.

Hartmann scored two takedowns in the first period and was never threatened.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while,” said Hartmann. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to get into it last year and once I was told (this year), I was pretty excited. I think it speaks to how the program is developing.”

“One of my biggest goals this year was try to be more exciting,” said Hartmann. “I want to put some big points and make people excited to see me wrestle.”

Virginia Tech also made history as Zach Epperly and Ty Walz earned victories over returning All-Americans and in the process, earned the Hokie wrestlers the school’s first wins in the event.

Walz had the bigger win, knocking off returning NCAA runner-up Adam Coon of Michigan 9-3. Walz went up big, finishing a single leg that seemingly took forever to complete and scoring three points and two nearfall in the process as he built a 5-0 lead and never looked back.

At 174 pounds. the points of emphasis on stalling became a factor as Epperly  got past Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma State 2-1. With the bout tied late in the third, the official hit both wrestlers for stalling, which gave Epperly a point as it was Crutchmer’s second stall call. With 14 seconds to go after the restart, Crutchmer was unable to score a go-ahead takedown or a draw a match-tying stall call.

“It’s definitely a positive, maybe our team can build off this moving into the season,” Walz said.

Walz was a fan of the three-point takedowns.

“I’m risking a lot more than the guy who’s standing around. The guy who is attacking the leg is throwing it out there. He should be rewarded,” said Walz. “I feel like guys who are risking points in trying to take the other guy down should be rewarded.”

Arizona State’s Blake Stauffer scored a counter takedown in sudden victory to topple Lehigh’s Nathaniel Brown 4-1 at 184 pounds, giving the event a total of three NCAA runners-up hit with losses on the day.

Stauffer was a late replacement for All-American Vic Avery. He went from undercard to one of the event’s two Most Valuable Wrestlers. Brewer was voted the other award.

Ohio State’s Nathan Tomasello opened up the season the same way he finished last season by defeating West Virginia’s Zeke Moisey. Tomasello struck early, locking up a takedown with a cradle in the first. He was unable to turn Moisey, but added a second-period takedown and a riding time point to come away with a 7-1 decision at 125 pounds.

Michigan’s Rossi Bruno picked up a 4-1 decision in sudden victory over Lehigh’s Mason Beckman at 133 pounds. The two traded escapes in regulation, but there were several scrambles from Beckman shots that netted no points for either wrestler.

Bruno scored the decisive takedown in overtime on the same type of situation. It was Bruno’s second straight victory over Beckman. Bruno beat Beckman in sudden victory last season at the Southern Scuffle.

Old Dominion and South Dakota State will have to wait at least another year to try to win their first matches at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Rider’s B.J. Clagon topped ODU’s Alexander Richardson 9-6 at 149 pounds, while Lehigh’s Mitch Minotti pinned South Dakota State’s Cody Pack at 157 pounds.

Clagon became Rider’s first winner at the All-Star Classic since Adam Derengowski in 1991. It was Clagon’s second-straight win over Richardson, with the most recent coming at last year’s NCAA championships.

Minotti and Pack wrestled even in regulation, with each wrestler only able to register an escape each. In sudden victory, Minotti shot in and as Pack defended, Minotti elevated Pack and turned in and settled Pack’s back to the mat for the fall in the neutral position.

N.C. State’s Max Rohskopf picked up a sound 9-2 decision at 165 pounds over Oklahoma’s Clark Glass in a bout set just days prior due to North Carolina’s Ethan Ramos and Oklahoma State’s Alex Dieringer both pulling out of the event. After a scoreless first period, Rohskopf used his proficiency on top to turn Glass for four points, which is new rule this season, and then picked up an escape and a takedown to cruise to the victory.