Cronin Punches Ticket to NCAA Championships

Saturday, March 7

Piscataway, N.J.

TBA

Indiana University

Big Ten Championships

3/7/2020 10:06:00 PM | Wrestling

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Liam Cronin didn't let a first-round loss get in his way of getting to Minneapolis as he came back to win his next match and secure a spot in the NCAA Championships on Saturday at the opening day of the Big Ten Championships.

Cronin, the No. 7 seed in the tournament at 125 lbs., dropped a 17-12 decision to No. 10 seed Alex Thomsen of Nebraska, but took care of business against No. 8 seed Nicolas Aguilar in a 13-7 decision to punch his ticket to nationals.

Cronin added a second win with a four-point near fall in the closing 20 seconds to win by decision 8-3 over No. 11 seed Malik Heinselman (Ohio State). Cronin advances to the consolation semifinals, where he will wrestle No. 6 seed Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern).

Graham Rooks is also in contention for a spot at the NCAA Championships. Rooks, the No. 5 seed at 149 lbs., won his opening match against No. 12 Alex Hrisopoulos of Michigan State in a 3-2 decision. After being edged 3-2 by No. 4 Kanen Storr (Michigan), Rooks suffered a pin to No. 6 Cole Martin (Michigan).

The Big Ten is extremely deep at 149 and has 10 allocated spots for the NCAA Championships. Rooks will wrestle tomorrow for a spot in the ninth-place match to clinch a spot at the national meet.

Another weight class with 10 spots is 184 and Jake Hinz won in an extra match to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the ninth-place bracket. Hinz will wrestle Billy Janzer of Rutgers with an NCAA Championships spot on the line.

The next session of the Big Ten Championships will begin Sunday March 8 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Big Ten Championships Results (#'s are tournament seeds)
125
#10 Alex Thomsen (Neb) dec. #7 Liam Cronin (IU) 17-12
#7 Liam Cronin (IU) dec. #8 Nicolas Aguilar (Rutgers) 13-7
#7 Liam Cronin (IU) dec. #11 Malik Heinselman (OSU) 8-3

133
#8 Joey Silva (Mich) dec. #9 Cayden Rooks (IU) 9-2
#7 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) dec. #9 Cayden Rooks (IU) 3-1 SV1

141
#4 Chad Red (Neb) maj. dec. #13 Eddie Bolivar (IU) 12-2
#12 Matt Santos (MSU) dec. #13 Eddie Bolivar (IU) 3-2
#12 Matt Santos (MSU) dec. #13 Eddie Bolivar (IU) 4-2

149
#5 Graham Rooks (IU) dec. #12 Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU) 3-2
Quarterfinal
#4 Kanen Storr (Mich) dec. #5 Graham Rooks (IU) 3-2
#6 Cole Martin (Wis) fall #5 Graham Rooks (IU) 3:41

157
#3 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) dec. #14 Fernando Silva (IU) 8-4
#6 Jake Tucker (MSU) major decision #14 Fernando Silva (IU) 8-0

165
#14 Diego Lemley (IU) wins by forfeit over #3 Evan Wick (Wisconsin)
Quarterfinal
#6 Shayne Oster (NU) fall #14 Diego Lemley (IU) 2:28
#12 Tyler Meisinger (Mich) fall #14 Diego Lemley (IU) 3:17
#14 Diego Lemley (IU) dec. #10 Kyle Cochran (UMD) 6-4

184
#4 Taylor Venz (Neb) technical fall #13 Jake Hinz (IU) 18-0/3:00
#12 Jack Jessen (NU) dec. #13 Jake Hinz (IU) 7-4
#13 Jake Hinz (IU) dec. #12 Jack Jessen (NU) 11-6

197
#3 Jacob Warner (Iowa) maj. dec. #14 Nick Willham (IU) 14-4
#11 Matt Wroblewski (Illinois) dec. #14 Nick Willham (IU) 3-2

285
#5 David Jensen (Neb) dec. #12 Jake Kleimola (IU) 7-3
#13 Jack Heyob (NU) dec. #12 Jake Kleimola (IU) 3-1