Michigan leads race for second place after NCAA Championships medal round, led by bronze-medalist Griffith

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Session V at the NCAA Div. I Championships features the consolation semifinals, then the medal matches for third, fifth and seventh. Once an athlete loses on the championship side, the next best finish is to take third place. Some people call it “consolation champions.”

 For most, it is bittersweet, since anybody good enough to make All-American is good enough to be the overall champion. The idea is to win your last match of the tournament, whether it is for third, fifth or seventh.

The bronze medal winners from the 2024 NCAA Championships were Anthony Noto of Lock Haven (125), Ryan Crookham of Lehigh (133), Brock Hardy of Nebraska (141), Tyler Kasak of Penn State (149), Meyer Shapiro of Cornell (157). Keegan O’Toole of Missouri (165), Shane Griffith of Michigan (174), Trey Munoz of Oregon State (184). Stephen Buchanan of Oklahoma (197) and Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force (285).

In a battle of past NCAA champions who are both seniors, Shane Griffith of Michigan beat Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, 4-0. Griffith ended up as a five-time All-American, while Lewis was a four-timer.  Griffith won his national title for Stanford, and his achievement helped save that program from elimination.

A two-time NCAA champion who ended with a third-place finish was Keegan O’Toole of Missouri,  who stopped Iowa’s Michael Caliendo, 12-8, to the applause of the Mizzou fans in attendance.

For senior All-American, it marks the end of their college careers, adding another level of emotions. Announcers Jason Bryant and Bryan Hazard made sure to let folks know who the seniors were, allowing the crowd to recognize their careers with applause.

Of the third place winners, perhaps the biggest applause went to heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson, who has been a fan favorite and respected for his military service. USA-USA chants have followed Hendrickson at major events in recent seasons.

While all of these third-place winners showed great grit and resiliency by battling back, the Ironman of the meet is Penn State’s Tyler Kasak, who lost his first match then got seven straight wins on the back side. Kasak finished off the amazing run with a 3-2 win over Ty Watters of West Virginia.

Team Race during Session V

The big news from this round, in addition to individual achievement, is the race for NCAA team trophies. Penn State clinched the team title on Friday, so the fight is for second, third and fourth.

Coming in the standings were: 2. Michigan (64.5); 3. Iowa (60.0). 4 (tie) Arizona State and Iowa State (59.5), 6. Cornell (58.5), 7. Ohio State (57.0); 8. Oklahoma State (55.0); 9 Virginia Tech (53.0), 10. Nebraska (52.0). There was a lot of room for these teams to jostle for position with victories in the morning session.

The consolation semifinals, which determines who gets to go for third place allowed for some positive movement forward. Iowa had two winners, Real Woods (141) and Michael Caliendo (165), plus Cornell with two, Meyer Shapiro (157) and Jacob Cardenas (197). Other winners from the top 10 were Brock Hardy of Nebraska (141) and Shane Griffith of Michigan (174). Cornell was able to jump into the top four from this round.

In a new format which allowed the NCAA to use four mats all session, the seventh place matches went next, followed by the fifth place matches, then closing out with third place matches.

Seventh place winners from the teams in the trophy hunt were Casey Swiderski of Iowa State (149), Peyton Robb of Nebraska (157) and Thomas Stewart, Jr. of Virginia Tech (184). All three got bonus points, with Stewart getting a technical fall, and Swiderski and Robb with major decisions. The second through fourth teams after the seventh-place bouts were all within one point of each other: Michigan (68), Cornell (67.5) and Iowa (67).

Fifth-place winners from these teams were Dylan Ragusin of Michigan (133), Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State (141) and dKyle Parco of Arizona State (149). Echemendia won by medical forfeit. Ragusin beat a contending team athlete, Evan Frost of Iowa State, with a major decision for bonus points. Parco also beat a contending team opponent, Ridge Lovett of Nebraska.The second through fourth standings were still Michigan, Cornell and Iowa.

Third place winners from the top teams were Brock Hardy of Nebraska (141), Meyer Shapiro of Cornell (157), and Shane Griffith of Michigan (174). Hardy beat another contending team athlete, Real Woods of Iowa.

When the final whistle went off for the session, Penn State was still way ahead with 155.5 points. Michigan was in second with 71 points, Cornell in third with 68.5 points and Iowa in fourth with 67 points. Right on their heels in fifth place is Iowa State with 64.5 points.

Penn State has six finalists, Michigan has two, Cornell has one, Iowa has one, Iowa State has one. Arizona State, sitting in sixth place, has two finalists.

The finals begin at 6:00 p.m. CT, live on ESPN.

NCAA DIV. I CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Kansas City, Mo., March 23

125 pounds

3rd - Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) dec. Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) 30-8 (Dec 7-3)

5th - Luke Stanich dec Caleb Smith (Nebraska) 5-1

7th - Jore Volk (Wyoming) dec Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) 4-0

133 pounds

3rd - Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec Nasir Bailey (Little Rock), 4-3

5th - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) dec. Evan Frost (Iowa State) 17-6

7th - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) dec. Kai Orine (NC State) 10-5

141 pounds

3rd - Brock Hardy (Nebraska) dec. Real Woods (Iowa) 7-6

5th - Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) medical fft. Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina)

7th - Ryan Jack (NC State) dec. Vance Vombaur (Minnesota) 4-3

149 pounds

3rd - Tyler Kasak (Penn State) dec. Ty Watters (West Virginia) 3-2

5th - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) dec. Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) 3-1

7th - Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) maj dec. Quinn Kinner (Rider) 19-8

157 pounds

3rd - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) dec. Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) 10-4

5th - Peyten Kellar (Ohio) pin Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 3:23

7th - Peyton Robb (Nebraska) maj dec. Jared Franek (Iowa), 11-2

165 pounds

3rd - Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) dec. Mike Caliendo (Iowa), 12-8

5th - Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) dec. Hunter Garvin (Stanford) 3-0

7th - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) dec. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 2-1

174

3rd - Shane Griffith (Michigan) dec. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 4-0

5th Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) dec. Lennox Wolak (Columbia), 5-0

7th - Edmond Ruth (Illinois) maj. dec. Benjamin Pasiuk (Army West Point) 16-6

184

3rd - Trey Munoz (Oregon State) dec. Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) 9-7

5th - Bernie Truax (Penn State) maj. dec. Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) 12-0

7th - Thomas Stewart Jr (Virginia Tech) tech fall David Key (Navy) 20-4

197

3rd - Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) dec. Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 9-4

5th - Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) dec. Rocky Elam (Missouri), 7-0

7th - Stephen Little (Little Rock) dec. Michael Beard (Lehigh), 10-3

285

3rd - Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) maj dec. Zach Elam (Missouri) 14-2

5th - Nick Feldman (Ohio State) dec. Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 11-4

7th - Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) dec. Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) 4-3

Finalist pairings

125 - No. 3 Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State)

133 - No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 6 Vito Arujau (Cornell)

141 - No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State)

149 - No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 6 Austin Gomez (Michigan)

157 - No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State)  vs. No. 2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)

165 - No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. No. 4 David Carr (Iowa State)

174 - No. 6 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Carter Starocci (Penn State)

184 - No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State)

197 - No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Trent Hidlay (NC State)

285 - No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs.No. 10 Lucas Davison (Michigan)

Team Standings after Session V

1             Penn State            155.5

2             Michigan              71.0

3             Cornell 68.5

4             Iowa       67.0

5             Iowa State            64.5

6             Arizona State       60.5

6             Nebraska              60.5

8             Virginia Tech       59.0

9             Ohio State            58.0

10           Oklahoma State   56.0

11           Missouri               49.5

11           NC State               49.5

13           South Dakota State            48.5

14           Lehigh   36.5

15           Northern Iowa     34.5

16           Stanford               34.0

17           West Virginia       31.5

18           Wisconsin            24.5

19           Little Rock           24.0

20           Rutgers 22.5