PITTSBURGH - Redshirt senior Mason Pengilly and redshirt sophomore Nathan Traxler advance to Friday's evening session at the NCAA Championships in PPG Paints Arena.
Traxler, the tournament's No. 8 seed at 197 pounds, lost a 14-4 quarterfinal match to top-seeded Bo Nickal of Penn State. Two of Traxler's six losses on the year have come to Nickal. The two-time defending national champion had advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of first-period falls on Thursday for the Nittany Lions.
Traxler will be back in action Friday night in the Round of 12, facing either sixth-seeded William Miklus (Iowa State) or 14th-seeded Eric Schultz (Nebraska). A win would put Traxler on the podium for the first time in his career.
Pengilly, the No. 31 seed at 133 pounds, opened the session with a 4-3 decision over 16th-seeded Matthew Schmitt of West Virginia. Pengilly trailed 2-1 going into the second, where he chose to start on bottom. He used a reversal to take a 3-2 lead before Schmitt tied it with an escape. The Mountaineer went down to begin the third, but Pengilly was able to ride him out and register the riding time point for the win.
In his second bout of the morning session, Pengilly held on to defeat 24th-seeded DJ Fehlman of Lock Haven, 2-1. There was no score in the first period and Felman chose top to being the second. He rode Pengilly tough, but the Cardinal was able to escape late in the second to hold a 1-0 lead. Pengilly went down to start the final frame and escaped around the 1:00 mark. There were several scrambles between the two before time expired.
Pengilly will wreslte sixth-seeded Ethan Lizak of Minnesota in the Round of 12 on Friday night with the chance to become an All-American.
At 125 pounds, Gabriel Townsell was pinned in 5:58 by 14th-seeded Sean Fausz of NC State. Townsell trailed 3-0 before he was taken down and turned to his back for the fall. The junior finishes the season at 19-12 and is now 57-38 in his career.
Redshirt sophomore Requir van der Merwe, seeded 14th, also saw his season come to an end Friday morning. He ended up 24-8 overall and is now 33-11 in his career.
The 149-pounder came up short in a 3-2 decision to No. 17 Thomas Thorn of Minnesota. There was no score after the first and Thorn chose down to begin the second. A quick escape and a takedown by Thorn put van der Merwe down 3-0 before he was able to escape. van der Merwe went down to start the third and and notched the escape, but was unable to convert a takedown late in the final frame.
Friday's evening session begins at 5 p.m. PT and will air on ESPN. Every match on every mat will be available on the WatchESPN app.
#17 (20) Gabriel Townsell, 125 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost No. 15 (13) Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) | 6-0 |
| dec. (29) Christian Moody (Oklahoma) | 4-2 |
| lost to No. 12 (14) Sean Fausz (NC State) | F5:58 |
(31) Mason Pengilly, 133 pounds | 3-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to No. 3 (2) Stevan Micic (Michigan) | 15-7 |
| dec. No. 17 (18) Gary Wayne Harding (North Carolina) | 10-5 |
| dec. No. 19 (16) Matthew Schmitt (West Virginia) | 4-3 |
| dec. (24) DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven) | 2-1 |
#15 (14) Requir van der Merwe, 149 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to No. 20 (19) Cole Martin (Wisconsin) | 8-6 (SV2) |
| maj. dec. (32) Tanner Smith (Chattanooga) | 8-0 |
| lost to No. 17 (20) Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) | 3-2 |
#9 (8) Nathan Traxler, 197 pounds | 2-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. (25) Greg Bulsak (Clarion) | 7-3 |
| dec. (24) Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) | 4-1 |
| lost to No. 1 (1) Bo Nickal (Penn State) | 14-4 |
(24) Haydn Maley, 285 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to No. 9 (9) Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) | 5-2 |
| lost to (25) Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) | 7-4 |