NCAA Championships Hub
Complete schedule, brackets, mat-specific live streaming links, Purdue-specific results and upcoming matches, Session 1 and 2 recaps
PITTSBURGH – On the Friday of the NCAA Championships, wrestlers find themselves in 1 of 2 positions: riding the adrenaline high of win and advance, nearing All-America status. While on the opposite end of the spectrum, defeat equals disappointment, coming up short of goals and closing the door on the season, and for few, closing the door on their collegiate wrestling career.
Seven Purdue wrestlers were in action at the start of Session 3 on Friday and just two are moving on to Friday's evening session starting at 8 p.m. ET at PPG Paints Arena. The consolation round of eight, better known as the Blood Round, await Dylan Lydy (174) and Christian Brunner (197). A win secures a top-eight finish and All-America honors. A loss ends their time at the NCAA Championships and their season.
Lydy, the 11-seed at 174 pounds, captured two narrow decisions Friday morning to stay alive. In his first match, it was a takedown with 38 seconds left that separated him from 12th-seeded Matt Finesilver of Duke 5-4. Then, for the fourth time in six weeks, Lydy lined up against Ohio State's Ethan Smith, and for the fourth time, he defeated the Buckeye.
The second period was Lydy's, starting with an escape and takedown at the 1:10 mark, giving him a 3-1 advantage. Smith made it 3-2 with an escape in the third. He was called for stalling twice in the final frame, awarding a point to Lydy for a final score of 4-2.
For the second time in as many NCAA tournaments, Lydy has wrestled into the Blood Round and his opponent is one he wants another shot at: Nebraska's 10th-seeded Mikey Labriola. Five seconds of riding time was the deciding factor in a 3-3 (TB2) win for the Husker in the consolation semifinals of the Big Ten Championships.
Lydy (29-9) enters the battle as winner of three straight; Labriola (28-7) dropped into wrestlebacks after being pinned in 4:29 by Missouri's second-seeded Daniel Lewis in Friday morning's quarterfinals.
Third-seeded Preston Weigel of Oklahoma State denied Brunner in the 197-pound quarterfinals, pinning the 11th-seeded Boilermaker in 58 seconds.
Brunner, who is chasing his best performance in three NCAA appearances, is set to face Fresno State's 16th-seeded Josh Hokit in the Blood Round.
Purdue's lightweights, No. 17 Devin Schroder and No. 15 Ben Thornton, along with 19th-seeded 157-pounder Griffin Parriott, had strong outings in the second round of wrestlebacks. In the Boilermakers' first match of the day, it was Schroder tilting his way past No. 15 Elijah Oliver of Indiana to win 9-4.
An escape and a locked hands called allowed Schroder to go up 2-1 on No. 10 Brent Fleetwood of North Dakota State, but a point for Fleetwood's 1:26 of riding time pushed the match into sudden victory. The Bison's winning takedown of Schroder came 19 seconds in, lifting Fleetwood 4-2. Schroder finishes his redshirt sophomore season with a mark of 21-13.
Thornton responded to early takedown by No. 17 Sean Nickell of CSU Bakersfield by unleashing for 10 back points on his way to a 13-2 major decision, his fifth of the season.
Penn State's 10th-seeded Roman Bravo-Young avenged the dual loss Thornton dealt him in January, 3-1, to end the Boilermaker's career. With 20 seconds remaining, Thornton picked an ankle, only to have Bravo-Young evade what would have been a match-tying takedown as time expired.
The loss was visibly heartbreaking for the redshirt senior, especially after having the best season of his career. He finishes with a record of 23-11 and a career mark of 91-51, with the 91 wins ranking 20th all-time at Purdue.
Parriott got off to his notable quick start in a 6-2 win over No. 13 Jarrett Jacques of Missouri. The New Prauge, Minnesota, native, took the Tiger down in the opening minute and added another takedown midway through the third period.
Like Thornton, Parriott met a familiar opponent in the third round of wrestlebacks. Pittsburgh's No. 12 Taleb Rahmani vindicated his Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational semifinals loss to Parriott with a pin in sudden victory (7:10). The two went to the extra session with each having an escape to their credit despite a flurry of action throughout regulation. Parriott closes out his redshirt sophomore season at 17-13.
Max Lyon and Jacob Aven were also forced out of the 184- and 285-pound brackets, respectively, during Session 3. Oklahoma State's No. 26 Dakota Geer defeated Lyon 12-2, ending his sophomore campaign at 24-14.
Aven's memorable journey to and at the NCAA Championships came to a close in the second round of wrestlebacks. Zach Elam of Missouri pinned Aven at 4:22.
The heavyweight who started out as the alternate, captured a pair of wins in Pittsburgh, highlighted by a 9-5 upset of the No. 14-seed AJ Nevills of Fresno State. Aven's final season as a Boilermaker saw him finish with a 13-23 record and 51 career victories.
Complete schedule, brackets, mat-specific live streaming links, Purdue-specific results and upcoming matches, Session 1 and 2 recaps
PITTSBURGH – On the Friday of the NCAA Championships, wrestlers find themselves in 1 of 2 positions: riding the adrenaline high of win and advance, nearing All-America status. While on the opposite end of the spectrum, defeat equals disappointment, coming up short of goals and closing the door on the season, and for few, closing the door on their collegiate wrestling career.
Seven Purdue wrestlers were in action at the start of Session 3 on Friday and just two are moving on to Friday's evening session starting at 8 p.m. ET at PPG Paints Arena. The consolation round of eight, better known as the Blood Round, await Dylan Lydy (174) and Christian Brunner (197). A win secures a top-eight finish and All-America honors. A loss ends their time at the NCAA Championships and their season.
Lydy, the 11-seed at 174 pounds, captured two narrow decisions Friday morning to stay alive. In his first match, it was a takedown with 38 seconds left that separated him from 12th-seeded Matt Finesilver of Duke 5-4. Then, for the fourth time in six weeks, Lydy lined up against Ohio State's Ethan Smith, and for the fourth time, he defeated the Buckeye.
The second period was Lydy's, starting with an escape and takedown at the 1:10 mark, giving him a 3-1 advantage. Smith made it 3-2 with an escape in the third. He was called for stalling twice in the final frame, awarding a point to Lydy for a final score of 4-2.
For the second time in as many NCAA tournaments, Lydy has wrestled into the Blood Round and his opponent is one he wants another shot at: Nebraska's 10th-seeded Mikey Labriola. Five seconds of riding time was the deciding factor in a 3-3 (TB2) win for the Husker in the consolation semifinals of the Big Ten Championships.
Lydy (29-9) enters the battle as winner of three straight; Labriola (28-7) dropped into wrestlebacks after being pinned in 4:29 by Missouri's second-seeded Daniel Lewis in Friday morning's quarterfinals.
Third-seeded Preston Weigel of Oklahoma State denied Brunner in the 197-pound quarterfinals, pinning the 11th-seeded Boilermaker in 58 seconds.
Brunner, who is chasing his best performance in three NCAA appearances, is set to face Fresno State's 16th-seeded Josh Hokit in the Blood Round.
Purdue's lightweights, No. 17 Devin Schroder and No. 15 Ben Thornton, along with 19th-seeded 157-pounder Griffin Parriott, had strong outings in the second round of wrestlebacks. In the Boilermakers' first match of the day, it was Schroder tilting his way past No. 15 Elijah Oliver of Indiana to win 9-4.
Devin Schroder of @PurdueWrestling holds on for a win! #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/AyqawHOMhu
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 22, 2019
An escape and a locked hands called allowed Schroder to go up 2-1 on No. 10 Brent Fleetwood of North Dakota State, but a point for Fleetwood's 1:26 of riding time pushed the match into sudden victory. The Bison's winning takedown of Schroder came 19 seconds in, lifting Fleetwood 4-2. Schroder finishes his redshirt sophomore season with a mark of 21-13.
Thornton responded to early takedown by No. 17 Sean Nickell of CSU Bakersfield by unleashing for 10 back points on his way to a 13-2 major decision, his fifth of the season.
Ben Thornton of @PurdueWrestling majors his way into the next round of wrestlebacks! #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/ZLJF0zRjuv
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 22, 2019
Penn State's 10th-seeded Roman Bravo-Young avenged the dual loss Thornton dealt him in January, 3-1, to end the Boilermaker's career. With 20 seconds remaining, Thornton picked an ankle, only to have Bravo-Young evade what would have been a match-tying takedown as time expired.
The loss was visibly heartbreaking for the redshirt senior, especially after having the best season of his career. He finishes with a record of 23-11 and a career mark of 91-51, with the 91 wins ranking 20th all-time at Purdue.
You've had a great career and we are incredibly proud of how far you have come, along with all you have accomplished on and off the mat @BreatheMytweeT. We hate today is the end of your time in a Purdue singlet—hold your head high young man, this is just the beginning for you. pic.twitter.com/TBXy0SkJ2a
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) March 22, 2019
Parriott got off to his notable quick start in a 6-2 win over No. 13 Jarrett Jacques of Missouri. The New Prauge, Minnesota, native, took the Tiger down in the opening minute and added another takedown midway through the third period.
Like Thornton, Parriott met a familiar opponent in the third round of wrestlebacks. Pittsburgh's No. 12 Taleb Rahmani vindicated his Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational semifinals loss to Parriott with a pin in sudden victory (7:10). The two went to the extra session with each having an escape to their credit despite a flurry of action throughout regulation. Parriott closes out his redshirt sophomore season at 17-13.
Max Lyon and Jacob Aven were also forced out of the 184- and 285-pound brackets, respectively, during Session 3. Oklahoma State's No. 26 Dakota Geer defeated Lyon 12-2, ending his sophomore campaign at 24-14.
Aven's memorable journey to and at the NCAA Championships came to a close in the second round of wrestlebacks. Zach Elam of Missouri pinned Aven at 4:22.
The heavyweight who started out as the alternate, captured a pair of wins in Pittsburgh, highlighted by a 9-5 upset of the No. 14-seed AJ Nevills of Fresno State. Aven's final season as a Boilermaker saw him finish with a 13-23 record and 51 career victories.
What a FUN season this has been @BigG_zus! We will never forget your celebratory "WOOOOOO!" We are incredibly proud of the season and career you had and we hate today is the end of your time in a Purdue singlet. Hold your head high young man, this is just the beginning for you. pic.twitter.com/zD6srvCaU0
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) March 22, 2019