CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - True freshman Gabriel Townsell knocked-off two ranked opponents to join Joey McKenna and Nathan Butler in the semifinals of the 2017 Southern Scuffle, presented by Compund Clothing, Sunday at McKenzie Arena. As a team, Stanford sits in seventh place with 44.5 points, while Oklahoma State (116), Missouri (70.5) and Lehigh (69.5) pace the competition.
Townsell, a 125-pounder from Oak Park, Illinois, made a statement with a 9-7 decision over third-ranked Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa to reach the quarterfinals. Leading 6-5 going into the final period, Townsell gave up the escape to Peters before recording his third takedown of the match for an 8-6 lead. Peters escaped to cut the lead to run, but was unable to convert any other shots before time ran out with Townsell holding 1:05 of riding time.
The quarterfinals proved to be just as exciting for Townsell as he took out No. 13 Nathan Kraisser of Campbell with a last second takedown to make the score 6-5 in his favor. Townsell tallied the first takedown of the match in the opening period and led 2-1 after one. The rookie trailed Kraisser 5-4 going into the final frame and chose to start in the neutral position. Kraisser was hit with a stall warning with just six seconds remaining after failed shot attempts by Townsell. He finally caught Kraisser with three seconds left and held on as time expired.
Townsell will take on fifth-seeded Jack Mueller of Virginia in the semifinals. Mueller, who is ranked 11th nationally, will be the third-straight ranked opponent for Townsell.
Stanford is one of seven teams with at least three wrestlers in the semifinals. McKenna, ranked No. 2 at 141 pounds, opened the tournament with a fall over Lyle Plummer of Air Force in 4:01. It was his fifth pin of the season, most on the team. He followed up with a 10-0 shutout of Lehigh's Ryan Pomrinca to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. There, he registered a 7-3 decision over Navy's Jared Prince to claim a spot in the semifinals where he will face third-seeded and eighth-ranked Joey Ward of North Carolina on Monday.
Butler notched three decisions Sunday to advance to the semifinals. Ranked ninth nationally, Butler posted a 6-1 decision over Cary Miller of Appalachian State in the Round of 32. After a convincing 8-2 win over Northern Iowa's Carter Isley, Butler held off 12th-ranked Jared Johnson of Chattanooga, 3-2, to remain on the championship side of the bracket. Butler will meet sixth-ranked Michael Kroells of Minnesota in the semifinals on Monday morning.
Redshirt sophomore Paul Fox is the only other Cardinal wrestler still alive in the consolation bracket at 157 pounds. He dropped his opening match of the tournament before advancing in the consolation bracket after Edinboro's Andrew Shomers forfeited. Fox posted a 5-3 decision over Ryan Mosley (Gardner Webb) and will wrestle eighth-seeded Mitch Finesilver of Duke on Monday when action resumes at 7 a.m. PT.
Brian Rossi, 125 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Darian Cruz (Lehigh) | F3:47 |
| dec. Tyrone Klump (North Carolina) | 6-1 |
| lost to Jay Schwarm (Northern Iowa) | F5:41 |
Gabriel Townsell, 125 pounds | 3-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Patrick Kearney (Citadel) | 9-4 |
| dec. #3 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) | 9-7 |
| dec. #13 Nathan Kraisser (Campbell) | 6-5 |
Peter Russo, 133 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Cole Baumgartner (Duke) | 13-2 |
| lost to Chris Debien (Chattanooga) | 9-2 |
Brandon Kier, 141 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to AC Headlee (North Carolina) | 8-1 |
| lost to Trence Gillem (Cornell) | 12-6 |
#2 Joey McKenna, 141 pounds | 3-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| fall Lyle Plummer (Air Force) | F4:01 |
| maj. dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) | 10-0 |
| dec. Jared Prince (Navy) | 7-3 |
Walker Dempsey, 149 pounds | 0-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Carson Brolsma (Minnesota) | 8-3 |
| medical forfeit to Cole Graves (Gardner Webb) | MFF |
Paul Fox, 157 pounds | 2-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Kent Lane (Lehigh) | F4:57 |
| won by forfeit over Andrew Shomers (Edinboro) | FF |
| dec. Ryan Mosley (Gardner Webb) | 5-3 |
Peter Galli, 165 pounds | 2-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Quentin Perez (Campbell) | 7-6 |
| lost to Austin Rose (Drexel) | 6-2 |
| fall Dakota Greene (Drexel) | F4:36 |
| lost to #17 Brandon Womack (Cornell) | 13-2 |
#18 Keaton Subjeck, 165 pounds | 2-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Cole Walter (Lehigh) | 13-5 |
| dec. Drew Daniels (Navy) | 5-3 |
| maj. dec. Fritz Hoehn (Edinboro) | 13-4 |
| lost to Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) | 4-2 |
#16 Jim Wilson, 174 pounds | 1-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| tech. fall Devon Pingel (Cleveland State) | 19-4 (6:39) |
| defaulted to Connor Bass (Duke) | 2:07 |
| medical forfeit to Christopher Pfarr (Minnesota) | MFF |
Josh Marchok, 197 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to Owen Scott (Cornell) | 5-4 |
| maj. dec. Willie Bivens (Campbell) | 16-8 |
| lost to Stevie Cervantes (Navy) | 7-5 |
#9 Nathan Butler, 285 pounds | 3-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Cary Miller (Appalachian State) | 6-1 |
| dec. Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) | 8-2 |
| dec. #12 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) | 3-2 |
Trevor Rasmussen, 285 pounds | 3-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #11 Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State) | 9-1 |
| dec. Tyler Hall (Penn) | 7-4 |
| maj. dec. Mike Furbee (Cleveland State) | 9-1 |
| won by medical forfeit over Craig Scott (Cornell) | MFF |
| lost to Cory Daniel (North Carolina) | 10-2 |