Thursday, March 18
St. Louis, MO
All Day
vs
NCAA Division I National Championships
Cal Poly 174-pounder Bernie Truax celebrates second-round overtime victory over Logan Massa of Michigan on Thursday.
Photo by: TONY ROTUNDO
Truax Reaches Quarterfinals, Lamer Falls in Second Round of NCAAs
3/18/2021 6:51:00 PM | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Bernie Truax earned an overtime victory to move into the quarterfinals while Legend Lamer lost his second-round match on Thursday, the opening day of the 2021 NCAA Division I National Championships being held inside the Enterprise Center.
Competing at 174 pounds, the No. 12 Truax and fifth-seeded Logan Massa of Michigan battled to a 1-1 draw in regulation, each exchanging an escape. Eighteen seconds into the sudden-victory period, Truax earned a takedown to win the match 3-1, lifting his record for the season to 11-1.
"Bernie wrestled with a ton of heart and grit to knock off one of the top wrestlers in our country," said fifth-year Mustang head coach Jon Sioredas. "His hard work and sheer focus over these past 12 months have provided him with the confidence to compete with anyone at the weight."
Truax notched an 18-3 technical fall (3:19) over Jacob Oliver of Edinboro in the first round earlier Thursday. Truax sprinted to a 15-3 lead in the first period with a takedown, a trio of four-point near falls and an escape, then added an escape and takedown in the first 19 seconds of the second period to close out the match.
Truax will meet fourth-seeded Mikey Labriola of Nebraska in Friday morning's quarterfinals. Labriola is 13-1 on the year after posting a pair of decisions Thursday and is a two-time All-American with a sixth-place finish in 2019.
"We are incredibly excited to have a front seat, as he continues to learn and grow and reap the fruits of his labor," Sioredas said of Truax.
At 149 pounds, Legend Lamer (pictured at right) split his first two matches and will compete in the wrestlebacks Friday morning.
Seeded ninth at 149 pounds, Lamer improved his record for the year to 12-1 with a 16-2 major decision over Luke Nichter of Drexel, then dropped a 10-4 decision to 25th-seeded Yahya Thomas of Northwestern.
Against Nichter, Lamer scored a takedown and four-point near fall in the first period and added a takedown in the second period for an 8-0 lead. A takedown, two-point near fall, escape, takedown and riding time in the final period completed the 14-point victory.
Thomas, who upset No. 8 Jaden Abas of Stanford 6-2 in the first round, scored four takedowns, an escape and riding time for a 10-4 upset of Lamer in the second round. Lamer earned four escapes.
Lamer (12-2) faces No. 17 Kyle Parco (15-2) of Fresno State in the second round of wrestlebacks Friday morning. The two have not faced each other before. Parco is a redshirt freshman from De La Salle High School in Concord and a three-time state meet qualifier, capturing the 132-pound title in 2019.
First day of competition at the nationals included 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 were 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.
Photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo | WrestlersAreWarriors.com
Competing at 174 pounds, the No. 12 Truax and fifth-seeded Logan Massa of Michigan battled to a 1-1 draw in regulation, each exchanging an escape. Eighteen seconds into the sudden-victory period, Truax earned a takedown to win the match 3-1, lifting his record for the season to 11-1.
"Bernie wrestled with a ton of heart and grit to knock off one of the top wrestlers in our country," said fifth-year Mustang head coach Jon Sioredas. "His hard work and sheer focus over these past 12 months have provided him with the confidence to compete with anyone at the weight."
Truax notched an 18-3 technical fall (3:19) over Jacob Oliver of Edinboro in the first round earlier Thursday. Truax sprinted to a 15-3 lead in the first period with a takedown, a trio of four-point near falls and an escape, then added an escape and takedown in the first 19 seconds of the second period to close out the match.
Truax will meet fourth-seeded Mikey Labriola of Nebraska in Friday morning's quarterfinals. Labriola is 13-1 on the year after posting a pair of decisions Thursday and is a two-time All-American with a sixth-place finish in 2019.
"We are incredibly excited to have a front seat, as he continues to learn and grow and reap the fruits of his labor," Sioredas said of Truax.
At 149 pounds, Legend Lamer (pictured at right) split his first two matches and will compete in the wrestlebacks Friday morning.Seeded ninth at 149 pounds, Lamer improved his record for the year to 12-1 with a 16-2 major decision over Luke Nichter of Drexel, then dropped a 10-4 decision to 25th-seeded Yahya Thomas of Northwestern.
Against Nichter, Lamer scored a takedown and four-point near fall in the first period and added a takedown in the second period for an 8-0 lead. A takedown, two-point near fall, escape, takedown and riding time in the final period completed the 14-point victory.
Thomas, who upset No. 8 Jaden Abas of Stanford 6-2 in the first round, scored four takedowns, an escape and riding time for a 10-4 upset of Lamer in the second round. Lamer earned four escapes.
Lamer (12-2) faces No. 17 Kyle Parco (15-2) of Fresno State in the second round of wrestlebacks Friday morning. The two have not faced each other before. Parco is a redshirt freshman from De La Salle High School in Concord and a three-time state meet qualifier, capturing the 132-pound title in 2019.
First day of competition at the nationals included 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 were 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.
Photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo | WrestlersAreWarriors.com
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