March Matness!
March is not the time you would be thinking about collegiate wrestling championships in Cleveland, Ohio right now. Let alone for all the Cleveland residents who are mostly fans of the local Cleveland Cavaliers were curious why the Cavaliers were not hosting anyone for this past weekend in the Quicken Loans Arena. Instead, why were mats on the floor? Not the kind of mats you see entertainers falling on after the jump off trampolines to impress the crowd with high-flying dunks, but wrestling mats. This year the 2018 Division I Wrestling Championships were hosted at the Quicken Loans Arena.
In just three days in the Quicken Loans Arena, we were able to see as much drama that can be seen in the four weeks of Division I's basketball March Madness. In just the first day a big upset happened. In the first round of the 157-pound weight class senior Joey Lavallee of Missouri who the previous year was a finalist in the 2017 Division I championships was upset by red-shirt freshman Kennedy Monday of UNC by a close 8-6 decision. This would profoundly affect Missouri as they were looking to place top five, they would finish 6th as a team. Another upset that would hurt another team was Nick Lee's upset on day 1. The race for the 141-pound championship was in the air, but it did not help Penn State's case with Nick Lee's being upset in the opening round. Junior Ryan Diehl who was majored by freshman Nick Lee earlier in the season avenged his loss in the opening round. Diehl would stick Lee in the first period after catching him off a lousy takedown attempt. The 141-pound weight class saw more upsets, but this was by far the most team affected upset.
Penn State was looking for their 7th team title in 8 years. For Penn State, they were really on their heels for most of this tournament with Ohio State looking to capturing the team title over Penn State. It almost seemed possible going into the last day. With junior Jason Nolf wrestling on an injury and big matches coming up for Penn State's Bo Nickal, Vincenzo Joseph, and Mark Hall it was looking very scary for Penn State looking at the team scores. After promising victories from Zain Rutherford, Jason Nolf, and Vincenzo Joseph in the final round, Penn State saw themselves with a lead but not a comfortable one after Mark Hall's loss in the finals. It came down to one match, Bo Nickal vs. Myles Martin for 184-pound championship. These two are no stranger to each other with this match being their ninth. Their last bout was two years ago where Martin was victorious over Nickal. It came down the last minute of the 1st period this weekend although. Martin took a desperate shot on Nickal that took them both to the mat. Nickal ended up on his back appearing to be stuck, but he snuck in a half and somehow rolled Martin to his back to pin him in the first period. This pin would secure a team championship for Penn State, a back-to-back championship for Bo Nickal and also the tournament's outstanding wrestler. The hype and momentum leading up to the final moments of this tournament were by far greater than any buzzer beater shot or left to be shot in the Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
