ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Two-time All-American Kyven Gadson will wrestle for the 197-pound national championship tomorrow night. No. 3 Gadson cemented his spot in the finals with a 4-1 decision over Duke’s Conner Hartmann.
Through two days at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the Iowa State wrestling team (11-2, 2-1 Big 12) has garnered 33 team points. The Cyclones are in 14th place heading into the finals.
Championship Bracket
Gadson advanced to the 197-pound title match when he defeated Duke’s No. 10 Conner Hartman by 4-1 decision with 2:03 of riding time.
Gadson started out the match with a quick takedown to take an early 2-0 lead. The Waterloo native would add an escape in the second period, and hold a 3-1 lead entering the third in the top position. This is where Gadson won the match. He rode Hartmann for the entire period, breaking down the Blue Devil and recording a series of mat returns in a dominating ride.
Consolation Bracket
At 133, No. 6 Earl Hall fell one match shy of earning back-to-back All-America honors. No. 10 Mason Beckman of Lehigh defeated Hall by 5-2 decision.
After one period of action, the score remained knotted at 0-0. Beckman got a quick escape to begin the second, and then scored on a takedown as time expired in the period. Hall would earn one point on an escape, but a late effort to bring Beckman to the mat landed short, and the Mountain Hawk secured two more points to take the match, 5-2.
In the 165-pound consolation bracket, No. 3 Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin topped No. 2 Michael Moreno by 8-6 decision in sudden-victory.
Jordan jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, connecting on two takedowns in the first period. Moreno would cut the deficit in the second, tying the match at 4-4. The Badger tacked on two escapes, and the score was 6-4 late in the third. As time ticked down in the final period, Moreno snatched Jordan’s leg and turned it into two, sending the match to sudden victory.
In the overtime period, both wrestlers had an opportunity to end the match in an early scramble. It was Jordan securing the final takedown in the bout to eliminate Moreno from the Championships.
The NCAA Wrestling Championships will conclude tomorrow night, with finals action kicking off at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
