Defending champ Martin among a dozen Top 8 seeds to fall in second round

(Editor’s Note: The above photo illustrates the reaction of Minnesota’s Thomas Thorn, who pinned No. 3 seed Joey McKenna of Stanford at 141 pounds in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Championships. Photo by Ashley De Jager)

ST. LOUIS — There will be no second magical NCAA ride for Ohio State’s Myles Martin in the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Illinois’ unheralded Emery Parker made sure of that when the Illini upset the Buckeye sophomore and defending national champion Thursday night in the second round of this year’s tournament.

Martin, who won a championship at 174 pounds in 2016 as the No. 11 seed, was rated No. 6 at 184 in this year’s tournament. But that meant little to Parker, the 11^th-ranked sophomore from Wadsworth, Ill. — who had never won a high school state title for Warren Township — who outscored the Buckeye, 14-9, in the Scottrade Center.

Updated NCAA standings and results after Round 2

In the team race, defending national champion Penn State held a 3.5-point lead (30-26.5) over Ohio State as seven Nittany Lions advanced to Friday morning’s quarterfinals, which will begin at 10 a.m. CDT. The Buckeyes sent five wrestlers to the quarters, including a pair of former champions in Nathan Tomasello (133 pounds) and heavyweight Kyle Snyder.

Just behind are Oklahoma State (25.5) and Iowa (24.5) as seven Cowboys and six Hawkeyes advanced.

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Martin was one of 12 wrestlers — seeded in the Top 8 of their weight class — to get upset Thursday night.

Ken Theobold of Rutgers scored six points in overtime to stun Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Anthony Collica, 9-3, at 149 pounds (Ginger Robinson photo)

The highest seed to fall was Oklahoma State’s 149-pound Anthony Collica, ranked No. 2, who fell into the wrestlebacks after Rutgers No. 15 seed Anthony Theobald scored a takedown and four-point near fall in the sudden victory period and a 9-3 decision.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s Thomas Thorn ended the national championship dream of Stanford’s Joey McKenna, who was seeded No. 3 at 141 pounds, but was pinned by the Gopher in overtime of their second-round bout. It appeared that Thorn might win in regulation before the Cardinal earned a stall point in the closing seconds to force overtime. But the Gopher clinched the win with a takedown and added two bonus points for Minnesota when he eventually scored a pin with three seconds left in the overtime period.

Four unseeded wrestlers also reached the Friday’s quarterfinals, including a pair of competitors at 157 pounds, where Rider’s B.J. Clagon and Stanford’s Paul Fox each beat a pair of seeded wrestlers on Thursday. Clagon, an All-American in 2015, edged Arizona State’s No. 9 Josh Shields, 6-5, while Fox defeated Army’s No. 11 Russell Parsons, 7-5.

The other two unseeded wrestlers advancing were South Dakota State’s Alex Kocer, who edged Central Michigan’s No. 9 Justin Oliver, 5-4, at 149 pounds; and Northwestern heavyweight Alex Jennings, who shutout Oklahoma State’s No. 6 Austin Schafer, 8-0.

The following is a list of other upsets of Top 8 wrestlers:

125 — #12 Sean Fausz edged #5 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 3-1; and #10 Jack Mueller (Virginia) dec. #7 Sean Russell (Edinboro), 5-2;

133 — #11 Bryan Lantry (Buffalo) dec. #6 Dom Forys (Pitt), 5-3.

165 — #9 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) pinned #8 Dylan Cottrell (West Virginia), 0:52

174 — #9 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. #8 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina), 6-4; and #11 Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec. #6 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), 7-5

184 — #12 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) ddec. #5 Zach Zavatsky (Va Tech), 4-3.

197 — #10 Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) pinned #7 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 6:11

TOP 10 TEAMS

2017 NCAA Quarterfinal Match-ups

(Scheduled to begin 10 a.m. CDT on Friday, March 17)

125 pounds

#1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. #8 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)

#12 Sean Fausz (NC State) vs. #4 Darian Cruz (Lehigh)

#14 Freddie Rodriguez (SIU-Edwardsville) vs. #6 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)

#10 Jack Mueller (Virginia) vs. #2 Joey Dance (Va Tech)

133 pounds

#1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs. #8 Zane Richards (Illinois)

#5 Stevan Micic (Michigan) vs. #4 Cory Clark (Iowa)

#3 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) vs. #11 Bryan Lantry (Buffalo)

#7 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) vs. #2 Seth Gross (South Dakota State)

141 pounds

#1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) vs. #8 Jaydin Eiermann (Missouri)

#5 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. #4 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton)

#14 Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) vs. #6 George DiCamillo (Virginia)

#10 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) vs. #2 Kevin Jack (NC State)

149 pounds

#1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. UNSEEDED Alex Kocer (South Dakota State)

#5 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. #4 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)

#3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. #6 Solomon Chishko (Va Tech)

#7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) vs. #15 Ken Theobald (Rutgers)

157 pounds

#1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. UNSEEDED B.J. Clagon (Rider)

#5 Joseph Smith (Oklahoma State) vs. #4 Tyler Berger (Nebraska)

#3 Joey Lavallee (Missouri) vs. UNSEEDED Paul Fox (Stanford)

#7 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) vs. #2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa)

165 pounds

#1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. #9 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State)

#5 Chad Walsh (Rider) vs. #4 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin)

#3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. #6 Daniel Lewis (Missouri)

#7 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) vs. #2 Logan Massa (Michigan)

174 pounds

#1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) vs. #9 Myles Amine (Michigan)

#5 Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. #4 Zac Epperly (Va Tech)

#3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) vs. #11 Alex Meyer (Iowa)

#10 Zac Brunson (Illinois) vs. #2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell)

184 pounds

#1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. #8 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion)

#12 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) vs. #4 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State)

#3 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) vs. #11 Emery Parker (Illinois)

#7 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) vs. #2 Bo Nickal (Penn State)

197 pounds

#1 J’den Cox (Missouri) vs. #8 Ryan Wolfe (Rider)

#5 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) vs. #4 Jared Haught (Va Tech)

#3 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs. #6 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State)

#10 Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) vs. #2 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota)

Heavyweight

#1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. #8 Michael Kroells (Minnesota)

#5 Nick Nevills (Minnesota) vs. #4 Jacob Kasper (Duke)

#3 Ty Walz (Va Tech) vs. UNSEEDED Conan Jennings (Northwestern)

#7 Tanner Hall (Arizona State) vs. #2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin)