NCAA Session II Notes: Hendrickson’s 100th win was a pin; KC native Elam brothers start off strong

Each session, TheMat.com will share a variety of notes from the 2024 NCAA Div. I Championships in Kansas City, Mo. Here are some notes from session two on Thursday.

100th career wins for NCAA Most Dominant leader Wyatt Henrickson was a pin

Coming into the 2024 NCAA Div. I Championships, Air Force heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson lead all NCAA Div. I athletes in the Most Dominant category, as well as in most falls. The Dominant standings is based upon the average number of team points a wrestler scores in his matches. Hendrickson, who came in as the No. 3 seed, averaged 5.5. team points in every match, to lead Penn State’s Aaron Brooks in that category. His 15 falls in 23:08 also led the nation.

In the first round on Thursday morning, Hendrickson struggled a bit, needing to finish strong for a tight 11-8 win over No. 30 Seth Nevills of Maryland. However, in round two, Hendrickson was more like himself, scoring a pin in 2:46 over No. 19 seed Dorian Crosby of Bucknell. It was the 100^th career college victory for Hendrickson, who is aiming to finish his career as a national champion. This fall, Hendrickson showed the world his ability by winning the gold medal in freestyle at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania. Hendrickson is already qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and is expected to make a run at the Senior level competing for the U.S. Air Force World Class Athlete program.

Kansas City native Elam brothers reach quarterfinals competing for host Missouri

Some of the loudest cheers in the T-Mobile Center on Thursday came when the Elam brothers from Missouri took the mat. Older brother Zach Elam (285) and younger brother Rocky Elam (197) are Kansas City natives, both prep stars for Staley High School under respected coach Gary Mayabb. Both brothers have been All-Americans for the Tigers in the past, but this year is special for them, as they are competing at the NCAA Championships in their home town

During the pre-event press conference, Missouri coach Brian Smith told the story about being at the Grand Canyon when he heard the news that Kansas City was awarded the NCAA Wrestling Championships, as his phone was blowing up. “I had to look it up. I saw the year we were getting in Kansas City. Of course, because of damn COVID I had to figure out, would Zach still be eligible?  I figured it out and those were the first two people; I texted them together, Zach, Rock -- Zach's senior year will be in Kansas City. They were very excited about it,” said Smith

The Elams gave the local fans something to cheer about. Seeded No. 6, Zach opened with a pin over No. 27 Josiah Hill of Little Rock in 1:50, then beat No. 11 Josh Heindselman of Oklahoma in round two. He will battle Air Force star Wyatt Hendrickson in the Friday morning quarterfinals.

Rocky, who was seeded No. 12, won his first match over No. 21 Mac Stout of Pitt, 6-2. In the second round, he knocked off No. 5 seed Jacob Cardenas of Cornell, 4-0. His quarterfinal bout will be against No. 4 seed Michael Beard of Lehigh. Let’s see how much the home field advantage is for the Elams the rest of the tournament.

Who’s Better, No. 8 seeds or No. 9 seeds? This year, it was No. 8

In the second round of the NCAA Championships, it is common for the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds to meet, barring an upset in the first session. It is a pretty good test of how well the tournament was seeded. This year, it was a clear winner, with No. 8 beating No. 9 five of the seven matchups.

No. 8 winners

125 – No. 8 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) maj. dec. No. 9 Patrick McKee (Minnesota), 16-5

149 – No. 8 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) dec. No. 9 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell), 8-5, TB-1

157 – No. 8 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) dec. No. 9 Will Lewan (Michigan), 11-6

165 – No. 8 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) dec. No. 9 Peyton Hall (West Virginia), 11-9

197 – No. 8 Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) maj. dec. No. 9 Stephen Little (Little Rock), 14-3

No. 9 winners

141 – No. 9 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec. No. 8 Sergio Lemley (Michigan), 10-4

174 – No. 9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly), 5-3

By the way, at 184 pounds, neither the No. 8 or the No. 9 reached the second round. Instead No. 25 David Key of Navy, defeated No 24 Shane Liegel of Wisconsin, 4-2, and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Fewer upsets in second round this year than in other seasons

There are always upsets in each round of an NCAA Div. I Championships, but this year, the second round saw only 10 matches where the lower seed upset the higher seed. This session saw a No. 2 seed beaten, two No. 5 seeds beaten and a pair of No. 7 seeds upset.

Championship Round Two Upsets

No. 28 at 174  Jared Simma (UNI) dec. No. 21 Tyler Eischens (Stanford), 6-5

No. 26 at 149 Vance Vombauer (Minnesota) dec. No. 23 Danny Fongaro (Indiana), 5-0

No. 15 at 125 Caleb Smith (Nebraska) dec. No. 2 Luke Stanich (Lehigh), 4-1 SV-1

No. 12 at 157 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 5 Ryder Downey (UNI), 9-6

No. 12 at 197 Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec. No. 5 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 4-0

No. 10 at 125 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec. No. 7 Jakob Camacho (NC State), 8-2

No. 10 at 157 Jared Franek (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Peyten Keller (Ohio), 4-3

No. 10 at 285 Lucas Davison (Michigan) maj. dec. No. 7 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell), 8-0

No. 10 at 165 Cameron Amine (Michigan) dec. Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State), 4-1, SV-1

No. 9 at 141 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec. No. 8 Sergio Lemley (Michigan), 10-4

California Baptist’s Elijah Griffin gets programs first two NCAA tournament wins

California Baptist, which has emerged from transitioning from Div. II to Div. I wrestling, secured its first two qualifiers at the Div. I level this year, Elijah Griffin (125) and Hunter Leake (133). Both received No. 30 seeds. Leake was beaten in his two matches and eliminated, but Griffin, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, made program history by winning his first consolation match, stopping No. 32 Mike Joyce of Brown, 7-3. However, Griffin was not done. In his second consolation match, he pinned No. 19 seed Jett Strickenberger of West Virginia in 1:41. California Baptist head coach Derek Moore and his staff will move on to day two, with Griffin facing No. 20 seed Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado. Will Griffin continue his run in the wrestle-backs?