DES MOINES, Iowa – Five Iowa State wrestlers remain in the hunt to gain All-America status (place top eight) at the NCAA Championships after the first day of action at Wells Fargo Arena.
Iowa State freshman Tanner Weatherman remains alive in the championship bracket as he upset yet another seeded wrestler in No. 7 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) in one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament’s first day. Weatherman took a 16-14 decision over the two-time All-American in a match that went back and forth from start to finish.
“It was a crazy match,” Weatherman said. “ I knew going in that it was going to be a battle for seven minutes.”
Weatherman’s match with Blanton was the highest scoring bout of the tournament so far. The Huxley, Iowa native will face the No. 2 seed Matt Brown from Penn State tomorrow morning in the quarterfinals.
“Tomorrow in the quarterfinals I’m going to stick to my game plan, which is going out, staying on my offense, wrestling hard for seven minutes and leaving it all out there,” Weatherman said.
No. 11 Blake Rosholt of Oklahoma State upset sixth-seeded Iowa Stater Kyven Gadson in a controversial match at 197 pounds. Gadson trailed 7-2 after the first period and cut the deficit to 8-7 in the final minute of the third period. He was unable to get the takedown he needed and dropped an 8-7 decision, ending his 15-match consecutive win streak
Junior Boaz Beard ended ISU’s day one on a high note as he got back on the winning trail with a 9-0 major decision over Virginia Tech’s Nick Vetterlein in consolation action. The Wichita, Kan. native racked up 1:59 of riding time in the win.
Gadson, Beard, sophomore Michael Moreno and senior Matt Gibson will begin wrestle backs in the morning at Wells Fargo Arena on their quests to reach the All-American podium.
Session 3 of the NCAA Championships begins at 11 a.m. CDT Friday. ESPNU will be airing all of tomorrow’s action live.
Match-By-Match Results:
141: McCade Ford (Wyoming) dec. Luke Goettl (ISU), 9-3
149: Alex Hudson (UT-Chattanoga) dec. Max Mayfield (ISU), 10-5
165: No. 7 seed Conrad Polz (Illinois) dec. Michael Moreno (ISU), 5-2
174: Tanner Weatherman (ISU) dec. No. 7 seed Jordan Blanton (Illinois), 16-14
184: Boaz Beard (ISU) maj. dec. Nick Vetterlein (Virginia Tech), 9-0
197: No. 11 seed Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. No. 6 seed Kyven Gadson (ISU), 8-7
285: No. 1 seed Dom Bradley (Mizzou) dec. Matt Gibson (ISU), 4-2
