2014 NCAA Championships • 125 pounds

The following is a breakdown of the 125-pound weight class at the 2014 NCAA Division I Championships, March 20-22, in Oklahoma City. WIN Magazine will preview this weight class as well as update brackets and provide notes and quotes during the tournament.

2014 ncaa logo 125 bracket before finals

All-American Placement Highlights

3rd PlaceNico Megaludis (Penn St.) dec. Joey Dance (Virginia Tech), 6-1 — The two-time defending national runner-up scored takedowns in the first and third periods and added a 1:47 riding time advantage
5th Place — Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa), 8-1 — The Hawkeye freshman scored a takedown in each period and amassed a 3:40 riding time advantage, including 2:45 in the first frame.
7th Place — Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec.  Earl Hall (Iowa St.) 2-1 tb2 — After escaping in the first tiebreaker phase, the MountainHawk rode out the Cyclone for 30 seconds.

Semifinal Highlights

No. 1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. No. 5 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa), 9-6 — The defending champ sandwiched a couple first-period takedowns around a takedown Peters to take a 5-3 lead into the second period. Delgado then continued to roll with a takedown and escape in the second, and a riding-time point to make it a 9-6 win.

 No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), 6-4 —Garrett’s first- and second-period takedowns gave him a 5-1 lead before the Lion pulled within 5-4, and nearly had a match-tying takedown in the final 10 seconds of the match.

Quarterfinal Highlights

No. 1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. No. 8 Cory Clark (Iowa), 10-5 — After the Hawkeye rallied to cut Delgado’s lead to 4-3 with an escape at the 1:24 mark in the third period, the defending national champion scored his second takedown and immediately put Clark on his back for a three-point nearfall and 9-3 lead. Delgado also built a 1:20 riding time advantage.

No. 5 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) dec. Earl Hall (Iowa State), 4-2 — Down 1-0 and choosing neutral, the Panther scored both of his takedowns in the final period.

No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Jarrod Patterson, 6-0 — The Nittany Lion scored the first of two takedowns with 20 seconds left in the first period. Megaludis ended any doubt on a third period takedown and a 1:52 riding time advantage.

No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) major dec. No. 10 David Terao (American U), 11-0  — The first of three takedowns by the Big Red sophomore also put Terao on his back for a 5-0 lead a minute into the match. Garrett, who defeated the EIWA rival for a fourth time this season, also scored a takedown in both the second and third periods and added a 3:44 riding time advantage.

Second-round Notes

• Iowa State’s unseeded Earl Hall upset his second seeded wrestler, beating No. 4 seed Josh Martinez (Air Force) 8-1.

• Riding time advantage gave Oklahoma’s Jarrod Patterson a 2-1 victory over Rider’s Robert Deutsch.

First-Round Notes

Joe Germaine (Eastern Michigan) earned the only upset at this weight when he pinned No. 7 seed Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) in 46 seconds. This is Germaine’s second national tournament, going 1-2 in 2012. The native of Saginaw, Mich., was 20-2 this year. Taylor finished third in the 2014 Big Tens.

• There were three pins at this weight class. In addition to Germaine’s pin, No. 1 seeded (and defending champ) Jesse Delgado (Illinois) flattened Utah Valley’s Jade Rauser with seven seconds left in the bout. Meanwhile Pitt’s Anthony Zanetta pinned Michigan’s Conor Youtsey in 3:44.

Nick Roberts (Ohio State) not only lost to No. 5 seed Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) 8-4 but also cost the Buckeyes a team point when he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after the match ended.

Returning All-Americans

  • Jesse Delgado, Illinois — Champion (2013), 7th (2012)
  • Nico Megaludis, Penn State — Runner-up (2012 & ’13)
  • Nahshon Garrett, Cornell — 3rd (2013)
  • Jarrod Patterson, Oklahoma — 7th (2011)
  • Tyler Cox, Wyoming — 8th (2013)

125-pound Preview

Illinois' Jesse Delgado (top) held on to defeat Penn State's Nico Megaludis in double overtime of their Big Ten final, which was a rematch of last year's NCAA final won by the Illini

Illinois’ Jesse Delgado (top) held on to defeat Penn State’s Nico Megaludis in double overtime of their Big Ten final, which was a rematch of last year’s NCAA final won by the Illini

In last year’s national tournament, Illinois’ Jesse Delgado defeated Penn State’s Nico Megaludis, 7-4, while Cornell’s Nahshon Garrett finished third. All three return this year, but it is hard to see who is the favorite.

Delgado is coming off a double overtime Big Ten championship over Megaludis, but only after the Nittany Lion — a two-time national runner-up — defeated Delgado, 5-4, earlier this season.

And Delgado defeated Garrett, 6-2, in early December. That was the last loss the Big Red sophomore endured and comes to Oklahoma City with a 25-match winning streak, which included a pair of victories over Megaludis.

Is there anyone else out there who could challenge this trio of All-Americans?

One might be Oklahoma’s Jarrod Patterson, who finished seventh at the 2011 Nationals and who redshirted last season. Injuries limited him to just seven matches after Dec. 6 through his recent Big 12 championship.

Meanwhile, there’s a trio of freshmen expected to shake up this weight class: Northern Iowa’s Dylan Peters, Wisconsin’s Ryan Taylor and Iowa’s Cory Clark.

Peters is coming off a Mid-American Conference championship and entering the NCAAs with a 31-4 record, which include 18 pins, the most by any 125 pounder.

Taylor comes to OKC with a 17-4 record but is coming off a third-place finish at the Big Tens, where he avenged an earlier-season loss to Iowa’s Clark.

Clark shared starting duties with teammate Thomas Gillman. But the Hawkeye is 17-3 on the year with nine pins.

Two potential All-Americans come from the Western Wrestling Conference where Wyoming’s Tyler Cox and Air Force’s Josh Martinez have appeared in the Top-10 rankings all winter. At this year’s national qualifier, Cox won by injury default over the Falcon, who defeated the Cowboy, 2-1, on Feb. 11.

x

  • RMN Events
  • 2022 DIV II
  • Granby School of Wrestling
  • Matguard
  • Kennedy Industries
  • Cliff Keen
  • Summit Measurement
  • ASICS Wrestling
  • Rocky Mountain Wrestling Camps
  • Dollamur
  • Holiday Gift Subscription