Three wrestlers from Iowa and one from Iowa State have advanced into tonight’s semifinals at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament in Philadelphia. The Hawkeyes’ Matt McDonough, the defending national champ at 125, moved into the semis today with his second major decision of the tournament. He’s also recorded a pin.
McDonough is joined in the semifinals by teammates Montell Marion at 141 and Grant Gambrall at 184. Two other Hawkeyes lost their quarterfinal round matches. Gambrall, the #12 seed, won in double overtime. He’ll face a wrestler from Penn State tonight.
Cornell has taken over first place in the team race with 61 points. Penn State is second with 60.5 and Iowa is third with 52. Cornell and Penn State each have four wrestlers in the semifinals. Penn State has three still alive in the consolation bracket, while Cornell has one.
The Hawkeyes have four in the consolations, including Aaron Janssen at 165. This afternoon, Janssen beat Cornell’s Justin Kerber 6-2. Janssen and Kerber were teammates in high school at Emmetsburg. Iowa State’s Jon Reader is in the semifinals at 174. The Cyclones have just one other wrestler in the consolations; Jerome Ward at 197.
Northern Iowa’s Ryan Loder won two matches today at 184 and remains alive in the consolation bracket.