174 pound Quarterfinals
*Both top-half quarterfinals at 174 featured a battle of two Pennsylvania natives.
#1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. #9 Mike Labriola (Nebraska), 6-2 – The defending NCAA champion Nittany Lion opened up a scoreless bout with takedowns in the second and third periods to advance into tonight’s semis.
#4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. #5 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 5-3 – In a battle of four-time All-Americans, the Wolfpack senior prevailed with two takedowns and an escape to hold off the seventh-year senior Hawkeye.
#3 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. #6 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 8-3 — The Wolverine earned his third All-American honor by scoring three takedowns — one each with a minute left in each period — and added a riding time point.
#2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec. #10 Clay Lautt (North Carolina), 4-2 — In a rematch of the ACC championship match, the Hokie won again on the strength of a first-period takedown and a 1:20 riding time advantage.
174 pounds – Round 2 Notes
No major upsets were witnessed at 174, as all four top seeds advanced. Tomorrow’s top-half quarterfinals will feature all four Pennsylvania natives, as #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) will battle #9 Mike Labriola (Nebraska), while #5 Mike Kemerer (Iowa) will take on #4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State).
174 pounds – Round 1 Notes
The top four seeds all advanced and collected bonus points at 174, as #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) and #4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) picked up falls, while #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) and #3 Logan Massa won via major decision.
In a wild point scoring fest, returning NCAA semifinalist and #7 seed Ethan Smith (Ohio State) lost 13-12 to Tyler Eischens of Stanford. Smith tied the bout with a takedown in the final 20 seconds, but Eischens escaped with eight ticks on the clock to seal the upset victory.
There were five matches that saw the lower-seeded wrestler win.
Purdue’s #25 Gerrit Nijenhuis topped #8 Michael O’Malley (Drexel) in overtime, setting up a round of 16 matchup against fellow Pennsylvania native #9 Michael Labriola (Nebraska).
Northern Illinois’ #22 Mason Kaufman edged Missouri’s #11 Peyton Mocco, 3-1, as the only takedown by the Husky came with 15 seconds left in the first period.
Also, Northern Iowa’s #18 Lance Runyon pinned Oklahoma’s #15 Anthony Mantanona, in 4:14, after the Sooner led 4-2 after one period.
Return to WIN’s 2022 Championships Central
Head-to-Head Meetings between Top-10 Ranked Wrestlers:
Session I (First Round) Notes/Quotes – March 17 (beginning 12 noon EST)
Session II (Second Round) Notes/Quotes – March 17 (beginning 7 p.m. EST)
Session III (Quarterfinal) Notes/Quotes – March 18 (beginning 11 a.m. EST)
Session IV (Semifinal) Notes/Quotes – March 18 (beginning 8 p.m. EST)
Session V (All-American Round) Notes/Quotes – March 19 (beginning 11 a.m. EST)
Session VI (Finals) Notes/Quotes – March 19 (beginning 11 a.m. EST)
Mike Finn, who became editor of WIN Magazine in 2003, has been covering amateur wrestling for the past 33 years. He can be reached at mikef@win-magazine.com.
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