PITTSBURGH – No. 1 seed Anthony Ashnault (149) and No. 3 seed Nick Suriano (133) advanced to Friday night's semifinals and locked up All-America accolades as Rutgers wrestling closed out Session III of the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh. Ashnault used a 10-3 decision over No. 8 seed Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) and Suriano pinned No. 6 seed Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) in the second period as both moved on in their championship brackets.
It marks the first time in program history multiple Scarlet Knights will wrestle in championship semifinal matches at the same national tournament. Ashnault returns to the semifinals for the third time in his career, while Suriano makes his second consecutive appearance. Ashnault also became the school's first four-time All-American, with Suriano also guaranteed a top-six finish for the second straight year.
Both will have rematches from earlier in the year, as Ashnault (30-0) takes on No. 5 seed Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) in tonight's 149-pound semifinal. Ashnault defeated Kolodzik, 10-2, on Feb. 3 at the RAC when Kolodzik was the No. 1 wrestler in the country. Suriano (28-3) gets No. 2 seed Stevan Micic (Michigan) in the 133-pound semifinals as he looks to avenge a tight 3-2 loss on Feb. 3 in Piscataway.
Session IV begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET and will broadcast live on ESPN, with ESPN3 streaming every championship and consolation bout during Friday's action. Two other Scarlet Knights – No. 16 seed John Van Brill (157) and No. 29 seed Joseph Grello (174) – were both eliminated from competition during Session III.
Session III Attendance: 18,013 | Total: 53,919
Team Score: Eighth (29.5 Points)
Session IV Semifinal Matchups (8 p.m., ESPN/ESPN3)
133: (3) Nick Suriano vs. (2) Stevan Micic (Michigan)
149: (1) Anthony Ashnault vs. (5) Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton)
Suriano faced Lizak in the quarterfinals, as he landed a single leg with 1:16 to go in period one for the first attack of the morning. Suriano then followed with four back points, nearly pinning Lizak with 20 seconds left in the first period for a 6-0 lead. Starting bottom for period two, Suriano immediately hit a reversal for an 8-0 lead and then got Lizak on his back for four backs at the 1:12 mark in the period. The ref finally slapped the mat, sending Suriano into tonight's semifinals.
For the third consecutive match, Ashnault was the aggressor, this time hitting a takedown on Degen at the 2:18 mark in the first period followed by a few mat returns. Ashnault got Degen on his back for two points on the near fall in front of the ISU bench, while his second takedown of the opening period gave him a 6-2 advantage. Ashnault would close out the match with a takedown and the riding-time point in the third period for the 10-3 final.
In a rematch from this year's Cliff Keen Invitational, Van Brill faced No. 18 seed Logan Parks (Central Michigan) and once again pinned the Chippewa. Off the restart in the second period, Van Brill worked back-to-back tilts for a 4-0 lead, and closed out the dominant performance with a fall in the third to advance.
Grello also had a rematch in his first consolation bout against No. 14 seed Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), who defeated him back in November at the Journeymen Duals. With the score deadlocked 1-1 at the end of regulation, Grello worked an escape in tie breaker one and rode out Bastian for the 2-1 final to advance.
Grello and Van Brill would both drop their consolation third-round matches to higher seeds. Van Brill suffered an 11-0 loss by major to No. 8 seed Josh Humphreys (Lehigh), while Grello battled to just a 7-3 loss to No. 6 seed David McFadden (Virginia Tech).
133: (3) Nick Suriano (3-0, 12.0 Team Points)
| Rd. 1 |
(30) Dylan Duncan (Illinois) |
W-MD, 12-3 |
| Rd. 2 |
(14) Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) |
W-D, 7-2 |
| Quart. |
(6) Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) |
W-Fall (4:24) |
| Semi |
(2) Stevan Micic (Michigan) |
Tonight, 8 p.m. |
141: (33) Peter Lipari (1-2, 1.0 Team Points)
| Pig Tail |
(32) Christopher Sandoval (UNCO) |
W-D, 7-5 |
| Rd. 1 |
(1) Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) |
L-D, 10-5 |
| C. Rd. 1 |
(17) Ian Parker (Iowa State) |
L-Fall (5:35) |
149: (1) Anthony Ashnault (3-0, 10.0 Team Points)
| Rd. 1 |
(33) Malik Amine (Michigan) |
W-MD, 10-2 |
| Rd. 2 |
(16) Davion Jefferies (Oklahoma) |
W-D, 7-1 |
| Quart. |
(8) Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) |
W-D, 10-3 |
| Semi. |
(5) Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) |
Tonight, 8 p.m. |
157: (16) John Van Brill (2-2, 4.5 Team Points)
| Rd. 1 |
(17) BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech) |
W-MD, 10-2 |
| Rd. 2 |
(1) Jason Nolf (Penn State) |
L-TF, 19-4 |
| C. Rd. 2 |
(18) Logan Parks (CMU) |
W-Fall (6:24) |
| C. Rd. 3 |
(8) Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) |
L-MD, 11-0 |
174: (29) Joseph Grello (2-2, 2.0 Team Points)
| Rd. 1 |
(4) Myles Amine (Michigan) |
L-D, 8-3 |
| C. Rd. 1 |
(13) Brit Wilson (Northern Ill.) |
W-MD, 10-1 |
| C. Rd. 2 |
(14) Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) |
W-TB2, 2-1 |
| C. Rd. 3 |
(6) David McFadden (Virginia Tech) |
L-D, 7-3 |
184: (21) Nicholas Gravina (0-2)
| Rd. 1 |
(12) Cash Wilcke (Iowa) |
L-D, 3-2 |
| C. Rd. 1 |
(28) Noah Stewart (Army) |
L-D, 6-4 |
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