CLEVELAND (March 15, 2018) – Redshirt freshman Montorie Bridges and senior Bryce Meredith each posted a 2-0 record on Thursday to lead a group of six Cowboy wrestlers representing the University of Wyoming at the 2018 NCAA Championships in the Quicken Loans Arena. UW posted a 7-6 overall mark on the day with four wrestlers still alive. The Brown and Gold sit tied for 23rd with 7.5 points.
With Bridges and Meredith pacing UW, senior Archie Colgan and junior Branson Ashworth each split their matches on Thursday, going 1-1, as both senior Chaz Polson and redshirt freshman Sam Turner dropped two to complete their season.
“It’s not bad to have four guys still competing,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “Two of them are in the quarterfinals. Our training should help us compete harder every day, and it’s going to have to because it gets harder from here on out. I thought Montorie (Bridges) had two tough matches today. I didn’t see the bonus-points coming in the first match, and in the second he wrestled smart. Tomorrow we’ll all have to be a little more aggressive. He is inching closer to his goals and now has the No. 1 seed in Seth Gross. I was happy with what Bryce (Meredith) did today. It’s what he needed to do. He is like everyone else in having a tough way tomorrow, but I know he is looking forward to it.”
Bridges was the first Poke to wrestle on Thursday morning. The Altus, Okla., native scored first with a takedown at the two-minute mark in the opening period. He would add another and take a 4-1 lead in to the second period. Bridges settled in and was able to stretch his lead in the third period behind two more takedowns and a four-point nearfall. He ultimately picked up UW’s first and only bonus-point victory of the day with a 16-3 major. The win moved him to face No. 9 Dennis Gustafson of Virginia Tech.
Bridges will get his shot at No. 1 Seth Gross (SDSU) on Friday morning. The NCAA first-timer took down No. 9 Dennis Gustafson at ease on Thursday night. Bridges was able to advance thanks to an escape and takedown in the second period. Despite an escape from Gustafson, he was awarded a penalty point for the 4-1 decision. With the win, Bridges now owns the most wins for any Cowboy 133-pounder at Nationals.
Meredith, the favorite at 141 pounds, came out in top in his opening act on Thursday morning. The two-time All-American dropped Colton Schilling (Cal Poly) for his first win of the tournament. Meredith scored a swift reversal in the second period before a takedown in the third. A riding time point moved it to a 5-1 decision.
Meredith would add his second win of the day in the second round. The win over Vincent Turk of Iowa became his tenth career win at Nationals. He jumped out to a 3-0 lead with an escape and takedown in the first period. Meredith ultimately earned the 5-2 decision to move to the quarterfinals for the third-consecutive season. He’ll face Sa’Derian Perry (Eastern Michigan) tomorrow morning.
In Turner’s opening matchup, No. 16 Alfred Bannister earned a 4-3 decision TB2 in Thursday’s first round. The Colorado Springs native was able to get two escapes, which moved it into tiebreakers, but Bannister scored a reversal to secure the 4-3 decision.
Due to unsportsmanlike conduct, Turner was the first on the board in his first consolation match against Eleazar Deluca of Rutgers. Deluca strung together four-straight points with two takedowns for a 4-1 lead. Although Turner used a stalling point and an escape to cut it to one, 4-3, his season came to an end as he dropped the bout, 5-3. Turner closed out his redshirt freshman campaign with a 26-17 record for the Pokes.
“Both Archie (Colgan) and Branson (Ashworth) had tough roads,” Branch mentioned. “There was some huge upsets today and those upsets are on their sides of the bracket. But this is what it’s about. Tomorrow is the day, and they’ll have to be ready to battle.”
Colgan faced unseeded Hunter Willits of Oregon State to begin his tournament. Each were able to pick up an escape in regulation before Colgan closed it with a takedown in sudden victory. The 3-1 win, which became his second against Willits this year, moved him to face No. 8 Tyler Berger of Nebraska in the second round. Colgan fell to Berger (5-4 dec.) in UW’s first dual of the season.
In Colgan’s second round matchup, the senior fell to No. 8 Tyler Berger in tiebreakers. A hard fought match between the two, Berger and Colgan went to extras tied at one. Berger rode Colgan out for the 2-1 decision after earning an escape.
With four seconds left in the opening period against Connor Flynn (Mizzou), Ashworth scored a takedown for a 2-0 lead on Thursday morning. He then chose down and quickly picked up an escape for a 3-0 advantage. Ashworth stayed aggressive in the final frame with another takedown. He would move on with a 5-2 decision. It was his second win against Flynn this season, as he also defeated him in the Reno Tournament of Champions in December.
For the second year in a row, Ashworth faced Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State in the second round. Joseph took a 12-4 major a year ago in St. Louis and unfortunately was able to take a 3-1 decision on Thursday. After a takedown in the first period, Ashworth held his own. He was able to get an escape late in the third, but Joseph, the reigning NCAA Champ and current No. 3 seed, moved on with the victory.
“Chaz (Polson) struggled last year in finding his way,” Branch added. “He had a couple tough guys and went out there and fought hard. This is a great accomplishment for him. To battle back as a senior and show that he did belong here goes along way. I know Sam (Turner) isn’t satisfied with today. He scrapped but he has to have offense. He waits to counter sometimes, but he’ll use this experience and get better. The goal for us is not to just get here, we want to walk away with something.”
Polson, a first-time qualifier, dropped his first match in the opening session on Thursday. No. 7 Taylor Venz used a total of 12 nearfall points on way to the 19-1 tech fall over Polson. The senior would then face Alan Clothier of Appalachian State in the wrestlebacks.
In the second session, Polson kept his Cowboy career alive for at least one more match as he earned a win over Alan Clothier of Appalachian State. Polson came out the aggressor with a takedown to begin things and eventually picked up the solid 8-5 decision. It was his first win at Nationals. Against Emory Parker of Illinois, he fell behind after a takedown and nearfall points in the first period. Polson did score three escapes against Parker but dropped the match 17-3 to close out his career in the Brown and Gold. In his final season, Polson qualified for his first NCAA Championships and finished the year with a 31-13 record.
Leading the team race is Ohio State, who has nine wrestlers still in the championship bracket. The Buckeyes have 36 total points, while Penn State has 28.5 sitting in second and Iowa is third with 27 points.
The second day of the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships will begin 9 a.m. MT tomorrow morning. The third session will air on ESPNU, while the fourth session is set to begin at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
Wyoming Results
133 pounds: No. 8 Montorie Bridges- 2-0
Champ. Round 1: Bridges major Ben Thornton (Purdue), 16-3
Champ. Round 2: Bridges No. 9 Dennis Gustafson (VaTech)
141 pounds: No. 1 Bryce Meredith- 2-0
Champ. Round 1: Meredith dec. Colton Schilling (Cal Poly), 5-1
Champ. Round 2: Meredith dec. Vincent Turk (Iowa), 5-2
149 pounds: Sam Turner – 0-2
Champ. Round 1: No. 16 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) dec. Turner, 4-3 TB2
Conso. Round 1: Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers) dec. Turner, 5-3
157 pounds: No. 9 Archie Colgan- 1-1
Champ. Round 1: Colgan dec. Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 3-1 SV1
Champ. Round 2: No. 8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Colgan, 2-1 TB2
165 pounds: No. 14 Branson Ashworth – 1-1
Champ. Round 1: Ashworth dec. Connor Flynn (Mizzou), 5-2
Champ. Round 2: No. 3 Vincenzo Jospeh (Penn State) dec. 3-1
184 pounds: Chaz Polson- 1-2
Champ. Round 1: No. 7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) tech Polson, 19-1
Conso. Round 1: Polson dec. Alan Clothier (Appalachian State), 8-5
Conso. Round 2: Emory Parker (Illinois) major Polson 17-3
Notes | Scores & Brackets