NCAA Paths Paved for Indiana Wrestlers
3/8/2017 9:15:00 PM | Wrestling
Jackson earns ninth seed; Skatzka turns focus to Realbuto
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The most exciting weekend in college wrestling is nearly upon us.
With the NCAA Wrestling Championships coming next weekend to St. Louis' Scottrade Center from March 16 to 18, the questions are starting to arise. Which unseeded wrestlers will ascend to the All-American podium? Who will go down in the thrilling quarterfinals round? And most importantly: which wrestler will see their hand raised on the final day and go down as an NCAA National Champion?
Those questions hang in the balance of the weekend's proceedings, but one question was made clear with today's announcement of the 10 NCAA Championships brackets.
2017 NCAA Championships
March 16-18 • St. Louis, Mo. • Scottrade Center
First Round Matchups
125: Elijah Oliver (Indiana) vs. (8) Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)
157: (Pigtail): Jake Danishek (Indiana) vs. (2) Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
174: Devin Skatzka (Indiana) vs. (2) Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
184: (8) Nate Jackson (Indiana) vs. Alexander DeCiantis (Drexel)
The four wrestlers headed to St. Louis from Indiana University are in for a fight in their first round pairings. Senior Nate Jackson (184) leads the way with the group's only national seed, receiving the ninth position in arguably the deepest bracket of the tournament. He'll meet Alexander DeCiantis (Drexel) in the first round; if he wins, Jackson could meet either Big-12 runner-up Dylan Gabel (No. Colorado) or eighth-seeded Jack Dechow (Old Dominion), the 2017 MAC Champion.
Jackson qualifies for his third consecutive NCAA Championships as Indiana's only senior headed to the premier tournament. The Crete, Illinois native finished the season with a 31-3 record and 19 bonus wins while stringing together Indiana's first unbeaten dual season since Matt Powless (2011). Jackson won the Navy Classic Championship and led Indiana to a team championship, took fourth-place at Midlands, and finished in sixth-place at last weekend's Big Ten Championships.
His opponent, DeCiantis, earned a qualifying bid after assembling a 21-12 record in his third varsity season with the Dragons. This season, DeCiantis found tournament success with a top three finish at the Keystone Classic and a sixth-place finish at the EIWA Championships.
Oliver is now 2-for-2 on his chances to reach wrestling's final weekend after qualifying as a freshman in 2016. This year, the sophomore returned from a midseason setback to finish 15-8 on the year with nine bonus point wins and a 9-5 dual record. He clinched one of the Big Ten's spots at 125 lbs. with a sixth-place finish at the conference championships.
Piccininni and the Cowboys put the country on alert last weekend, winning 8-of-10 individual titles en route to a thorough team championship. Piccininni was one of the eight atop his podium, putting a bow on his 22-6 freshman season.
Skatzka won his seventh-place match over Jacob Morrissey (Purdue) to add a podium finish to his NCAA Championships berth. The Richmond, Michigan freshman made an immediate impact during his first season in the lineup with a 26-11 record and a team-leading 10 wins by fall. Skatzka also battled through the wrestle-backs for a fifth-place finish at Midlands with four wins against the current NCAA field.
The Hoosier freshman lines up in the first round against one of the nation's premier 174-pounders, second-seeded Brian Realbuto (Cornell). Realbuto has twice landed on the All-American podium (6th in 2014; 2nd in 2016) and enters as a top contender with a 23-1 record and his third-consecutive EIWA Championship.
Danishek's path changed course with a reshuffling of the 157 lbs. bracket, moving from the pigtail match to a bout with second-seeded Michael Kemerer. The Lebanon, Ohio sophomore finished the year with a 21-13 record and defeated Jake Ryan (Ohio State) in sudden victory to grab the Big Ten's final automatic spot.
Kemerer posted a 27-2 record in his first varsity season with the Hawkeyes, his only two losses coming from top-ranked Jason Nolf (Penn State). The freshman took the top spot at the Midlands Championships earlier this season along with a runner-up finish at last weekend's Big Ten Championships, dropping an 8-2 decision to Nolf in the title bout.
With the NCAA Wrestling Championships coming next weekend to St. Louis' Scottrade Center from March 16 to 18, the questions are starting to arise. Which unseeded wrestlers will ascend to the All-American podium? Who will go down in the thrilling quarterfinals round? And most importantly: which wrestler will see their hand raised on the final day and go down as an NCAA National Champion?
Those questions hang in the balance of the weekend's proceedings, but one question was made clear with today's announcement of the 10 NCAA Championships brackets.
2017 NCAA Championships
March 16-18 • St. Louis, Mo. • Scottrade Center
First Round Matchups
125: Elijah Oliver (Indiana) vs. (8) Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)
157: (Pigtail): Jake Danishek (Indiana) vs. (2) Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
174: Devin Skatzka (Indiana) vs. (2) Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
184: (8) Nate Jackson (Indiana) vs. Alexander DeCiantis (Drexel)
The four wrestlers headed to St. Louis from Indiana University are in for a fight in their first round pairings. Senior Nate Jackson (184) leads the way with the group's only national seed, receiving the ninth position in arguably the deepest bracket of the tournament. He'll meet Alexander DeCiantis (Drexel) in the first round; if he wins, Jackson could meet either Big-12 runner-up Dylan Gabel (No. Colorado) or eighth-seeded Jack Dechow (Old Dominion), the 2017 MAC Champion.
Jackson qualifies for his third consecutive NCAA Championships as Indiana's only senior headed to the premier tournament. The Crete, Illinois native finished the season with a 31-3 record and 19 bonus wins while stringing together Indiana's first unbeaten dual season since Matt Powless (2011). Jackson won the Navy Classic Championship and led Indiana to a team championship, took fourth-place at Midlands, and finished in sixth-place at last weekend's Big Ten Championships.
His opponent, DeCiantis, earned a qualifying bid after assembling a 21-12 record in his third varsity season with the Dragons. This season, DeCiantis found tournament success with a top three finish at the Keystone Classic and a sixth-place finish at the EIWA Championships.
Oliver is now 2-for-2 on his chances to reach wrestling's final weekend after qualifying as a freshman in 2016. This year, the sophomore returned from a midseason setback to finish 15-8 on the year with nine bonus point wins and a 9-5 dual record. He clinched one of the Big Ten's spots at 125 lbs. with a sixth-place finish at the conference championships.
Piccininni and the Cowboys put the country on alert last weekend, winning 8-of-10 individual titles en route to a thorough team championship. Piccininni was one of the eight atop his podium, putting a bow on his 22-6 freshman season.
Skatzka won his seventh-place match over Jacob Morrissey (Purdue) to add a podium finish to his NCAA Championships berth. The Richmond, Michigan freshman made an immediate impact during his first season in the lineup with a 26-11 record and a team-leading 10 wins by fall. Skatzka also battled through the wrestle-backs for a fifth-place finish at Midlands with four wins against the current NCAA field.
The Hoosier freshman lines up in the first round against one of the nation's premier 174-pounders, second-seeded Brian Realbuto (Cornell). Realbuto has twice landed on the All-American podium (6th in 2014; 2nd in 2016) and enters as a top contender with a 23-1 record and his third-consecutive EIWA Championship.
Danishek's path changed course with a reshuffling of the 157 lbs. bracket, moving from the pigtail match to a bout with second-seeded Michael Kemerer. The Lebanon, Ohio sophomore finished the year with a 21-13 record and defeated Jake Ryan (Ohio State) in sudden victory to grab the Big Ten's final automatic spot.
Kemerer posted a 27-2 record in his first varsity season with the Hawkeyes, his only two losses coming from top-ranked Jason Nolf (Penn State). The freshman took the top spot at the Midlands Championships earlier this season along with a runner-up finish at last weekend's Big Ten Championships, dropping an 8-2 decision to Nolf in the title bout.
Players Mentioned
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