Noteworthy Facts From NCAAs
Noteworthy Facts From NCAAs
With another season now complete, we take a look at some noteworthy facts from the NCAA wrestling tournament.
The ink in the history books is now dry. At this year's NCAA tournament we saw a lot of grit, some incredible dominance, and clutch performances from start to finish. With another season now complete, we take a look at some noteworthy facts from the tournament.
Penn State completed a historic run as it scored 146.5 points and crowned five champions, a feat that has only been done by two other programs in NCAA Division I history (Iowa: 1986, 1997; Oklahoma State: 2005).
Entering this year's tournament, there were 10 undefeated, top-seeded wrestlers for the first time since 1949. Of those 10, five ended their seasons with a flawless record.
141: Dean Heil, OK State -- 32-0
149: Zain Retherford, Penn State -- 28-0
157: Jason Nolf, Penn State -- 27-0
197: J'Den Cox, Missouri -- 28-0
285: Kyle Snyder, Ohio State -- 17-0
Oklahoma State had eight out of its 10 qualifiers earn All-American status, which ended up being the most AAs for one team.
Nathan Kraisser (Campbell) became the first All-American in his schools' history. Seth Gross (SDSU), who is now SDSU's first DI national finalist, and Alex Kocer became the first AAs for the Jackrabbits since they became full DI members. And Jake Residori (SIUE) was the first All-American for SIUE since the school rejoined the DI level, as well.
Jack Mueller finished the season with the most technical fall victories in the country with 12.
Alex Kocer (eighth at 149), Jake Residori (eighth at 174), and Paul Fox (seventh at 157) were the only unseeded wrestlers in the tournament to earn All-American honors in their respective weight classes.
Penn State's Zain Retherford was the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler and accounted for the most team points of anyone with 28 (Bo Nickal was right behind him with 27.5 points.)
Missouri's J'den Cox became the first wrestler in school history to win three NCAA titles.
Out of all of this year's All-Americans, just two of them were true freshmen. Mark Hall was the champion at 174, and Jack Mueller was sixth at 125.
This year's tournament saw four wrestlers end their careers as four-time All-Americans: (Spreadsheet done by Andrew Spey.)
Road Warrior of the Tournament
Kyle Crutchmer, OSU: Crutchmer was the only wrester to lose in the first round and still become an All-American. He wrestled back to place seventh and avenge his first-round loss to Jake Residori.
Penn State completed a historic run as it scored 146.5 points and crowned five champions, a feat that has only been done by two other programs in NCAA Division I history (Iowa: 1986, 1997; Oklahoma State: 2005).Entering this year's tournament, there were 10 undefeated, top-seeded wrestlers for the first time since 1949. Of those 10, five ended their seasons with a flawless record.
141: Dean Heil, OK State -- 32-0
149: Zain Retherford, Penn State -- 28-0
157: Jason Nolf, Penn State -- 27-0
197: J'Den Cox, Missouri -- 28-0
285: Kyle Snyder, Ohio State -- 17-0
Oklahoma State had eight out of its 10 qualifiers earn All-American status, which ended up being the most AAs for one team.
Nathan Kraisser (Campbell) became the first All-American in his schools' history. Seth Gross (SDSU), who is now SDSU's first DI national finalist, and Alex Kocer became the first AAs for the Jackrabbits since they became full DI members. And Jake Residori (SIUE) was the first All-American for SIUE since the school rejoined the DI level, as well.
Jack Mueller finished the season with the most technical fall victories in the country with 12.
Alex Kocer (eighth at 149), Jake Residori (eighth at 174), and Paul Fox (seventh at 157) were the only unseeded wrestlers in the tournament to earn All-American honors in their respective weight classes.
Penn State's Zain Retherford was the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler and accounted for the most team points of anyone with 28 (Bo Nickal was right behind him with 27.5 points.)
Missouri's J'den Cox became the first wrestler in school history to win three NCAA titles.
Out of all of this year's All-Americans, just two of them were true freshmen. Mark Hall was the champion at 174, and Jack Mueller was sixth at 125.
This year's tournament saw four wrestlers end their careers as four-time All-Americans: (Spreadsheet done by Andrew Spey.)
Wrestler |
Class |
2017 |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J'Den Cox | Senior | 1st | |||
| Junior | 1st | ||||
| Sophomore | 5th | ||||
| Freshman | 1st | ||||
| Gabe Dean | Senior | 2nd | |||
| Junior | 1st | ||||
| Sophomore | 1st | ||||
| Freshman | 3rd | ||||
| Cory Clark | Senior | 1st | |||
| Junior | 2nd | ||||
| Sophomore | 2nd | ||||
| Freshman | 5th | ||||
| Isaac Jordan | Senior | 4th | |||
| Junior | 2nd | ||||
| Sophomore | 7th | ||||
| Freshman | 7th |
Kyle Crutchmer, OSU: Crutchmer was the only wrester to lose in the first round and still become an All-American. He wrestled back to place seventh and avenge his first-round loss to Jake Residori.