NCAA wrestling: Analysis for every Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa match from Session III

PITTSBURGH, Penn. — Here’s a rundown of results from the Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa wrestling teams, as well as former Iowa high school wrestlers, from Session III of the 2019 NCAA Championships at PPG Paints Arena. Session 4 begins at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT) and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Team scores after Session III

1. Penn State, 80
2. Ohio State, 66.5
3. Oklahoma State, 56
4. Iowa, 43.5
5. Michigan, 40
14. Northern Iowa, 25
19. Iowa State, 19.5

Iowa

It was a rough quarterfinal round for the Hawkeyes, as only two advanced to Friday night’s semifinals. Six others all advanced to the bloodround and are just one win away from All-American status.

Quarterfinals

125: No. 3 Spencer Lee over No. 6 Sean Russell (Minnesota) by fall, 5:59

Best Spencer’s looked in quite some time. Came out firing to lead 7-0 after the first — takedown, four backs, two stall calls on Russell. Russell scored a takedown in the third, but Lee escaped and scored one of his own and whipped Russell to his back for the fall. He gets Oklahoma State’s Nick Piccininni, the 2-seed, in the semifinals.

133: No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan) dec. No. 7 Austin DeSanto, 3-2

Slow-paced match, in all honesty. Micic scored an escape and takedown in the second. DeSanto forced him into three stall calls to close in, but Micic worked his neutral ties and hand-fought really well to keep DeSanto’s offense in check. DeSanto falls to the bloodround, still a win away from All-American status.

141: No. 3 Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. Max Murin, 4-1

Tied 1-1 in the third, Lee corralled Murin’s ankles for a takedown midway through, then rode Murin out to win. There was some good action throughout the first couple of periods when in neutral, and Murin got in on some good shots, but couldn’t finish. He falls to the bloodround, a win away from All-American status.

149: No. 2 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) dec. No. 10 Pat Lugo, 10-3

Clash of styles here heavily favored Jordan, who rolled up four takedowns, including two in the first that really set the tone. Lugo struggled to get to his underhooks and couldn’t really find a rhythm offensively. He falls to the bloodround.

157: No. 6 Kaleb Young dec. No. 3 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 7-5 (SV1)

What a match. Young scored two takedowns in the first period for a 4-2 lead, but Deakin added an escape and a takedown, plus a rideout, in the second for a 5-4 lead. Young escaped and fended off some Deakin shots in the third, then scored on a Deakin re-shot by changing off in the air to score the match-winner. Phenomenal match. Young advances to the semifinals, where he’ll face Nebraska’s Tyler Berger, the 2-seed.

165: No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 1 Alex Marinelli, 3-1

Lewis wrestled the match needed to beat Marinelli. He hand-fought well and displayed some stellar defense against Marinelli’s shots, and there were quite a few. Tied 1-1 late in the third, Lewis scored a takedown on a scramble on the edge with five seconds left to win. Tough loss. Marinelli drops to the bloodround.

285: No. 4 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Sam Stoll, 2-0

Stoll’s struggles on bottom are what limited him here. Wood escaped in the second to break a scoreless tie, then rode Stoll out the entire third period to win. That drops Stoll to the bloodround.

Wrestlebacks

184: No. 12 Cash Wilcke maj. dec. Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 8-0

Workmanlike outing from Wilcke. Takedown in the first, reversal in the second, takedown in the third, plus three minutes and 51 seconds of riding time. In control the whole way. He advances through the wrestlebacks.

No. 4 Emery Parker (Illinois) over Wilcke by fall, 5:22

Parker scored a takedown in the first period and led 3-1 in the third. Wilcke went in on a shot, but Parker muscled his arms underneath and used Wilcke’s momentum to flip him to his back for the pin. Looked like what Penn State’s Bo Nickal did to Ohio State’s Myles Martin in last year’s finals. Wilcke is eliminated.

197: No. 5 Jacob Warner maj. dec. Joshua Roetman (Navy), 9-1

Good response here from Warner after losing on Thursday. Takedown in the first, then a reversal and four backs in the third. He piled up more than three minutes of riding time and advances through the wrestlebacks.

Warner dec. Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley), 10-6

Warner led 5-2 after a takedown and two backs in the first, then went up 9-3 after a reversal and a takedown in the second. Another tough showing and he’s now one win away from the podium as a redshirt freshman.

Iowa State

The Cyclones came face-to-face with why they still have a ways to go to compete with the nation’s best on Friday. After pushing all nine qualifiers to the second day, only four advanced to Friday night’s session, all in the wrestlebacks. 

Quarterfinals

149: No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 8 Jarrett Degen, 10-3

Thought Degen wrestled well here mostly, especially on top, but Ashnault was just too technically sound here. Scored two takedowns and a set of backs for a 6-2 lead after one, then added another takedown and riding time in the third. Degen drops to the bloodround.

184: No. 15 Chip Ness (North Carolina) dec. No. 10 Sam Colbray, 6-4 (SV1)

This match was highlighted by a wild second period. Colbray escaped and scored a takedown for a 3-0 lead, but Ness tied it by doing the same. Colbray escaped just before the end of the second, then Ness escaped in the third to force sudden victory, where Ness scored on a gassed Colbray midway through. Colbray drops to the wrestlebacks.

Wrestlebacks

125: Alex Mackall dec. No. 13 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), 7-3

Excellent match from Mackall. Scored a takedown in the first period, then added two more in the third to put a stamp on another wrestleback victory. He advances through the wrestlebacks.

No. 12 Michael McGee (Old Dominon) dec. Mackall, 8-2

McGee recorded his second win over a wrestler from an Iowa program — he beat UNI’s Jay Schawrm in the opening round. On Friday, McGee scored two takedowns and a set of two backs to eliminate Mackall from the tournament.

133: No. 13 Austin Gomez tech. fall Josh Terao (American), 16-1

Workmanlike match from Gomez. Led 8-0 after the first, and was up 10-0 when he released Terao and took him down again to his back for the technical fall. Good response after losing on Thursday night.

Gomez dec. No. 12 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 4-2 (SV1)

Gomez avenges his loss to Bridges in the Big 12 semifinals two weeks ago. On Friday, Bridges reversed Gomez in the third for a 2-1 lead, but Gomez escaped to force overtime, then scored off a flurry to advance to the bloodround.

141: No. 15 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Ian Parker, 12-4

Rough way for Parker to go out, as he beat Brock earlier this season. Brock led 5-2 entering the third, then blew it open with a couple of tilts and a late takedown for the major. Parker is eliminated.

157: No. 8 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Chase Straw, 3-2

Humphreys scored a takedown in the first period, then stifled Straw’s attacks the rest of the way. He also rode really well on top at times. Straw is eliminated.

174: No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) dec. Marcus Coleman, 6-2

McFadden was a little too much for Coleman here. He overpowered Coleman for two first-period takedowns, then added an escape in the second and rolled up nearly three minutes of riding time. Coleman is eliminated.

197: No. 6 Willie Miklus maj. dec. Drew Phipps (Bucknell), 17-4

Miklus gave up two takedowns in the first period and trailed 4-2, then rattled off 15 unanswered points thanks to a takedown and three four-point nearfalls. He advances.

Miklus dec. No. 14 Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 3-2

Savvy match here by Miklus. Gave up a takedown in the first, but tacked on an escape, then rode Schultz out in the second period to secure riding time, then escaped again in the third to win. He advances to the bloodround.

285: No. 10 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) over Gannon Gremmel by fall, 4:42

Rough wrestleback draw for Gremmel. Hemida was up 5-0 at the time of the pin in the second period. Gremmel is eliminated.

► RELATED: Read Willie Miklus' letter to his father and the sport of wrestling

Northern Iowa

Only one Panther wrestler who reached the quarterfinals won on Friday morning. In all, just four remain for Northern Iowa, which fell to 14th in the team race with 25 points.

Quarterfinals

165: No. 3 Josh Shields (Arizona State) dec. No. 11 Bryce Steiert, 6-0

Steiert ran into a buzzsaw in Shields, who scored takedowns in the first and third and added points on an escape and riding time. Steiert drops to the bloodround.

174: No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Taylor Lujan, 5-3

Hall is Lujan’s kryptonite. A year ago, Hall beat Lujan in the NCAA semifinals, 6-2. This year, it’s 5-3, thanks to a takedown in the first, reversal in the third, plus riding time. Lujan drops to the bloodround.

184: No. 6 Drew Foster dec. No. 3 Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), 6-2

For the third time this season, Foster beat Virginia Tech’s Zach Zavatsky. This time, takedowns in the first and third, plus riding time, sealed the deal. Foster advances to the semifinals, where he’ll face North Carolina’s Chip Ness, the 15-seed.

Wrestlebacks

125: Jay Schwarm dec. No. 11 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 8-2

Excellent first match from Schwarm. Gave up a takedown in the first, but responded with a reversal and two back points, then scored a takedown in the second. He advances through the wrestlebacks.

125: No. 14 Sean Fausz (NC State) dec. Schwarm, 7-2

Rough way to go out. Fausz scored a takedown in the first, then reversed Schwarm twice and piled up more than two minutes of riding time. Schwarm is eliminated.

141: No. 14 Jamel Morris (NC State) maj. dec. No. 4 Josh Alber, 15-5

This one flipped in a hurry. Alber led 2-0 after the first period, but then Morris went escape, takedown, four backs, four backs in the second to lead 11-3 after the second. They exchanged takedowns in the third period. Alber is eliminated.

149: No. 15 Max Thomsen dec. Christian Monserrat (West Virginia), 9-3

Good response from Thomsen after losing on Thursday. He led 3-2 in the third after a takedown in the first, and blew it open with another takedown and a full set of back points. He advances through the wrestlebacks.

Thomsen maj. dec. Russell Rohlfing (Cal-State Bakersfield), 13-2

Make that two wins for Thomsen in Friday’s early session. Thomsen rolled up a takedown and two sets of four nearfall to break it open in the first period. He advances to the bloodround.

Former Iowa High Schoolers

Wrestlebacks

184: Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Max Lyon (Western Dubuque, now Purdue), 12-2

Tough matchup for Lyon here. Geer went up 2-1 after a first-period takedown, but broke it open with another takedown and four backs in the second. He added another takedown in the third for the major. Lyon is eliminated.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.