OMAHA, Neb.--The Big Red wrestling team sits in seventh place after day one of the NCAA tournament, just four points out of second place. Kyle Dake (141), Mack Lewnes (174) and Cam Simaz (197) are wrestling in the championship bracket, while Troy Nickerson (125), Mike Grey (133), Justin Kerber (165), and Steve Bosak (184) are still alive in the consolation bracket.
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ROUND THREE UPCOMING MATCHES:
125 # 2 Troy Nickerson vs. Ryan Mango (Stanford)
133 # 7 Mike Grey vs. John Trumbetti (Lock Haven)
141 # 1 Kyle Dake vs. # 9 Levi Jones (Boise State)
165 Justin Kerber vs. Paul Gillespie (Hofstra)
174 # 1 Mack Lewnes vs. # 8 Colby Covington (Oregon State)
184 Steve Bosak vs. # 8 Louis Caputo (Harvard)
197 # 4 Cam Simaz vs. # 5 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin)
No. 1 ranked Dake opened his day facing Missouri's Todd Schavrien. In the first period, Dake grabbed a takedown. Schavrien tried to escape with a couple of scrambles, but was kept down. In a final scramble near the end of the period, the Missouri wrestler got the escape that he was looking for. In the second period, Schavrien chose down. Dake was ready for the challenge- impressively riding his opponent the entire period. Schavrien tried to build to his feet several times, but Dake's mat returns kept his opponent down to keep the score 2-1. Dake chose the down position for the third and escaped with only 30 seconds remaining in the match. Schavrien went for a single leg near the end of the period, but Dake's superior defense kept his opponent from scoring. With 2:02 of riding time, Dake won the match 4-1.
In his second match of the day, Dake came onto the mat against Elijah Nacita (CSU Bakersfield) with a mission. With tons of action in the first period, Dake got a takedown. To start the second, Dake chose neutral. With a double leg sweet, Dake took his opponent down and sent him straight to his back earning two points of nearfall. Dake turned his opponent one last time and sent him to his back to earn a pin in 4:48.
Lewnes took on Nathan Lee of Boise State in round one. In a wild scramble one minute into the period, Lewnes almost secured a takedown before the two wrestlers went out of bounds. To start the second, the Boise state wrestler chose down. Lee battled hard for the escape and was ultimately awarded the escape Just under a minute into the second. Lee looked for a few shots but Lewnes countered to keep the score 1-0 in favor of the Boise State wrestler going into the third. Lewnes started in the down position in the third and earned a quick reversal just 10 seconds into the period. Lee nabbed an escape with just over a minute remaining, but Lewnes was quick to secure his dominance with a single leg takedown. With typical Lewnes style, the Cornell wrestler trapped his opponent's legs to flatten him out and almost grabbed nearfall points but fell just short as the period came to an end. Lewnes earned 1:37 of riding time to finish the match out with a final score of 5-2.
With one win under his belt, a confident Lewnes faced Jacob Ison (Ohio) in the round of 16. With a quick single, the Cornell wrestler earned a takedown. When his opponent tried to flip out, Lewnes caught him to earn two nearfall points. With only 13 seconds remaining, Lewnes worked his way to three more back points. Lewnes chose down in the second and got a quick escape. With one leg and an inside trip, Lewnes got another takedown and rode his opponent for the remainder of the period. In the final period, the two wrestlers were neutral, and Lewnes notched one more takedown. With an impressive 3:44 of riding time, Lewnes won the match with a final score of 13-1.
At 197 pounds, Simaz was in a high scoring match against South Dakota State's Tyler Sorenson. Simaz started the action early with a single to get his first takedown. Sorenson was able to get an escape shortly after, but Simaz countered with a double leg sweep to get another takedown. The Cornell wrestler then secured a tight waist coupled with a bar to earn three nearfall points. The South Dakota State wrestler chose down for the third and was warned for stalling. Simaz used an ankle pick to keep his opponent down, but Sorenson grabbed the escape. The Cornell Wrestler countered with a single converted to a double for the takedown, and again his opponent escaped. Simaz tried for one more takedown but was unable to get the points before the end of the period. Simaz was down in the third and was able to get the reversal. Sorenson escaped, and countered by taking down Simaz. Simaz, however, got one final escape. Combined with his 1:12 of riding time, the Cornell sophomore won the match 15-7.
Simaz took on Micah Burak (Penn) in his second match, which was the fourth time the wrestlers had met this season. Simaz got a takedown 1:22 into the first. The Penn wrestler got to his feet, however, and Simaz was unable to keep him down. At the edge of the mat, Simaz went for a low single and before his opponent could struggle out, Simaz brought him back in for the takedown. The two went out of bounds several times, but Simaz managed to keep him down throughout the period. The Cornell wrestler started in the down position in the second and earned his escape early. Simaz grabbed a single but his opponent scrambled out before the takedown was awarded. Burak started down in the third, and got to his feet but was returned to the mat with a trip by Simaz. Simaz kept his opponent down for the first minute, but Burak got the escape. SImaz recorded a takedown, and Burak escaped once more. The Cornell wrestler grabbed one more takedown and allowed one more escape. Simaz then went for one more takedown. With 2:15 of riding time, Simaz secured a 12-4 win.
At 125 pounds, No. 2 Nickerson won his first match by an 8-0 major decision over Boise State's Allen Bartelli. In his second match, Nickerson and Fred Santaite (Boston) remained scoreless going into the third, and Nickerson was able to earn an escape. With only two seconds remaining, his Boston University opponent earned a takedown to win the match with a final score of 2-1 sending the 2009 NCAA champion to the wrestlebacks.
Grey opened the tournament against Ben Ashmore (Arizona State). Grey started the action early with a double leg sweep to take down his opponent. The Arizona State wrestler then scrambled out for the escape. Thirty seconds passed with no shots, then Grey was able to capture both his opponents legs for another takedown. Ashmore attempted to escape by climbing to his feet, but Grey was able to keep him down as the two went out of bounds. Back at center action, the Arizona State wrestler was able to get an escape, but with fifteen seconds remaining, Grey went in for a low single and was able to grab one last takedown before time ran out in the period. Grey chose the bottom position to start the second and was able to get a reversal a minute and thirty seconds in. Bartelli escaped shortly after but Grey grabbed another takedown. Finally, Ashmore got one more escape to end the second. In the third, Ashmore chose down and after being ridden for a minute a thirty seconds by the Cornell wrestler, he managed the escape. There were several more takedown attempts from both wrestlers, but there were no more points on the board. The final score with 3:08 of riding time was 9-2 in favor of Grey.
In the round of 16, Grey took on No. 10 Nick Fanthorpe (Iowa State). Grey went for a double leg one minute into the start of the match, but the referee called a stalemate and no points were awarded. Determined, Grey went in for a single and finally got the takedown he was looking for initially. The Iowa State wrestler grabbed an escape then went for a single but Grey countered to ward keep his opponent from scoring. Fanthorpe started down in the second and got a quick escape. Grey went for a low single, but his opponent counted and got the takedown. The rest of the period the Iowa State wrestler remained on top. Grey chose down in the third but was never able to get back up, and Fanthorpe earned 1:33 of riding time to secure his win of 5-2.
At 165 pounds, Kerber squared off against Cody Yohn of Minnesota. The first period, all the action remained at the head as both wrestlers took turns pushing each other around the mat. Each attempted a few singles but neither was able to get a hold of a leg. Yohn chose down for the second period and managed an escape quickly. Kerber attempted a single leg then went for the waist of his opponent a minute and 30 seconds into the second but the Minnesota wrestler defended the takedown. To start the third, Kerber chose down and earned a quick reversal to bring him into the lead. With heavy hips and a tight waist, Kerber earned two near fall points before flattening his opponent. Yohn managed to gain some footing toward the end of the period but Kerber kept him down- earning 1:51 seconds of riding time and defeating his opponent 5-1 for his first NCAA victory.
Kerber faced the No. 1 seeded Andrew Howe of Wisconsin in his second match. Howe got a quick takedown followed by an escape by Kerber. Howe then got another takedown, and Kerber another escape. Kerber was then warned for stalling before being taken down again by Howe. The Wisconsin opponent started down for the second and was able to get an escape after Kerber rode him for 50 seconds. In the third period, Kerber chose the top position and was cautioned. As Howe got to his feet for an escape, Kerber attempted an inside trip to keep the opponent down but was unable to do so. Howe managed one more takedown and Kerber was warned one more time. The final match score was 14-3.
In his first career NCAA bout, Bosak faced No. 3 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State). Both wrestlers were looking for shots throughout the beginning part of the first, but both defended the other well. Finally, Bosak got the single leg he was looking for to get the takedown. With a nice tight waist and a bar, Bosak was seeking to turn his opponent but time ran out before he got the points. He did, however, earn 1:53 of riding time over his opponent. Taking down in the second, Bosak flipped out for an early escape. Kilgore responded with a takedown, but Bosak was able to get to his feet shortly after for an escape. Kilgore managed one more takedown to finish out the period just at the edge of the mat. The Kent Sate wrestler chose down for the third and got an early reversal over Bosak. Running down the riding time, Kilgore rode Bosak for a little over a minute. Bosak earned an escape and looked for one final takedown but was unable to do so and lost the match 6-5.
In the consolation bracket, Bosak faced Hofstra's Ben Clymer. After a scoreless first period, the Hofstra wrestler chose down and got his escape early in the period. The rest of the period continued with more shot attempts by both wrestlers but not points. Bosak was down to start the third and shot a low single but grappled for the double to takedown his opponent and win the match 2-1.
In the pigtail match at heavyweight, Arnone and Kent State's Brendan Barlow were scoreless for the two minutes. Arnone pushed the action with a couple of low single attempts and heavy action on the collar. With 30 seconds remaining in the first, Arnone was caught off guard with a low single from the Kent State wrestler, but an out of bounds call kept the match scoreless. Barlow started down for the second first and popped up quickly to bring the wrestlers back to neutral. Arnone pushed his opponent around the mat, but there was no scoring the rest of the period. The Cornell wrestler started down for the third and brought the action back to neutral within seconds. Seeming a bit more determined, Arnone stepped up the action but a wrap around the waist caught the wrestler off guard and he was taken down with a throw. Arnone quickly grabbed the escape and went for a low single near the edge of the mat but time ran out before the takedown was awarded. The final score was 3-2 in favor of the Kent State Wrestler.
In what would be the final match of his career, Arnone took on Oklahoma's Nathan Fernandez. Arnone got a single leg and went for an outside trip early in the period, but his opponent struggled outside the mat. The wrestlers continued with heavy action at the tie but no points were scored the first period. For the second period, Arnone chose the down position. He managed to get to his feet 44 seconds into the period for the escape. Arnone stalked his opponent the rest of the period, but no additional points were scored.
To begin the third, Fernandez started down. Arnone was able to hold him for the first part of the period, but the Oklahoma wrestler ultimately earned the escape. Again, the rest of the period remained scoreless and the match went into sudden death overtime. Fernandez grabbed a takedown 20 seconds into sudden victory to earn the win, 3-1.
