After two days of blood, sweat and tears, the stage is set for Saturday night’s title matches for the D1 college wrestling finals in Philly.
Seven No. 1 seeds have made the finals, while the highest seeds to make it in are Joey Blaze (8th) of Purdue in the 157 lbs. class, and Troy Spratley (7th) of Oklahoma State in the 125 lbs. class. There will be four 1 vs. 2 matches.
Finals will start in Session 6 on March 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Medal rounds start at 11 a.m. on ESPN U.
FINALISTS:
- 125lbs: (4) Vincent Robinson (NC State) vs. (7) Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State)
- 133lbs: (1) Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. (2) Drake Ayala (Iowa)
- 141lbs: (1) Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. (3) Jesse Mendez (Ohio State)
- 149lbs: (1) Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. (2) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)
- 157lbs: (8) Joey Blaze (Purdue) vs. (3) Antrell Taylor (Nebraska)
- 165lbs: (1) Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. (3) Mike Caliendo (Iowa)
- 174lbs: (1) Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) vs. (3) Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State)
- 184lbs: (1) Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. (2) Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
- 197lbs: (4) Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. (2) Stephen Buchanan (Iowa)
- 285lbs: (1) Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. (2) Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State)
The event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN. Fans looking to watch can do so by using FuboTV, which offers a free trial and up to $25 off your first month, or DirecTV Stream, which also offers a free trial. SlingTV doesn’t offer a free trial but does have other promotional offers available. Paramount+ starts at $7.99 a month and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME is $12.99, and the service also offers a free trial. ESPN+ plans are currently at $11.99 a month or $16.99 a month if you bundle with Hulu and Disney+.
Who: D1 College Wrestling Finals
When: 7 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 22
Where: Philadelphia
Stream: FuboTV; Sling; DirecTV Stream, ESPN+
What is FuboTV?
FuboTV is an internet television service that offers more than 200 channels across sports and entertainment including Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. From the UEFA Champions League to the WNBA to international tournaments ranging across sports, there’s plenty of options available on FuboTV, which offers a free trial and up to $25 off the first month for new customers.
What is DirecTV Stream?
DirecTV Stream offers practically everything DirecTV provides, except for a remote and a streaming device to connect to your television. Sign up now and get three free months of premium channels including MAX, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and Starz.
What is SlingTV?
SlingTV offers a variety of live programing ranging from news and sports and starting as low as $20 a month for your first month. Subscribers also get a month of DVR Plus free if they sign up now. Choose from a variety of sports packages without long-term contracts and with easy cancelation.
You can stream ESPN+ on your phone, tablet, smart TV or gaming console for $11.99/month or bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for just $16.99 per month.
What is ESPN+?
ESPN+ is a one-stop shop for content from almost every single sport. In addition to on-demand replays of games across all sports shown on the ESPN and Disney family of networks, there is also exclusive access to select college football games, NHL games, soccer matches, UFC programs and the entire 30 for 30 catalogue. Additionally, there is ESPN+ exclusive original programing like NFL Primetime, Dana White’s Contender Series and The Breakdown with Peyton and Belichick. You can stream ESPN+ on your phone, tablet, smart TV or gaming console for $11.99/month or bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for just $16.99 per month.
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Penn State nears fourth straight men’s wrestling national title after 10 earn All-American status
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Penn State is closing in on its fourth straight Division I men’s wrestling championship and its 12th in 14 years under coach Cael Sanderson.
All 10 Penn State wrestlers earned All-American status Friday. The Nittany Lions join Minnesota’s 2001 squad as the only teams to have that many All-Americans in one season.
Penn State got just three of its wrestlers through to Saturday’s finals, but the Nittany Lions have a comfortable lead with 135.5 points. Nebraska is in second place with 101.5 points and Oklahoma State is in third with 91.
One of Penn State’s finalists is Carter Starocci, who remains in contention for an unprecedented fifth national title. He defeated Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott 9-3 in the semifinals to advance to the final at 184 pounds.
Starocci will face Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, the defending champion at 184, in the final. Starocci’s four championships were all at 174.
Penn State’s top-seeded Mitchell Mesenbrink reached the 165 final and will face Iowa’s Mike Caliendo. Another Nittany Lion, Josh Barr, defeated the No. 1 seed, Michigan’s Jesse Cardenas, 5-3 to advance. He will face Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan in the 197 final.
Nebraska is solidly in second place after a dominant performance Friday that saw three Cornhuskers reach the finals.
Two of Nebraska’s wrestlers will face defending national champions as the Cornhuskers try to add to an impressive performance.
Nebraska’s Brock Hardy will face Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez, the defending champion at 141, in the final at that weight. Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett meets Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson, the defending champ at 149, in that final. Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor will face Purdue’s Joey Blaze for the national title at 157.
Oklahoma State, under first-year coach David Taylor, did its part to make things interesting by putting three wrestlers in the finals — Dean Hamiti, Troy Spratley and Wyatt Hendrickson.
Hamiti defeated Penn State’s Levi Haines, a returning national champion at 157, 4-2 in the semifinals at 174. He will face Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, a national champion at 165 in 2022 and 2023, in the 174 final.
Spratley will wrestle North Carolina State’s Vincent Robinson in the 125 final.
Iowa is in fourth place with 73.5 points and sent three wrestlers to the finals. Iowa’s Drake Ayala won his semifinal at 133 and will face Illinois’ Lucas Byrd. Buchanan defeated Cal State Bakersfield’s A.J. Ferrari, a 2021 national champion, 3-0 in a 197 semifinal to advance and join Caliendo in the finals.
Minnesota’s Gable Steveson, who has returned to college after retiring in 2022, could win his third heavyweight title. He extended his win streak to 70 matches with a 13-5 win over Lehigh’s Owen Trephan in a semifinal. He’ll face Oklahoma State’s Hendrickson, a transfer from Air Force, in the final. Hendrickson beat defending national champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State 8-2 in a semifinal.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
