PITTSBURGH - Redshirt sophomore Nathan Traxler advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships, Thursday, at PPG Paints Arena.
Additionally, three Cardinal are still alive in the consolation brackets - junior Gabriel Townsell, redshirt senior Mason Pengilly and redshirt sophomore Requir van der Merwe.
Traxler, the No. 8 seed at 197 pounds, posted a 4-1 decision over 24th-seeded Jake Jakobsen to secure his spot in the quarterfinals on Friday morning. Traxler led 2-1 after the first and chose neutral to start the second. The St. Charles, Illinois, native scored another takedown in the second period. Jakobsen chose top to start the third and rode Traxler out, but was unable to turn him or score any points.
Traxler is now 30-5 on the season. He will take on top-seeded Bo Nickal of Penn State in the quarterfinals.
Nathan Traxler of @CardWrestling stays solid and advances! #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/3WV0m8G4Dc
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 22, 2019
At 125 pounds, Townsell recorded a 4-2 decision over Oklahoma's Christian Moody to stay alive in the consolation bracket. There was no score after the first and Townsell and Moody were tied 2-2 going into the third. Townsell chose down and quickly notched the escape to start the final period. He was awarded a point for an illegal move by Moody to cap the scoring. Townsell is now 19-11 overall and will face 14th-seeded Sean Fausz of NC State on Friday morning.
Pengilly, seeded 31st, knocked off 18th-seeded Gary Wayne Harding of North Carolina in the 133-pound consolation bracket. Pengilly quickly took the lead, scoring a takedown and two near fall points in the opening period. Harding escaped, but Pengilly secured another takedown to hold a 6-1 lead going into the second. Pengilly chose neutral and gave up a takedown to Harding, but earned an escape and was up 7-3 after two. Harding chose down and Pengilly tallied two near fall points while on top. Harding earned a reversal, but Pengilly had 1:58 of riding time for the 10-5 decision.
Pengilly moves to 13-6 on the season and wresltes 16th-seede Matthew Schmitt of West Virginia on Friday morning.
At 149 pounds, van der Merwe shut out 32nd-seeded Tanner Smith of Chattanooga with an 8-0 major decision. Seeded 14th, van der Merwe led 4-0 going into the third, where he elected to start on bottom. van der Merwe registered the escape and then hit Smith with a double-leg and finished with 1:35 of riding timei in the win. He is now 24-7 overall and will meet 20th-seeded Thomas Thorn of Minnesota on Friday.
At heavyweight, redshirt freshman Haydn Maley saw his rookie season come to an end, falling 7-4 to 25th-seeded Gannon Gremmel of Iowa State. Maley ends his first season on The Farm with a 23-12 overall record.
Friday's morning session begins at 8 a.m. PT and will air on ESPNU. Every match on every mat will be available on the WatchESPN app.
#17 (20) Gabriel Townsell, 125 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost No. 15 (13) Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) | 6-0 |
| dec. (29) Christian Moody (Oklahoma) | 4-2 |
(31) Mason Pengilly, 133 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to No. 3 (2) Stevan Micic (Michigan) | 15-7 |
| dec. No. 17 (18) Gary Wayne Harding (North Carolina) | 10-5 |
#15 (14) Requir van der Merwe, 149 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to No. 20 (19) Cole Martin (Wisconsin) | 8-6 (SV2) |
| maj. dec. (32) Tanner Smith (Chattanooga) | 8-0 |
#9 (8) Nathan Traxler, 197 pounds | 2-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. (25) Greg Bulsak (Clarion) | 7-3 |
| dec. (24) Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) | 4-1 |
(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 |