ST. LOUIS - Redshirt sophomore Paul Fox knocked off two seeded wrestlers Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center.
Fox, who is unseeded, held off 11th-seeded Russell Parsons of Army, 7-5, for his second upset of the tournament. Fox, a redshirt sophomore from Gilroy, California, is now 28-13 this season after taking out sixth-seeded Clayton Ream of North Dakota State in the opening round. He will face No. 3 seed Joey Lavallee of Missouri in the quarterfinals Friday morning.
True freshman Gabriel Townsell (125) and redshirt junior Connor Schram (133) both knocked out returning All-Americans in the wrestlebacks to remain alive in the consolation brackets. Townsell ousted Michigan's Conor Youtsey with a commanding 9-4 decision. He now stands at 19-11 overall and will face 16th-seeded Nathan Kraisser of Campbell Friday morning. Schram held off 13th-seeded Earl Hall of Iowa State, 6-5, to earn the decision. Schram will wrestle 14th-seeded Mitch McKee of Minnesota on Friday.
Redshirt senior Josh Marchok earned a fall in 50 seconds over NC State's Malik McDonald to earn his first NCAA Tournament victory. It was the fastest fall of the season for Marchok, who moves to 16-9. He will wrestle Iowa's Cash Wilcke on Friday morning.
Joey McKenna, the No. 3 seed at 141 pounds, forced overtime against the No. 14 seed Thomas Thorn of Minnesota when he was awarded a point for stalling to tie it at 4-4. In the sudden victory period, Thorn earned a takedown with less than 30 seconds remaining and put McKenna on his back, earning the fall in 7:57. It is the first time McKenna has been pinned in his collegiate career as he drops to 56-5 overall. He falls into the consolation bracket where he will face Maryland's Ryan Deihl on Friday.
The No. 10 seed at 285 pounds, Nathan Butler took on seventh-seeded Tanner Hall of Arizona State for a spot in the quarterfinals. In typical Butler-Hall fashion, the match went to overtime after being tied 1-1. Butler got the best of Hall in the dual meet at Stanford on Jan. 22, but this time Hall secured the takedown and turned Butler for the fall in 7:37.
Redshirt junior Keaton Subjeck dropped a 5-3 decision in the second tiebreaker against NC State's Brian Hamann in the 165 pound consolation bracket. Tied 3-3 in the second tiebreaker, Subjeck attempted a throw as time was winding down because Hamann had nine second advantage in riding time. Hamann countered for the takedown as time ran out. Subjeck finishes his season at 22-10 overall.
Fifth-year seniors Peter Galli (174) and Zach Nevills (184) saw their careers come to a close on Thursday. Galli fell in a 6-3 decision to Harvard's Josef Johnson in the wrestlebacks and will end his career with a 61-31 career record. Nevills dropped a 5-0 decision to Rutgers' Nicholas Gravina in the consolation bracket, finishing his Stanford career at 55-47.
Friday's quarterfinals are set to begin at 8 a.m. PT on ESPNU. Stanford set a program record with nine NCAA qualifiers in 2017.
Gabriel Townsell, 125 pounds | 2-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Barlow McGhee (Missouri) | 3-1 (SV) |
| lost to (2) Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) | 17-2 (4:20) |
| dec. Conor Youtsey (Michigan) | 9-4 |
Connor Schram, 133 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to (4) Cory Clark (Iowa) | 4-0 |
| dec. (13) Earl Hall (Iowa State) | 6-5 |
(3) Joey McKenna, 141 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Dylan Caruana (Binghamton) | 6-0 |
| lost to (14) Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) | F7:57 |
Paul Fox, 157 pounds | 2-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. (6) Clayton Ream (North Dakota State) | 8-4 |
| dec. (11) Russell Parsons (Army) | 7-5 |
Keaton Subjeck, 165 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to (3) Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) | 5-1 |
| lost to Brian Hamann (NC State) | 5-3 TB2 |
Peter Galli, 174 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to (14) Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) | 3-1 |
| lost to Josef Johnson (Harvard) | 6-3 |
Zach Nevills, 184 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to (14) Dakota Geer (Edinboro) | 17-0 (5:52) |
| lost to Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) | 5-0 |
Josh Marchok, 197 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to (14) Corey Griego (Oregon State) | 10-7 |
| fall Malik McDonald (NC State) | F0:50 |
(10) Nathan Butler, 285 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Joseph Goodhart (Drexel) | 3-3 TB2 RT:04 |
| lost to (7) Tanner Hall (Arizona State) | F7:37 |