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The Iowa wrestlers came down to earth a little bit after a red hot start at the NCAA Championships, with Spencer Lee advancing to the finals Saturday, while Sam Stoll, Michael Kemerer, Brandon Sorensen and Alex Marinelli going on to the consolation semifinals after placing in the top-6 in their weight classes.
Spencer Lee is an absolute god at 125. He continued Nathan Tomasello’s streak of rough luck against Iowa wrestlers in the NCAA Tournament, and the Legend of Lee only continues to grow for the freshman. Lee pinned Tomasello, and it was magic. Behold:
Iowa freshman Spencer Lee is a finalist! The Hawkeye 125-pounder counters Nathan Tomasello's funk attempt for a cradle and a FALL! #NCAAwrestling pic.twitter.com/nlTld6z6Q0
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 17, 2018
Lee will take on #1 Nick Suriano from Rutgers Saturday night in the finals. These two wrestlers actually met in high school. That matchup ended favorably for Lee.
— The Wrestling Nomad (@wrestlingnomad) March 17, 2018
Lee is Iowa’s first true freshman to reach the finals since Steve Mocco placed second at heavyweight back in 2002. Matt McDonough reached the finals in 2010 when he was a redshirt freshman.
Iowa went 7-2 Friday night, ending with a team score of 86.5 points, good for third behind Penn State and Ohio State. After Sorensen reached a 9-0 major decision against Ke-Shawn Hayes, he clinched his fourth all-American honor. Sorensen is the 20th Hawkeye wrestler to ever earn four AA honors.
Here’s how things shook out for Iowa Friday night in the consolation quarters:
149 - #2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) major dec. #8 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State), 13-3
157 - #6 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) dec. #4 Josh Shields (Arizona State), 6-2
285 - #5 Sam Stoll (Iowa) dec. #3 Nick Nevills (Penn State), 3-1
Marinelli suffered a 5-2 decision against Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez, throwing him into the medal rounds, the matchups of which are below:
149 - #2 Brandon Sorensen vs. #11 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton)
157 - #6 Michael Kemerer vs. #5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan)
165 - #5 Alex Marinelli vs. #10 Evan Wick (Wisconsin)
285 - #5 Sam Stoll vs. #6 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State)
Medal action starts on ESPNU and watch ESPN at 10AM CT, while the finals take place at 7pm on ESPN2.