ST. LOUIS - Redshirt sophomores Shane Griffith and Real Woods have advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships, Thursday, at the Enterprise Center.
Woods, the No. 21 seed at 141 pounds, took out No. 5 seed Dom Demas of Oklahoma in sudden victory. Tied 1-1, Woods went to work in the overtime period and ultimately scored the winning takedown with just two seconds left in the period. He moves on to the quarterfinals and will face No. 4 seed Tariq Wilson of NC State on Friday morning.
Griffith joins Woods in the quarterfinals after earning a 7-5 decision over No. 9 seed Luke Weber of North Dakota State at 165 pounds. The No. 8 seed, Griffith fell behind 4-0 in the first period, but trailed by just one going into the second. He quickly earned an escape to tie it and registered a takedown and finished on top to secure the riding tie point. He draws the No. 1 seed Alex Marinelli of Iowa in the quarters.
Redshirt sophomore Jaden Abas picked up his first win of the day with a 7-1 decision over No. 24 seed Luke Nichter of Drexel at 149 pounds. Abas remains in the wresltebacks and takes on No. 23 seed Triston Lara of Northern Iowa on Friday morning.
Fifth-year senior heavyweight Nathan Traxler bounced back from Thursday morning's loss with a dominating 15-0 technical fall over Navy's Johnathan Birchmeier in 5:30. He remains alive in the consolation bracket and will wrestle No. 10 seed Deonte Wilson of NC State on Friday.
Fifth-year senior Requir van der Merwe dropped a close 4-2 decision to No. 1 seed Ryan Deakin of Northwestern at 157 pounds. He falls into the consolation bracket and will face No. 31 Michael Petite of Buffalo on Friday.
Sophomore Jackson DiSario (125) and true freshman Nick Stemmet (197) both fell in the consolation bracket Thursday evening and have been eliminated from the tournament.
The quarterfinals begin at 8 a.m. PT on ESPNU and the WatchESPN app.
#26 Jackson DiSario, 125 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) | 19-1 (5:37) |
| lost to #10 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) | 10-3 |
#21 Real Woods, 141 pounds | 2-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. #12 Grant Willits (Oregon State) | 6-3 |
| dec. #5 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) | 3-1 (SV) |
#8 Jaden Abas, 149 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #25 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) | 6-2 |
| dec. #24 Luke Nichter (Drexel) | 7-1 |
#17 Requir van der Merwe, 157 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. #16 Justin McCoy (Virginia) | 3-2 |
| lost to #1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) | 4-2 |
#8 Shane Griffith, 165 pounds | 2-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. #25 Justin Tucker (Michigan State) | 5-2 |
| dec. #9 Luke Weber (North Dakota State) | 7-5 |
#27 Nick Stemmet, 197 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) | 15-2 |
| lost to #22 Chris Kober (Campbell) | 12-7 |
#25 Nathan Traxler, 285 pounds | 1-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #8 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) | 6-1 |
| tech. fall #24 Johnathan Birchmeier (Navy) | 15-0 (5:30) |