Wrestling 2015-16

[ugarte]

FYI Session 1 tickets (Thursday at noon) are cheap as hell http://www.stubhub.com/ncaa-wrestling-championship-tickets-2016-ncaa-wrestling-championships-3-17-2016/event/9278588/

[KenP]

Live and Streaming TV Information:

Television and Digital Coverage
ESPN will televise the semifinals (March 18) and finals (March 19) in prime time and ESPNU will televise the first and  second rounds (March 17), quarterfinals (March 18) and medal round (March 19).
ESPN3 will carry individual mat feeds throughout the entire tournament allowing fans to choose which wrestlers and/or schools to follow at any time. Eight mats will be used for the first, second and quarterfinals, before the competition is reduced to six mats for the semifinals, three mats for the medal round and one mat for the finals.

Additionally, for computer users, ESPN3 will once again offer multi-mat, simultaneous viewing which allows fans to watch up to four different mats at one time.  Also for the third consecutive year, Off the Mat – a special presentation of the Championships finals – will be seen on ESPN3.

Links to the webcasts are at the bottom of this article.

[upprdeck]

Brian Realbuto loses in round 1.. a shocker

[Willy '06]

Brian Realbuto loses in round 1.. a shocker

Looks like he got injured. Barely made it through the match. I guess that was the catastrophe.

[ugarte]

It is theoretically possible to have had a worse first session but only barely.

125: Unseeded Macri was clutch and saved the session from the depths with an upset of #11 Rios (Oregon State). Even without the point for the third caution he was set to win on RT because of his fast OT escapes. And he catches a break (sort of) because #6 Klimara lost to Unseeded Youtsey. Youtsey is a former All-American, though, so still a tough matchup.

133: #1 Garrett wins easily but throws away a major by letting up 2x All-American (but unseeded) Beckman (Lehigh), who showed no ability to get out on his own, with ~25 seconds left. Only thing I can figure is that he has a stall warning and thought he was about to get dinged for a penalty point. Still, it was grating.

149: Galasso never had a chance against #7 Sueflohn (Nebraska). Loses by MD 8-0.

157: #5 Palacio made it as interesting as he usually does but in the end was just too strong for Barnes (Missouri). His first takedown, which started as defense hanging upside down on Barnes' back, was Peak Palacio. Good win.

165: Not as close as the final score. Pickett didn't come close to scoring on #6 Rodrigues (Illinois), and lost 5-2.

174: The match started poorly because Weatherspoon (Iowa State) was very tall and #2 Realbuto had trouble finishing his takedowns when he got a hold of one leg. BReal recovered to take a 4-2 lead though. For reasons I'll never know, as time was running down in the second period, he tried to turn from a not-quite perfect position and - as happens far too often for a wrestler of his caliber - he got reversed and the period ended 4-4 with Weatherspoon starting the third on bottom. It went pear-shaped in the third. He gave up the early escape and then a missed takedown attempt ended up with Realbuto taken down himself. Down by three late, he went for a cement-mixer* as time was running down but his leg was trapped under Weatherspoon and he wrenched his knee VERY badly. He basically dragged his leg off the mat when time ran out. I'd be stunned if he wrestled tonight. I feel terrible for the kid. It's also devastating for the team's chances at a top 5 finish.

184: #1 Dean was workmanlike. Tough draw against a former All-American and he escaped it. Dechow (Old Dominion) didn't try much offense and Dean couldn't take down a guy in reverse.

197: Scott couldn't convert his early shots our generate any late ones against #13 Smith (West Virginia) and lost 3-2. Oh well.

Hwt: Sweany needs to get big. Facing #7 Dhesi (Oregon State), he was taken down pretty easily, straight to his back and it was over in 1:17. Oof.

4-5 record, no bonus points, we lose one of our horses from the top bracket and, possibly, for the tournament. Le sigh.

Championship bracket

125 Macri v Youtsey (Mich)
133 #1 Garrett v Kraiser (Campbell)
157 #5 Palacio v #12 Murphy (Michigan)
184 #1 Dean v Sleigh (Bucknell)

Consolation bracket

149 Galasso v Griffin (Purdue)
165 Pickett v #11 Staudenmeyer (UNC)
174 #2 Realbuto v Mappes (Chattanooga)
197 Scott v Noon (N. Colorado)
Hwt Sweany v #10 Stolfi (Bucknell)

[ugarte]

125: Macri misses avoiding OT by 2 seconds of RT and loses 7-5 in SV.

133: Garrett win by fall in 1:40

157: Palacio gets a leg elevated tries to trip the other leg to finish the takedown and... misses completely. He ends up underneath and on his back to go down 4-0. He gets a reversal but then gets reversed himself to go down 6-2 at the end of 1. He comes back to make it close, and nearly gets a TD at the whistle to win, but loses 8-7. GAH!

184: Dean does not mess around in the second round. Gets a quick TD, lets Seligh up, gets another quick TD and drops him right on his back for 4 more points. Repositions, tilts for another 4 back points and then shifts his weight to push down for the fall in around 2 minutes.

------
149: Galasso with a comfortable 4-1 win. Good defense, good ride, got the TD he needed. Really tough match against BJ Clagon (Rider) next. Clagon was an All-American last year. Hard to see how he was unseeded.

165: Pickett down 7-2 to #11 Staudenmeyer. He's out.

174: In one of the hardest matches I've ever watched, Realbuto, on one leg, damn near won. Down 6-5 with seconds left, he looked to have the winning takedown but after video review, they ruled that the takedown was just after time ran out. Realbuto is out. I can't believe he even took the mat.

197: Owen Scott with a huge 8-4 win over Trent Noon. I was having streaming trouble so I only saw him hang on for the win at the end.

Hwt: Sweany with one of the more inexplicable decisions I've ever seen. Facing #10 Stolfi, who destroyed him 17-2 at EIWAs, he had a 6-1 lead and RT heading to the third period. Why? Because Stolfi was effectively wrestling with one arm - his shoulder was taped up and he clearly wasn't himself. For some reason Sweany chose down - I guess he was trying for a MD. Greedy, I think. Stolfi used his stronger legs and leverage from the top to wrench Sweany to his back and got the fall almost immediately. COME ON. Anyway, he's out.

[ithacat]

Brian Realbuto loses in round 1.. a shocker

Whole season's been a shocker. Rob really needs to find his recruiting mojo fast.

[semsox]

Without knowing too much, sounds like the consi's tonight were also brutal...

[ugarte]

Day 2 / Session 3:

133: #1 Garrett v #8 Hall (Iowa State)
184: #1 Dean v #8 Boyd (Oklahoma State) - Dean's only loss this year

----

125: Macri v Romero (Air Force)
149: Galasso v Clagon (Rider)
157: #5 Palacio v #11 Smith (Central Michigan)
197: Scott v #14 Nye (Virginia)

[ugarte]

Without knowing too much, sounds like the consi's tonight were also brutal...

The two wins were nice. Realbuto was a soldier but couldn't quite pull it off. Sweany's loss was stupid as hell. I'm still angry about it.

[semsox]

Sounds like a torn ACL/MCL for Realbuto. Total bummer

[upprdeck]

watching the Realbuto replay , it seemed like he completed the move with time left on the clock.  the announcers are even applauding the effort before the clock goes to zero.

[upprdeck]

the   Fr heavy being up 6-1 late and getting pinned was not good.

[ugarte]

watching the Realbuto replay , it seemed like he completed the move with time left on the clock.  the announcers are even applauding the effort before the clock goes to zero.

The officials confirmed the TD but after protest ruled that it was completed after time expired. Sigh.

[ugarte]

Great start to day 2 from Macri and Garrett. Galasso was outclassed.


133: The match started oddly as both wrestlers were complaining that the other guy was slippery. Turned out that Garrett's hands were slick because of the grease (vaseline? lotion?) on the back of Hall's legs. Cleaning up Hall's legs counted as "injury time" so Garrett could choose position on restart. Basically a free point when he chose bottom. He then got a TD and rode out the period. He rode through the second period as well. A third period escape and RT are a 5-0 win. Garrett moves into the Semifinal and is an All-American.

184: Dean, facing the only guy to beat him this year, #8 Nolan Boyd, makes as clear as possible that he was injured that day. Dean cruises to an easy 10-4 win. 4TDs, an escape and RT. He moves into the semifinal, which is now wide open, as everyone from 2-6 has lost. He'll face #13 Renda (NC State) with #7 vs #11 in the other semi. With the win, Dean moves into the Semifinal and is an All-American.

-----

125: Macri and Romero were both active but Macri was able to finish his shots for points. Then, in the second period, he made a hell of a move to put Romero on his back and flatten him out for the Fall. Macri still has work to do: two more wins to get on the podium. Up next, #14 Rodriguez (NDSU), with #9 Peters (Northern Iowa) in his way for AA.

149: Galasso was manhandled by Clagon (Rider).  19-6. Never really close. Galasso tried for a cement-mixer from a headlock early but Clagon pushed through and came very close to flattening him out for the fall. Clagon never looked back. Not a bad freshman year for Galasso.

157: #5 Palacio wins 5-3 over #11 Smith. A little hairy at the end. Holding a 4-1 lead late, it looked like Palacio tweaked his knee a little. With time winding down, Smith appeared to get TD, then release Palacio and then get another TD with a couple of seconds on the clock, which would have sent the match to OT. Fortunately, the refs ruled that there wasn't "separation" on the escape, so the escape and second TD didn't count, leaving the score at 4-3. Because the team only had one challenge left (across all matches, IIRC), Smith told his coaches not to challenge, essentially conceding the match. He requested a neutral start to make it 5-3. Things got a little hairy at the end. Without really time for a TD, Smith still charged at Palacio, which annoyed Palacio enough to give him a shove after the whistle. No unsportsmanlike was called, though. To AA he's got to go through #14 Matthews (Edinboro) and #7 Cody Pack (SDSU).

197: Scott wasn't fast enough to deal with #14 Nye. Goes down 8-2. He's out. As a senior, he gets to end his career with a trip to Nationals and gets a win to boot. That ain't bad.


-----
125: Macri got a TD with 6 seconds left but it wasn't enough. Loses 5-4 to Rodriguez and he's out. A decent freshman campaign. We'll see if he goes to 133 next year.

157: Palacio took a couple of periods to figure out how to beat Matthews, but in the third period he dominated, and won going away 12-6. He'll wrestle Pack tonight for AA.