Thursday, March 18
St. Louis, MO
All Day
vs
NCAA Division I National Championships
Legend Lamer (left) and Bernie Truax will represent Cal Poly in the 2021 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships this weekend in St. Louis.
Lamer, Truax to Compete in NCAA Division I National Championships
3/16/2021 12:41:00 PM | Wrestling
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly 149-pounder Legend Lamer and 174-pounder Bernie Truax will compete in the NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships this weekend.
The three-day meet begins Thursday inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Truax is a two-time national qualifier, but the 2020 event in Minneapolis was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lamer is a first-time national qualifier.
Truax, a redshirt sophomore, claimed the Pac-12 title at 174 pounds nearly three weeks ago in Corvallis, Oregon, and will bring a 41-19 overall mark to the nationals. A redshirt freshman, Lamer claimed second place at 149 pounds in the Pac-12 finals and is 23-6 in his Mustang career.
The brackets were released last week and updated Monday.
Lamer is seeded ninth in his weight class and will face No. 24 Luke Nichter of Drexel in the opening round. Lamer is 11-1 this season while Nichter is 8-1. Nichter is a true freshman who was 154-28 in his high school career and a four-time Pennsylvania state meet place winner. The two have not faced each other before.
If Lamer wins his first-round match, he could face No. 8 Jaden Abas of Stanford in the second roiund Thursday night. Lamer has two wins against Abas but fell 10-5 to the Cardinal wrestler in the final round of the Pac-12 Championships last month.
Truax is seeded 12th at 174 with a 9-1 record and will square off against No. 21 Jacob Oliver of Edinboro (11-4) in the opening round. They will be meeting for the first time as well. Oliver is a junior and three-time NCAA qualifier with a 74-23 career mark.
Lamer was ranked No. 10 in the final coaches rankings while Truax was ranked No. 16.
Of his 11 wins this season, Lamer recorded two by fall, one via technical fall and two by major decision. He led the Mustangs in four-point near falls during dual meets with five as well as his three riding time points.
Truax, Cal Poly's first Pac-12 champion in three years, earned four pins among his nine victories along with three technical falls and a major decision. He recorded 17 takedowns in five dual meets, tops on the squad.
First day of competition at the nationals includes the pigtail and first two rounds of the championship bracket along with the pigtail and first round of wrestlebacks. This year, the first and second rounds will be split into two segments — 125 through 157 weight classes first followed by the 165 through 285 weight classes — to reduce the number of competitors in the arena at the same time.
Quarterfinals and two more rounds of wrestlebacks are scheduled for Friday morning — again, split into two groups — followed by the semifinals and an additional two rounds of wrestlebacks in the evening.
Wrestleback semifinals and the matches for third, fifth and seventh place will be contested Saturday morning, with the championship finals Saturday night.
ESPN2 and ESPNU will provide coverage of all matches in the first five sessions with the championship finals on ESPN on Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT. Every match on every mat will also be available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
The three-day meet begins Thursday inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Truax is a two-time national qualifier, but the 2020 event in Minneapolis was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lamer is a first-time national qualifier.
Truax, a redshirt sophomore, claimed the Pac-12 title at 174 pounds nearly three weeks ago in Corvallis, Oregon, and will bring a 41-19 overall mark to the nationals. A redshirt freshman, Lamer claimed second place at 149 pounds in the Pac-12 finals and is 23-6 in his Mustang career.
The brackets were released last week and updated Monday.
Lamer is seeded ninth in his weight class and will face No. 24 Luke Nichter of Drexel in the opening round. Lamer is 11-1 this season while Nichter is 8-1. Nichter is a true freshman who was 154-28 in his high school career and a four-time Pennsylvania state meet place winner. The two have not faced each other before.
If Lamer wins his first-round match, he could face No. 8 Jaden Abas of Stanford in the second roiund Thursday night. Lamer has two wins against Abas but fell 10-5 to the Cardinal wrestler in the final round of the Pac-12 Championships last month.
Truax is seeded 12th at 174 with a 9-1 record and will square off against No. 21 Jacob Oliver of Edinboro (11-4) in the opening round. They will be meeting for the first time as well. Oliver is a junior and three-time NCAA qualifier with a 74-23 career mark.
Lamer was ranked No. 10 in the final coaches rankings while Truax was ranked No. 16.
Of his 11 wins this season, Lamer recorded two by fall, one via technical fall and two by major decision. He led the Mustangs in four-point near falls during dual meets with five as well as his three riding time points.
Truax, Cal Poly's first Pac-12 champion in three years, earned four pins among his nine victories along with three technical falls and a major decision. He recorded 17 takedowns in five dual meets, tops on the squad.
First day of competition at the nationals includes the pigtail and first two rounds of the championship bracket along with the pigtail and first round of wrestlebacks. This year, the first and second rounds will be split into two segments — 125 through 157 weight classes first followed by the 165 through 285 weight classes — to reduce the number of competitors in the arena at the same time.
Quarterfinals and two more rounds of wrestlebacks are scheduled for Friday morning — again, split into two groups — followed by the semifinals and an additional two rounds of wrestlebacks in the evening.
Wrestleback semifinals and the matches for third, fifth and seventh place will be contested Saturday morning, with the championship finals Saturday night.
ESPN2 and ESPNU will provide coverage of all matches in the first five sessions with the championship finals on ESPN on Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT. Every match on every mat will also be available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
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