ST. LOUIS – The first day of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships is over and six Hokies remain standing, including five in Friday's quarterfinals.
Sam Latona, Korbin Myers, Bryce Andonian, Mekhi Lewis and Hunter Bolen can all clinch All-American honors with a win in the quarterfinals Friday. Freshman Hunter Catka survived in the wrestlebacks with a 3-1 decision in sudden victory to keep his first NCAA campaign alive.
After two sessions of wrestling, the Hokies are in ninth place with 14.5 team points. Session III gets underway at the Enterprise Center Friday at 11 a.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPNU with all eight mats available to be streamed in the ESPN app.
SESSION II NOTES
- All five Hokies who advanced to the Round of 16 advanced in the championship bracket to the quarterfinals.
- Lewis gutted out a 3-2 decision after taking an injury timeout to reach the quarterfinals in his national championship defense.
- Connor Brady and Dakota Howard ended their seasons Thursday after both wrestlers reached the NCAA Championships and earned third place finishes at the 2021 ACC Championships in their first season as starters.
125 – No. 2 Sam Latona
R32: Latona dec. No. 31 Jonathan Tropea (Rider), 12-7
R16: Latona dec. No. 15 Patrick McKee (Minnesota), 3-1
QF: Latona vs. No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)
133 – No. 3 Korbin Myers
R32: Myers MD No. 30 Jordan Hamdan (Michigan St.), 13-4
R16: Myers dec. No. 14 Zach Price (South Dakota St.), 6-4
QF: Myers vs. No. 6 Matt Schmitt (Missouri)
149 – No. 6 Bryce Andonian
R32: Andonian WBF No. 27 Josh Finesilver (Duke), 3:17
R16: Andonian dec. No. 11 Kanen Storr (Michigan), 10-7
QF: Andonian vs. No. 3 Brock Mauller (Missouri)
157 – No. 27 Connor Brady (0-2)
R32: No. 6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) dec. Brady, 2-0
Consi Rd. 1: No. 22 Benjamin Barton (Campbell) dec. Brady, 8-7
165 – No. 4 Mekhi Lewis
R32: Lewis dec. No. 29 Brian Meyer (Lehigh), 8-3
R16: Lewis dec. No. 13 Tanner Skidgel (Navy), 3-2
QF: Lewis vs. No. 5 Zach Hartman (Bucknell)
174 – No. 27 Dakota Howard (0-2)
R32: No. 6 Andrew McNally (Kent St.) WBF Howard, 5:36
Consi Rd. 1: No. 22 Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) dec. Howard, 3-1 (SV-1)
184 – No. 5 Hunter Bolen
R32: Bolen MD No. 28 Dylan Ammerman (Lehigh), 15-3
R16: Bolen dec. No. 12 Nelson Brands (Iowa), 6-2
QF: Bolen vs. No. 4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
285 – No. 18 Hunter Catka
R32: No. 15 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) dec. Catka, 3-1
Consi Rd. 1: Catka dec. No. 31 Andrew Gunning (North Carolina), 3-1 (SV-1)
Consi Rd. 2: Catka vs. No. 17 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force)Gallery: (3-18-2021) 2021 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1