NCAA 2023 Wrestling Tournament: Can Princeton have its first champion in 72 years?

Princeton University's chance of having its first wrestling national champion in 72 years and just the second in its history increased dramatically Friday night in a matter of seconds in the 125-pound semifinals at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK.

After the Tigers' Pat Glory advanced to the national final for the second straight season with a solid 8-2 win over Nebraska's Liam Cronin, Purdue redshirt sophomore Matt Ramos sent a thunderbolt that reverberated from the BOK Center to Princeton and to every wrestling fan in the nation.

Trailing Iowa's three-time national champion Spencer Lee by two points (three if one counts the riding time point, Lee had locked), Ramos took Lee down. He then put Lee to his back for the second time in the bout as the crowd roared and pinned him with a power half nelson with a second left as the crowd erupted.

Lee's bid to become the fifth or sixth four-time national champion is over.

Glory, the runner-up to Michigan's Nick Suriano last season, will try to become Princeton's first champion since Bradley Glass won at heavyweight in 1951 against Ramos Saturday night. The finals will be broadcast on ESPN at 7 p.m.

Glory will be the only one with New Jersey ties wrestling for a national championship. Teammate Quincy Monday (165), Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis (174), Cornell's Chris Foca (174), Penn State's Shayne Van Ness and Rider's Ethan Laird (197) were all defeated in their semifinal bouts.

Ramos had put a scare into Lee earlier this season when he led Lee 8-2 after he put him to his back during a Purdue-Iowa dual meet.

Glory, a two-time NJSIAA champion and four-time state finalist at Delbarton and Princeton's second four-time All-American, took control against Cronin with two takedowns in the first period. He had another in the third.

Quincy Monday was so close.

Monday, the 157-pound runner-up last season, was ridden for the last three minutes, including the entire third period by Carr. As a result, Carr, the 2021 157-pound champion was able to conclude a rally from a four-point first period deficit and record a 6-5 win.

A takedown and two back points off a tilt gave Monday a 4-0 lead. A reversal in the first period just after Monday had tilted him and a takedown midway in the second enabled Carr to tie the bout.

It was the second time on the day Carr had won on the riding time point. He rode Stanford's Shane Griffith for most of the third period in a 2-1 win in the quarterfinal.

Monday has clinched a top six finish and will wrestle Wisconsin's Dean Hamiti Saturday at 11 a.m. in a wrestleback semifinal. He can still finish as high as third. Monday defeated Hamiti 4-3 in the Midlands Championships final on Dec. 30.

Mekhi Lewis denied in bid for second title.

Both Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis and Cornell's Chris Foca were defeated in 174-pound semifinals.

Lewis, the 2019 165-pound champion and runner-up at 174 last season, was defeated 3-1 by Nebraska's Mikey Labriola in tiebreaker period No. 1.

Labriola rode Lewis the entire first portion of the tiebreaker period. He then chose neutral for the second part because he had the riding time advantage and got a takedown in the final 10 seconds to record his second win of the season over Lewis.

Lewis, a two-time state champion at Bound Brook, has been wrestling with an injured finger throughout the tournament.

Foca, the 2019 NJSIAA 182-pound champion at Bergen Catholic, was defeated 6-0 by Penn State's two-time champion Carter Starocci.

Both Lewis and Foca will wrestle in wrestleback semifinals Saturday and can finish as high as third. Lewis will wrestle Oklahoma State's Dustin Plott. Foca will wrestle Iowa's Nelson Brands, the nephew of Iowa head coach Tom Brands.

Shayne Van Ness was close to another shocker

Penn State redshirt freshman 149-pounder Shayne Van Ness was on the verge of shocking another three-time champion.

But, Cornell's Yianni Diakomilhalis showed the heart of a champion with a takedown and four back points with about a minute left to record an 8-3 win.

Van Ness, former Blair Academy star and Somerville native, had taken a 3-1 lead on a takedown early in the third period.

The defeat ended an exciting run in the championship portion of the bracket for Van Ness. He had come-from-behind from large deficits in the third period in two of his three previous bouts in the tournament.

Van Ness has clinched a top six finish and can still finish as high as third. He will wrestle Virginia Tech's Caleb Henson in a wrestleback semifinal Saturday morning.

Ethan Laird defeated by No. 1 seed.

Laird, who was bidding to become Rider's second finalist in the last three seasons, got the first takedown against No. 1 seed Nino Bonaccorsi of Pitt.

However, Bonaccorsi, the 2021 runner-up to Oklahoma State's A.J. Ferrari overcame that and pulled away for a 10-4 win.

Laird will wrestle Cal Poly's Bernie Truax in a wrestleback semifinal Saturday morning. He can still finish as high as third.

All-Americans

Three other wrestlers with New Jersey ties became All-Americans, or top eight finishers, with wins in fourth-round wrestleback bouts Friday night.

As a result, wrestlers with New Jersey ties will account for nine All-Americans. The six semifinalists had already clinched a top six finish.

Griffith became a four-time All-American with a 6-2 win over Cornell's Julian Ramirez at 165 pounds

The 2021 165-pound champion and runner-up at 165 last season, Griffith can still finish as high as third after he defeated North Dakota State's Michael Caliendo in a wrestleback quarterfinal. He will wrestle Michigan's Cam Amine Saturday morning in a wrestleback semifinal.

Griffith, a three-time NJSIAA champion at Bergen Catholic, was also a National Wrestling Coaches Association All-American in 2020 when the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.

Cornell's Jacob Cardenas became a 197-pound All-American with a 6-4 win over Illinois' Zac Braunagel.

He will wrestle Penn State's 2022 champion Max Dean for seventh-place Saturday afternoon after he was defeated 4-2 by Iowa's Jacob Warner in a wrestleback quarterfinal.

Virginia Tech's Eddie Ventresca came from the No. 27 seed when the tournament started to an All-American honors 125

Ventresca, the 2019 NJSIAA 120-pound champion at Pope John, clinched his medal with a 3-1 win over Wisconsin's two-time All-American Eric Barnett.

He will wrestle West Virginia's Killian Cardinale for seventh-place Saturday afternoon after he was defeated 4-2 by Arizona State's 2021 runner-up and two-time All-Amerivan Brandon Courtney in a wrestleback quarterfinal.

Ventresca had advanced to the quarterfinal with wins over the No. 6 and 11 seeds before he was defeated 3-1 in sudden victory by Cronin.

Meanwhile, Rutgers University's season ended when redshirt freshman 125-pounder Dean Peterson was defeated 3-1 by Lock Haven's Anthony Noto in a fourth-round wrestleback bout. Peterson fell one win shy of being an All-American.

It is the first season since 2014 that the NCAA Tournament has been held that the Scarlet Knights will not have an All-American.

Also, Cornell 125-pounder Brett Ungar, the 2019 106-pound champion when he was at Hunterdon Central, was defeated in his fourth-round wrestleback bout and Drexel 184-pounder Brian Bonino, a former Paramus High School star, was majored by Ohio State's Kaleb Romero in a fourth-round wrestleback bout.

Both Ungar and Bonino fell one win shy of All-American honors. Bonino had come from the No. 25 seed to go 3-2 in the tournament.

From Friday afternoon

Princeton University will have two wrestlers on the semifinal stage for the second straight year at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament after Pat Glory and Quincy Monday both won quarterfinal-round bouts at 125 and 165 pounds respectively Friday afternoon.

Glory defeated Arizona State's 2021 125-pound runner-up Brandon Courtney 8-4.

Monday defeated Michigan State's Caleb Fish 10-4.

Last season, Glory and Monday became Princeton's first national finalists since Greg Parker at 174 in 2002. They are two wins away from becoming the Tigers' first national champions since Bradley Glass won at heavyweight in 1951. Glass is Princeton's only national champion.

Four other wrestlers with New Jersey ties will join the Princeton duo in the semifinals.

Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis and Cornell's Chris Foca advanced at 174 and Penn State's Shayne Van Ness and Rider's Ethan Laird advanced at 149 and 197 respectively.

The semifinals will take place at 8 p.m and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Glory now a four-time All-American

Glory, the runner-up to Michigan's Nick Suriano last year, will wrestle No. 3 seed and Big Ten Conference runner-up Liam Cronin of Nebraska tonight in the semifinal.

Cronin defeated No. 27 seed Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech 3-1 on a takedown in sudden victory.

A two-time NJSIAA champion and four-time state finalist at Delbarton, Glory had an early takedown and then rode Courtney the remainder of the third period.

Courtney, the 2021 runner-up to Iowa's three-time Spencer Lee, tied the bout 4-4 with takedowns in the second and third period. An escape gave Glory the lead. He then got a takedown in the final seconds and the riding time point.

Cronin ended the championship run of Ventresca, who was the NJSIAA 120-pound champion in 2019 at Pope John. Ventresca defeated the No. 6 and 11 seeds Thursday to get to the quarterfinal. He can become an All-American if he wins a wrestleback bout tonight.

Interestingly, on the other side of this bracket, Lee was turned and put on his back by No. 8 seed Anthony Noto of Lock Haven in the second period and almost put on his back again early in the third period. Lee was winning 10-0 when he was put on his back. He wound up with a 12-4 major decision.

Monday looks solid

Monday, the runner-up at 157 last season, defeated No. 29 seed Caleb Fish of Michigan State 10-4.

The No. 5 seed, Monday will wrestle No. 1 seed David Carr of Iowa State in the semifinal. In a matchup of 2021 national champions, Carr, who won his title at 157, defeated No. 9 seed Shane Griffith of Stanford 2-1 on the riding time point. Griffith, a three-time NJSIAA champion at Bergen Catholic, won his title at 165 and was the runner-up at 165 last season.

Griffith can still become a three-time All-American if he wins a wrestleback bout tonight.

Monday had two takedowns in the first period and four back points in the third.

The Monday-Carr matchup will also be a legacy one.

Monday's father, Kenny, the current head coach at Morgan State, won the 150-pound championship for Oklahoma State in 1984 at the Meadowlands and was an Olympic gold medalist in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.

Carr's father, Nate, won the 150-pound national championships for Iowa State three straight years from 1981-83, with the first of those coming at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium. He was an Olympic bronze medalist in 1988.

Lewis grinds another one out; Foca impresses

Lewis, the 2019 165-pound champion and the runner-up to Penn State's two-time champion Carter Starocci in tiebreaker period No. 2 last season, has not been flashy. But, he has done what has needed to be done in all three of his bouts.

He rode out Iowa's Nelson Brands, the nephew of Iowa head coach Tom Brands, in the third period, to record a 2-0 win in his quarterfinal.

Lewis has won his bouts by a combined four points. The riding time point has been crucial in his last two wins.

A two-time NJSIAA champion at Bound Brook, Lewis, the No. 3 seed, will wrestle No. 2 seed Mikey Labriola of Nebraska in the semifinal. Labriola defeated Lewis 3-1 in sudden victory Dec. 3 in the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas.

Foca, the 2019 NJSIAA 182-pound champion for Bergen Catholic, pinned No. 5 seed Dustin Plott in the first period for his second pin of the tournament.

The No. 4 seed, Foca will wrestle Starocci in the semifinal.

Shayne Van Ness with more late heroics

Van Ness, a redshirt freshman , has been perhaps the most exciting wrestler in the tournament so far.

For the second time in three bouts, Van Ness, a former Blair Academy star and Somerville native, rallied in the third period to win and advanced to the semifinal with a 10-7 win over No. 20 seed Graham Rooks of Indiana.

Trailing Indiana's Graham Rooks 7-2 late in the second period and 7-3 after two periods, Van Ness closed within 7-5 on an escape and stalling point before he recorded a takedown at the upper left center of the mat and then put Rooks to his back for two back points.

He then rode Rooks out the rest of the way after a challenge by the Indiana coaching staff on the back points was denied.

The takedown was the only one Van Ness had in the bout. Rooks had two takedowns in the first period and another in the second, as he was controlling the bout on his feet through two periods.

In the first round, Van Ness trailed Maryland's Ethen Miller 8-0 after one period and 9-1 in the second period before he staged a furious rally and pinned Miller with 34 seconds left.

Van Ness, the No. 12 seed, will wrestle No. 1 seed and three-time national champion Yianni Diakomihalis tonight in the semifinal.

Diakomihalis was nearly put on his back in the final 20 seconds of his quarterfinal against Iowa's Max Murin, but he held on for an 8-7.

Diakomihalis and Lee are trying to become the fifth and sixth four-time champions.

Laird hangs on

Laird held off a takedown attempt by Illinois' Zac Braunagel to record a 3-2 win. Laird broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown in the final minute. It was the second straight bout Laird won in the final minute.

The No. 4 seed, Laird will wrestle No. 1 seed and 2021 197-pound runner-up Nino Bonaccorsi in the semifinal.

Laird is trying to become Rider's second finalist in three seasons. Jesse Dellavecchia, the runner-up at 157 in 2021, is Rider's only finalist.

Still in the hunt to be an All-American

Seven wrestlers with New Jersey ties are all one win away from earning All-American honors or clinching a top eight finish.

The six semifinalists have clinched a top six finish and are already All-Americans.

Those with New Jersey ties who can clinch a medal tonight in fourth round wrestleback bouts are Ventresca, Griffith; Rutgers' Dean Peterson (125); Cornell's Brett Ungar (125), Julian Ramirez (165) and Jason Cardenas (197) and Drexel's Brian Bonino (184).

Griffith and Ramirez will wrestle each other in a bout that nobody would have blinked an eye at before the tourament began had that been a semifinal bout

Peterson has won three straight wrestleback bouts since a defeat in the first round. Friday, he defeated Maryland's Braxton Brown and then Minnesota's two-time All-American Patrick McKee.

The 6-4 win over McKee, on two takedowns in the third period, was impressive. McKee had been 13-1 in wrestlebacks in the last three national tournaments.

Ironically, it is the third straight season McKee has been defeated by a Rutgers wrestler. Sophomore Dylan Shawver did it in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in 2021 and 2022.

Peterson will wrestle Noto tonight.

Bonino, seeded 25th and a former Paramus High School star, won two wrestleback bouts in sudden victory. He will wrestle Ohio State's Kaleb Romero. Romero was defeated 4-1 by Penn State's two-time national champion Aaron Brooks in the quarterfinal.

Ramirez, a former Blair Academy star and the No. 4 seed, has won three wrestleback bouts after he was defeated by Fish in the first round.

Cardenas, a two-time state champion at Bergen Catholic, will wrestle Braunagel. He recorded two solid wins Friday after he was knocked off in the pre-quarterfinal.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NCAA 2023 Wrestling Tournament: Could Pat Glory become a champion?