Consecutive victories help Provo earn All-American honors

GFA’s Nico Provo of Stratford won three consecutive matches and had nine takedowns on Friday to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division I national championships. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki / SJanickiPhoto.com)

Stanford’s Nico Provo won four consecutive matches at 125 pounds on Friday in the consolation round to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division I national championship meet in Cleveland.

Provo (17-6), the Stratford native who wrestled at Greens Farms Academy in Westport, becomes just the sixth man from Connecticut to earn All-American honors at this meet and the first since Danbury’s Ryan Jack of North Carolina State earned All-American honors in 2024.

Jack’s tournament and his collegiate career came to a close on Friday with a 5-2 loss to Rider’s Elijah Griffin in the consolation bracket at 141 pounds. Jack, wrestling in his fourth NCAA tournament, went 1-2.

Provo was dominant in his four victories on Friday, giving up just 11 points on 11 individual escapes. In his four victories over the No. 4, No. 11, No. 16 and No. 25 seeded wrestlers, Provo had a total of 12 takedowns and picked up three major decisions for Stanford.

He will face Indiana’s Jacob Moran Saturday in the consolation semifinals and will finish no lower than sixth.

Provo, wrestling in his third NCAA tournament, became the 28th wrestler in Stanford history to earn All-American honors.

On Thursday night, Provo dropped a 4-2 decision to Princeton sophomore Marc-Anthony McGowan in the second round. Provo lost to a worthy opponent.

McGowan beat No. 2 seed Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech, 3-2 with an escape in triple OT in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he got a takedown with two seconds left in regulation against Indiana’s Jacob Moran to earn a spot in the finals with a 4-1 victory.

“The belief was always there. The belief is still there,” McGowan said on Friday. “I’m going out there to win a national championship.”

McGowan (19-6), the No. 10 seed, will face top seed Luke Lilledahl of Penn State (24-0) on Saturday.

Provo began his trip in the consolation round with a 16-4 win over No. 25 Kael Lauridsen of Nebraska with four takedowns. Two takedowns in the first period gave Provo a quick 6-2 lead. He added another two takedowns and a near fall in the third period.

Against No. 16 Ezekiel Witt of North Dakota State, Provo used a first period takedown to take an early lead and led 3-1 after two periods. After an escape in the third period, he secured another takedown for an 8-2 victory.

In the blood round match – the final bout before the medal round – Provo got two takedowns in the first period to grab a commanding 6-2 lead over No. 4 seed Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh (21-2), who came into the tournament undefeated.

In the third period, Provo got an escape and a takedown to extend his lead. He finished with an 11-4 victory.

Provo moved to the consolation semifinal with an 11-3 win over No. 11 Tyler Klinsky of Rider. Provo had two takedowns in the first period for a 6-2 lead.

In his opening match of the tournament on Thursday, Jack (16-9) lost in overtime to Navy’s Caedyn Ricciardi, 4-1 before rebounding with a solid 14-3 win over Aldo Hernandez of Appalachian State.

Provo went to high school at Greens Farms Academy in Westport where he won a prep school national championship in 2021.

Danbury’s Ryan Jack of North Carolina State, left, is just the second Connecticut wrestler this century to compete in four NCAA tournament championships. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki /SJanickiPhoto.com)

On Friday, Jack gave up a first period takedown to Elijah Griffen of Rider (28-8) and trailed 3-1 after one period. A Griffen escape in the second period extended his lead to 4-1 before Jack got an escape early in the third period to cut the lead to two, 4-2.

But Jack couldn’t get a takedown and dropped a 5-2 decision.

Jack ends his collegiate career with an overall record of 76-28 with seven pins, an ACC championship (2024) and All-American honors in 2024 when he finished seventh at 141 pounds.

Ryan Jack is just the second Connecticut wrestler this century to wrestle in four NCAA Division I tournaments. The other was his older brother, Kevin, a four-time qualifier and three-time All-American with North Carolina State in 2015-18.

Connecticut All-Americans