OKLAHOMA CITY - Freshman Joey Dance and senior Chris Penny wrapped up action at the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships Saturday morning in the medal round as their seasons came to a conclusion. Both were already assured of All-America status, but Dance split a pair of matches at 125 pounds to finish fourth while Penny dropped his first match and took a forfeit in the second one to place sixth at 197 pounds.
Dance, the No. 16 seed, started the day hot with a big 10-8 win over fifth-seeded Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa at 125 pounds. He got a takedown and three back points on a sequence in the first period and a takedown in the third period before holding off several late charges from Peters in the neutral position. After losing in the second round to the top seed, Dance wrestled back to beat the Nos. 7, 6 and 5 seeds to reach the third-place match. In that match, third-seeded Nico Megaludis of Penn State got a pair of takedowns and riding time to beat Dance, 6-1. The Christiansburg, Va., native finished his rookie campaign at 28-10 with a spot on the podium, becoming the first true freshman in program history to earn All-American honors.
Penny, the No. 14 seed, was pinned in his first match by fifth-seeded Kyven Gadson of Iowa State to drop him to the fifth-place match. In that first match, he suffered a shoulder injury and had to take a medical forfeit to Duke’s Conner Hartmann. The senior finished an incredible tournament with a sixth-place finish at 197 pounds, earning All-America honors in his final year at Tech.
Tech has 49.0 points after the fifth session and is sitting in eighth place. The 49.0 points are a program best, topping the 43.5 points Tech accrued at last year’s Championships.
Devin Carter will take on second-seeded Logan Stieber of Ohio State in the championship match at 141 pounds. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time, 8 p.m. on the East Coast. Fans can watch the finals live on ESPN or on ESPN3.
125: #16 seed Joey Dance (6-2; FOURTH PLACE; ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Paul Petrov (Bucknell), 6-1
Second Round: lost to #1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois), 6-1
Consolations: def. Conor Youtsey (Michigan), 10-6
Consolations: def. #7 Bradley Taylor (Wisconsin), 3-2
Consolations: def. #6 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma), 6-5
Consolations: def. Darian Cruz (Lehigh), 4-1
Consolations: def. #5 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa), 10-8
Third-Place Match: lost to #3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), 6-1
133: Dennis Gustafson (1-2)
First Round: lost to #7 Cashé Quiroga (Purdue), Fall 4:51
Consolations: def. Joey Palmer (Oregon State), 2:56
Consolations: lost to #9 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), 6-3
141: #4 seed Devin Carter
First Round: def. Nick Flannery (Buffalo), Fall 3:52
Second Round: def. #13 Stephen Dutton (Michigan), 11-7
Quarterfinals: def. #12 Richard Duson (F&M), 4-3
Semifinals: def. #9 Evan Henderson (North Carolina), MD 12-3
Finals: vs. #2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) - SATURDAY NIGHT
149: #10 seed Zach Neibert (2-2)
First Round: def. Ken Theobold (Rutgers), 9-4
Second Round: def. #7 Gus Sako (Virginia), 3-2
Quarterfinals: lost to #15 Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh), 4-3
Consolations: lost to James English (Penn State), 6-4 (SV)
165: Chris Moon (2-2)
First Round: lost to #3 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 9-3
Consolations: def. Harrison Hightower (Ohio), 2-1
Consolations: def. #13 Daniel Yates (Michigan), MD 13-1
Consolations: lost to Ryan Leblanc (Indiana), 5-1
174: Austin Gabel (1-2)
First Round: lost to #11 Stephen Doty (Virginia), 3-2
Consolations: def. Caleb Marsh (Kent State), 3-1 (SV)
Consolations: lost to #12 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 4-3 (TB-1)
184: #16 seed Nick Vetterlein (0-2)
First Round: lost to David Hightower (Air Force), 5-1
Pigtail Consolation: vs. Lucas Sheridan (Indiana), 4-2
197: #14 seed Chris Penny (3-2; SIXTH PLACE; ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Nick Bonaccorsi (Pitt), 3-1
Second Round: def. #3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), 3-2
Quarterfinals: def. #11 Nathan Burak (Iowa), 6-3
Semifinals: lost to #2 J’Den Cox (Missouri), 4-1
Consolations: lost to #5 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State), Fall 3:24
Fifth-Place Match: forfeited out
285: Ty Walz (2-2)
Pigtail: def. Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 3-1 (SV)
First Round Match: lost to #8 J.T. Felix (Boise State), Fall 2:54
Consolations: def. Devin Mellon (Missouri), 6-4 (SV)
Consolations: lost to #10 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio), 6-2
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