ST. LOUIS, MO. – The Cowboy wrestling squad put two wrestlers in the quarterfinals on day one of the NCAA championships on Thursday inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. A total of six Pokes are still in contention for All-American status after the first two sessions of competition.
At 157 pounds Jacob Wright started his day with a big upset win over No. 10 Justin Thomas (OU). Wright lost to Thomas at the Big 12 Championships just two weeks ago, but was able to flip the script in St. Louis. The match would be settled in overtime when Wright racked up 22 seconds of riding time which gave him the tiebreaker and the 5-4 victory to advance to the round of 16.
Wright ended his day with another gutsy performance against No. 26 Johnny Lovett (CMU). With the match tied 1-1 after three periods Wright sealed his victory in overtime, by escaping and then riding out Lovett to clinch a 2-1 victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.
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“After getting an opportunity taken away last year, I don’t want to the man standing across from me taking another one away.” Wright said “I’m excited to keep the thing going, I feel like my best is yet to come!”
Stephen Buchanan picked up his first career NCAA tournament win in style, pinning No. 25 J.J. Dixon (ORST) at 3:34 in is his round of 32 match. Buchanan followed that up with an emphatic win over No. 9 Noah Adams (WVU). Buchanan pinned Adams in the first period, beating him for the fourth time this season, and advancing to the quarterfinals.
In his first match of the day, Hayden Hasting was tested against No. 19 Michael O’Malley (DREX). Hastings secured a reversal in the third period and rode his opponent out to get the 4-2 victory and advance to the next round.
Brian Andrews ended the morning session with another win for the Cowboys over No. 20 Quinn Miller (UVA). After an exciting first period which ended 3-3, Andrews settles in and took control of the match. A takedown and escape sealed the 6-4 victory for Andrews.
Cole Moody (165) and Tate Samuelson (184) both picked up wins in the consolation bracket to stay alive in the tournament. For Moody, his 2-0 victory over No. 29 Brian Meyer (LEH) was the first NCAA Tournament win of his career. Samuelson earned a hard fought 3-2 victory over No. 25 DeAndre Nassar (CLVST).
The Cowboys currently sit in a tie for 16th with 11.0 team points. The tournament will resume tomorrow at 9 am M.T. with the quarterfinals and consolation rounds.
