No. 4 Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh (125 pounds) remains undefeated and improves to 20-0 with his pin of Pittsburgh’s Tyler Chappell in the first round of the NCAA Division I wrestling tournament Thursday in Cleveland. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki / SJanickiPhoto.com)
Connecticut’s two wrestlers at the NCAA Division I championships in Cleveland each went 1-1 in action on Thursday and remain alive in the consolation bracket.
Stanford’s Nico Provo (Stratford) won his opening round bout at 125 pounds but fell in the second round on Thursday night to No. 10 Marc-Anthony McGowan of Princeton.
At 141 pounds, North Carolina State senior Ryan Jack (Danbury) lost his opening round bout in overtime but won his first round consolation bout, 14-3 to remain alive in the tournament.
Defending national champion Penn State came into the tournament with a record seven No. 1 seeds and seven remain alive in the championship bracket after the first two rounds of the tournament.
Wrestling begins on Friday at noon. Jack (16-8), who is seeded 16th, will face No. 15 Elijah Griffen (27-8) of Rider while No. 7 seeded Provo (14-6) will face No. 25 Kael Lauridsen of Nebraska (17-12) in his second round consolation bout.
Provo won his opening match with an 8-2 decision over No. 26 Cooper Flynn of Chattanooga thanks to two takedowns. Provo got a takedown in the first period and added a second takedown with 52 seconds left in the second period for a commanding 6-2 lead.
In his second round bout, two-time Ivy League champion McGowan got a takedown with 1:27 left in the first period to take a 3-0 lead over Provo. An escape from Provo in the first and second period cut the lead to one, 3-2. McGowan extended the lead to 4-2 with an escape with 1:52 left in the match and held off Provo the remainder of the way.
Jack’s opening round match with Navy freshman Caedyn Ricciardi was tied at 1-1 after regulation. Jack got an escape in the second period and Ricciardi got his escape in the third period. Ricciardi got a takedown with 19 seconds left in overtime to earn a 4-1 victory.
In the consolation round, Jack took command early. He had two takedowns in the first period and four takedowns in a 14-3 win over Aldo Hernandez of Appalachian State. Jack gave up three escapes in the victory for his 76th career collegiate victory.
At a glance
Nico Provo, Stanford
Hometown: Stratford
High school: Greens Farms Academy
This year’s record 14-6; Record vs. ranked opponents: 8-5
NCAA qualifier (3): 20023, 2024, 2026
NCAA tournament career record: 2-4
Collegiate career record: 54-26, 1 pin, 7 tech falls
Of note: U.S. national team 2019; Prep school national champion 2019; Beat No. 1 Vincent Robinson of NC State on Jan. 16, 4-1 in OT; 3-1 in extra session this season.
Ryan Jack, North Carolina State
Hometown: Danbury
High school: Danbury
This year’s record: 13-7; Record vs. ranked opponents: 3-4
NCAA qualifier (4): 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
NCAA tournament career record: 7-6
Collegiate career record: 76-27, 7 pins
Of note: Earned All-American honors in 2024, finishing seventh. ACC champion, 2024
How to watch
Friday, March 20
Session 3: Quarterfinals & consolation second and third rounds, noon on ESPN & ESPNU
Session 4: Semifinals & blood round, 8 p.m. on ESPN & ESPN2
Saturday, March 21
Session 5: Medal Round, 11 a.m. on ESPN & ESPNU
Session 6: Championship matches, 6:30 p.m. on ESPN
