2013 NCAA Wrestling Tournament: Championship Round Open Thread

One last thing left -- the title matches.

TIME: 7:00 pm CT
TV: ESPN
RADIO: AM 800 KXIC, Hawkeye All-Access
BRACKET: Available here
UP-TO-DATE SCORING: Available courtesy of the Penn State Wrestling Club.

If links to free radio turn up, I'll try to add them here.

Remember, this year the championship round is starting at 174 lbs. and ending at 165 lbs. with the epic Dake-Taylor clash.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND MATCHES

174: #1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Matt Brown (Penn State)

184: #1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. #3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh)

197: #1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. #2 Quentin Wright (Penn State)

285: #2 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. #5 Mike McMullan (Northwestern)

125: #2 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. #4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State)

133: #1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. #2 Tony Ramos (Iowa)

141: #2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) vs. #4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro)

149: #1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State)

157: #1 Jason Welch (Northwestern) vs. #2 Derek St. John (Iowa)

165: #1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. #2 David Taylor (Penn State)

Iowa has two wrestlers in the finals, Tony Ramos at 133 and Derek St. John at 157. Ramos is seeking to reverse history -- he's 0-4 lifetime against Stieber, with the most recent loss coming two weeks ago in the finals of the Big Ten Tournament. He's gotten closer and closer to Stieber in each match, but hasn't been able to get over the hump yet; hopefully the pro-Iowa crowd tonight gives him that extra boost to get by his nemesis. Meanwhile, St. John is hoping history repeats itself -- he's 5-0 lifetime against Welch, although they haven't met this year. Despite that history, Welch should not be underestimated -- he's been wrestling at a very high level this year and it will require the very best DSJ to win this match. Neither Ramos nor St. John looked particularly impressive in their semifinal wins last night; hopefully we see much better versions of both guys tonight.

TEAM TITLE RACE

1) Penn State --114.5 pts
2) Oklahoma State -- 111.5 pts
3) Minnesota -- 99 pts
4) Iowa -- 68 pts
5) Cornell -- 61 pts

Iowa is locked into 4th place -- Cornell can't catch them, and Iowa (obviously) can't catch Minnesota for 3rd. Penn State and Oklahoma State are locked in a tight battle for the team championship, though. Penn State has a 3-point edge and the advantage of having five wrestlers in the finals to Oklahoma State's two... but both of Oklahoma State's wrestlers are favored to win, while just one of Penn State's wrestlers is technically the favorite (Ed Ruth at 184). If chalk holds in the title matches, Oklahoma State would win -- by one point. Penn State and Oklahoma State only meet in one match (174), although it's the very first one of the night and could well set the tone for the rest of the finals. Still, there's also a chance that the team title race could come down to Dake-Taylor at the end of the night -- as if that match didn't have enough riding on it already...

The usual rules apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no religion, no slurs, no politics, etc.