We finally made it! The 2018 NCAA Championships are here! We will be providing LIVE UPDATES of the first round, so keep refreshing and scrolling to get the latest. 

For live brackets, team scores and more, click on over to FloArena.

I'm up in the 2nd deck with a nice view of the arena floor from the corner by mat #1. All 8 mats are covered with NCAA qualifiers warming up, about a half hour from first whistle. And you know what, even if my veiw as less than ideal (there are no bad seats in this arena), I'd still be able to watch just about everything on the ridiculous arena jumbotron. I mean this thing is huge. Quite the feature you got there, Quicken Loans Arena. 

Wrestlers were just ordered to clear the mats, sending the still-shuffling-to-their-seats crowd into a lukewarm frenzy. 

Pig Tails

Deluca of Rutgers and Bleise of Minnesota have the rubber match of their 3 match season series to kick things off. A couple of good all EIWA matches with Bethea v Wolf and White v Harvey as well.

FOLKS, THAT'S FIRST WHISTLE. 

Vince Turk scores the first match points of the tournament for the Iowa Hawkeyes with a takedown of Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven. Bleise gets the first takedown against DeLuca, who escapes a mere seconds later. 

Krone of Minny and Clothier of App State knotted up 2-2 in what looks like a video review before period 2. Cam Kelly down 6-3 to Cam Sykora in the middle of the second. Turk extends his lead to 6-1 with over 2 minutes of RT. DeLuca down 4-3 to Bleise in short time in the second. 

Wolf and Beathea in a tight 4-3 match, lots of rolling around and dangerous position with Wolf on top, as is his style. Ty White nearly pins Ben Harvey, but will settle for a 7-1 lead instead. 

Bleise holds on for a 5-3 win over DeLuca. Turk cruising to a 10-1 win once RT is awarded. Alonzo Allen squeaks by Sergio Mendez in a wild 10-9 match. Wolf will prevail over Bethea 12-8.

Pigtail results

125 Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga) DEC Sergio Mendez (CSU Bakersfield), 10-9

133 Cam Sykora (North Dakota St.) MD Cameron Kelly (Ohio), 11-3

141 Vincent Turk (Iowa) MD Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven), 12-2

149 Steve Bleise (Minnesota) DEC Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers), 5-3

157 Larry Early (Old Dominion) DEC Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb), 7-4

165 Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) DEC May Bethea (Penn), 13-8

174 Tyrel White (Columbia) DEC Ben Harvey (Army West Point), 8-1

184 Brandon Krone (Minnesota) DEC Alan Clothier (Appalachian St.), 10-6

197 Kyle Conel (Kent St.) DEC Randall Diabe (Appalachian St.), 3-2

285 Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) DEC Brett Dempsey (American), 9-4

Round of 32

125 Pounds

We're rolling into the first official round. Last year's 125 runnerup as Barlow McGhee and Ronnie Bresser has Elijah Oliver as they stacked 125 pound bracket starts heating up. 

Oliver leads Bresser early 3-2 in what would be a major first round upset. Returning champ Darian Cruz gets a pancake but no swipes so just a 2-0 lead over the talented true freshman Rayvon Foley. UNI's Jay Schwarm with a 3-0 lead over another talented true frosh, Drew Mattin of Michigan. But Mattin has turned the tables and is looking for a fall. He get's it! Big team points for the Wolverines!

That sets Mattin up for the winner of Cruz v Foley, which is very much looking like a Cruz victory, though he's only up 4-2 about half way through the match. 

All-American Louie Hayes is in command against Paul Bianchi, leading 7-1 deep in the second. Wolfpacker Sean Fausz in a dogfight with ODU's Michael McGee. 

Ethan Lizak takes care of business and wins by major. Kyle Norstrem has former NCAA finalist Zeke Moisey. All-American Sean Russell of Edinboro has a 3-0 lead over American's Gage Curry. 

Foley makes it interesting but #1 seed Cruz escapes with a 7-4 victory. 

A couple more All-American 125 pounders take the mat: OK State's Nick Piccininni and Ryan Millhof of Arizona State are wrestling (though not each other). Nick Suriano is also making his NCAA Championship debut. He's got a 6-0 over Rider's JR Wert before a minute went by in the match. 

And Piccininni just pinned Travis Piotrowski in a tilt! Bonus points for the Cowboys. 

Fausz and McGee went through sudden victory with no score so they go to tie breakers. Fausz is down first and gets an escape and a TD. In the second TBMcGee can't escape, so Fausz takes it 8-5 and avoids the upset. 

Suriano leaves no doubt with a 17-0 fall of the technical variety. Nathan Tomasello is the first Buckeye to get mat time this weekend, he's got a 2-1 lead over Gabe Townsell of Stanford.

Moisey cruising to a victory over Norstrem. And NaTo gets the fall. Team points are at a premium for both Ohio State and Penn State as they contend for the team title. There's 2 extra points courtesy of Tomasello. 

Nifty cement mixer by Luke Welch while trailing to Connor Brown was trailing late in the third and now Welch leads 8-5 with 17 seconds left. 

Sebastian Rivera take care of business against GMU's Ibrahim Bunduka 9-3.

Spencer Lee finally take the mat against Alonzo Allen, the pigtail bout winner. And Spencer Lee gets a tech fall in about 5 seconds. Maybe 6. 

Results

125 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) DEC Rayvon Foley (Michigan St.), 7-4

125 Drew Mattin (Michigan) F Jacob Schwarm (Uni), 3:50

125 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon St.) DEC Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 5-4

125 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) MD Barlow Mcghee (Missouri), 11-0

125 Sean Fausz (NC State) DEC Michael Mcgee (Old Dominion), 8-5 TB2

125 Louie Hayes (Virginia) MD Paul Bianchi (North Dakota St.), 14-1

125 Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech) DEC Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), 10-7

125 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) TF Gerald (jr) Wert (Rider), 17-0 4:44

125 Luke Welch (Purdue) DEC Connor Brown (South Dakota St.), 10-5

125 Sean Russell (Edinboro) MD Gage Curry (American), 16-3

125 Nicholas Piccininni (Oklahoma St.) F Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 1:37

125 Taylor Lamont (Utah Valley) DEC Brock Hudkins (Northern Ill.), 3-2

125 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) MD Ibrahim Bunduka (George Mason), 14-3

125 Ryan Millhof (Arizona St.) DEC Christian Moody (Oklahoma), 4-3

125 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio St.) F Gabe Townsell (Stanford), 2:20

125 Spencer Lee (Iowa) TF Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga), 18-0 1:38

133 Pounds

If you're looking for Jason Renteria of Nebraska, he apparently missed weight, which means for the first time ever an alternate will enter the bracket, Colin Valdiviez of Northwestern.

We continue moving up the weights as #1 seed Seth Gross nabs a 2-0 lead early in the first over Matt Schmitt of WVU. 

POTENTIAL UPSET ALERT: NC State's Tariq Wilson leading #5 seed John Erneste 5-3 after 2 periods with over 3 minutes of riding time. Also! Rico Montoya leads Josh Terao 3-2 in the second period. 

Kaid Brock with a narrow 4-3 lead over Dylan Duncan late in the third. Dom Forys and Corey Keener trade takedowns, Forys leading 3-2 and accruing riding time. 

And Austin DeSanto gets a med forfeit and advance to the next round the easy way. 

UPSET CONFIRMED: First top 5 wrestler to go down is John Erneste, who will make an earlier than expected appearance in the wrestlebacks. Gross and Brock, however, avoid the upset bug. Josh Teroa, however, does not, and loses a while one to Rico Montoya 9-5.

Montorie Bridges, another wrestler Montoya upset this year, is way out in front over Ben Thornton and will likely advance. 

Corey Keener gets in trouble on top against Dom Forys in a tight match. And Forys sticks him! Lots of applause for that as the Ohio State fans are rooting against the Nittany Lions and vice versa. 

Meanwhile, Luke Pletcher secures a victory for the Buckeyes and advances to the next round. 

Scott Parker taking on pig tail winner Cam Sykora and going into sudden victory two. It goes into tiebreakers and Parker survives, winning 2-1 and avoiding the upset. 

Results

133 Seth Gross (South Dakota St.) MD Matthew Schmitt (West Virginia), 15-2

133 Mitch Mckee (Minnesota) DEC Josh Finesilver (Duke), 11-6

133 Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) DEC Charles Tucker (Cornell), 4-1

133 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming) MD Ben Thornton (Purdue), 16-3

133 Tariq Wilson (NC State) DEC John Erneste (Missouri), 8-3

133 Rico Montoya (Northern Colo.) DEC Josh Terao (American), 10-5

133 Bryan Lantry (Buffalo) DEC Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern), 4-1

133 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma St.) DEC Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 7-4

133 Luke Pletcher (Ohio St.) DEC Mason Pengilly (Stanford), 2-1 SV

133 Korbin Myers (Edinboro) DEC Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers), 4-0

133 Dom Forys (Pittsburgh) F Corey Keener (Penn St.), 4:57

133 Scott Parker (Lehigh) DEC Cam Sykora (North Dakota St.), 2-1 TB2

133 Austin Desanto (Drexel) FOR John Muldoon (Siue)

133 Jack Mueller (Virginia) TF Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield), 18-1 5:58

133 Anthony Tutolo (Kent St.) DEC Ali Naser (Arizona St.), 5-2

133 Stevan Micic (Michigan) MD Zachary Sherman (North Carolina), 16-5

141 Pounds

#1 seed Bryce Meredith has his first opponent of his last NCAA tournament. 

AND DOWN GOES ANOTHER NITTANY LION. Ryan Diehl goes feet to back and takes out Nick Lee in one of the biggest shockers of the tournament do far. 

Hometown town qualifier Evan Cheek of Cleveland State gets the first take down over 2X NCAA champ Dean Heil. Things are starting to blow up here in the Q!

Joey McKenna with a TD and backpoints. He's leading 6-0 over Alex Madrigal of ODU. Meanwhile Dean Heil gets back on track and is leading 4-2 over Evan Cheek. 

Starting to fall behind a big folks but I'll get all the results up asap. 

Yianni And Nick Zanetta gets underway, and Kevin Jack starts pouring it on Russell Rohlfing. Tyler Smith of Bucknell leads Brent Moore of Virginia Tech halfway through the second. Da'Derian Perry of EMU leading Josh Alber of UNI 8-4 in what would be a decent sized upset.

Heil and Jack both prevail and advance. Luke Karam of Lehigh leads Tejon Anthony of GMU after being down early. 

Perry secures the upset and McKenna wins by techfall, 16-1. 

Jaydin Eierman taking the mat for the Tigers, as Yianni Diakomihalis gets a major victory over Nick Zanetta. 

Pig tail winner Vince Turk losing 3-0 to Cole Weaver of Indiana. Brock Zacherl clinging to a 3-2 lead late in the 3rd. Zacherl holds on for a victory, but Turk gets back points at the buzzer! The Hawkeye fans start up a "TURK!" chant. 

Eierman in a closer than expected match, though he wins against Austin Headlee of UNC. 

Results

141 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) DEC Colton Schilling (Cal Poly), 5-1

141 Vincent Turk (Iowa) DEC Cole Weaver (Indiana), 4-3

141 Sa`derian Perry (Eastern Mich.) DEC Josh Alber (Uni), 11-5

141 Ryan Diehl (Maryland) F Nick Lee (Penn St.), 2:15

141 Kevin Jack (NC State) MD Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield), 10-0

141 Tyler Smith (Bucknell) DEC Brent Moore (Virginia Tech), 7-0

141 Luke Karam (Lehigh) DEC Tejon Anthony (George Mason), 5-4 SV

141 Joey Mckenna (Ohio St.) TF Alex Madrigal (Old Dominion), 16-1 5:20

141 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) MD Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh), 10-1

141 Nicholas Gil (Navy) DEC Irvin Enriquez (Appalachian St.), 9-5

141 Michael Carr (Illinois) DEC Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota St.), 8-1

141 Dean Heil (Oklahoma St.) DEC Evan Cheek (Cleveland St.), 4-2

141 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) DEC Chad Red (Nebraska), 4-2

141 Mason Smith (Central Mich.) DEC Thomas Thorn (Minnesota), 3-0

141 Eli Stickley (Wisconsin) DEC Nate Limmex (Purdue), 3-2

141 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) DEC Austin Headlee (North Carolina), 12-6

149 Pounds

Colton McCrystal in a 2-2 battle with Jarrett Degen as we continue moving up weights. Khristian Olivas of Fresno State marks the Bulldogs return to the NCAAs for the first time in over a decade. 

#1 seed Zain Retherford looks to right the Penn State ship against Kyle Springer of EMU. Retherford doing Pain Train things, on the way to a tech but looking for a fall. He'll have to settle for the tech. 

Boo Lewallen and Davion Jeffries in a Bedlam match. Lewallen winning 2-0.

Baby J Bannister in a battle with Sam Turner 2-2. Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State down 2-1 against rival Malik Amine of Michigan halfway through the 2nd. Now Hayes pulls ahead 3-2. Meanwhile Ray Deakin going to work on surprise qualifier Frank Garcia of Binghamton. 

Boo Lewallen advances with a victory and Troy Heilmann of UNC looking to put away Tyshawn Williams of SIUE late in the third. 

All-American Matt Kolodzik of Princeton with a 2 point lead over Taylor Ortz of Clarion. 

And Ke-Shawn Hayes gets a takedown in sudden victory over Malik Amine! OR DOES HE? They'll review. And we are head to the tiebreakers on Mat 5! After review, time was out. Ke-Shawn will start on top first, but Amine will get the reversal with very little time left on the clock, so little that Ohio State is going to challenge. The call is confirmed, and Amine gives up a stalling on his turn on top, making it 5-4. Hayes frees his leg, finishes the reversal off a scramble to win 6-5! Great match by the two rival schools.

Ronnie Perrty with a commanding 8-3 lead over Cortlandt Schuyler as they start the 3rd. Perry will seal the deal and move on to the round of 16. 

Jason Tsirtsis, one of the dozen or so returning NCAA champions is in a 1-0 match with Dane Robbins of Air Force. And returning NCAA champ Jason Nolf is looking for a cradle against Colin Heffernan.

Tsirtsis and Robbins go to sudden victory, and Tsirts gets the takedown as time expires. OR DOES HE? The call is under official review. He does not! The ruling is time had expired so we go to tie breakers! Tsirtsis will get it done in tiebreakers! No big deal, standard operating procedure for the Sun Devil!

Results

149 Zain Retherford (Penn St.) TF Kyle Springer (Eastern Mich.), 16-1 7:00

149 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) DEC Sam Turner (Wyoming), 4-3 TB2

149 Max Thomsen (Uni) MD Khristian Olivas (Fresno St.), 13-5

149 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma St.) DEC Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma), 7-3

149 Ke-shawn Hayes (Ohio St.) DEC Malik Amine (Michigan), 6-5 TB2

149 Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) F Michael Sprague (American), 8:30

149 Jarrett Degen (Iowa St.) DEC Colton Mccrystal (Nebraska), 9-5

149 Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) MD Tyshawn Williams (Siue), 9-0

149 Grant Leeth (Missouri) DEC Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 11-7

149 Beau Donahue (NC State) DEC Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 4-2

149 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) DEC Taylor Ortz (Clarion), 8-2

149 Justin Oliver (Central Mich.) DEC Sam Krivus (Virginia), 3-1

149 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) DEC Frank Garcia (Binghamton), 7-0

149 Jason Tsirtis (Arizona St.) DEC Dane Robbins (Air Force), 2-1

149 Ronald Perry (Lock Haven) MD Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh), 11-3

149 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) DEC Jared Prince (Navy), 11-6

157 Pounds

#1 seed redshirt freshman Hayden Hidlay has Garett Hammond of Drexel in his first ever NCAA match. Hidlay picks up bonus points for the Wolfpack after a 13-5 victory against the fellow PA native.

Alec Pantaleo races out to a 6-2 lead over Ian Brown. Brown won the first matchup with Pantaleo this season, but Pantaleo appears to be a different wrestler at this point in the season. 

And Nolf hits his patented winn-dixie, using his legs to whip Heffernan to his back while Heffernan was trying to go out the back door to finish a takedown. Nolf doesn't appear to be slowed down by his knee injury. He's winning 14-5. Now it's 21-7. Make it 22-7 and a tech fall victory for Jason Nolf!

Michael Kemerer gets a pin and advances to the next round of the championships, much to the approval of the Hawkeye fans in attendance. 

Micah Jordan leading Luke Weiland 6-2 with a minute left in the first period. Josh Shields is scoreless with Jake Short after 3 minutes of wrestling. Jordan in command now 10-3. Shields takes a 2-0 leads with 90 seconds to go. 

POTENTIAL UPSET ALERT: Kennedy Monday has a 8-4 lead over Joey Lavallee going into the third period! UPSET CONFIRMED! #2 seed Lavallee goes down! Monday to the round of 16.

Results

157 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) MD Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield), 13-5

157 Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) F Mike D`angelo (Princeton), 5:54

157 Archie Colgan (Wyoming) DEC Hunter Willits (Oregon St.), 3-1 SV

157 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) DEC Joseph Velliquette (Penn), 9-3

157 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) MD Ian Brown (Lehigh), 12-4

157 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) MD Casey Sparkman (Kent St.), 12-3

157 Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota St.) DEC Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), 6-1

157 Joshua Shields (Arizona St.) DEC Jake Short (Minnesota), 4-3

157 Jason Nolf (Penn St.) TF Colin Heffernan (Central Mich.), 22-7 7:00

157 Andrew Crone (Wisconsin) F Larry Early (Old Dominion), 6:45

157 Paul Fox (Stanford) DEC Clayton Ream (North Dakota St.), 4-2

157 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) F Garett Hammond (Drexel), 1:33

157 Micah Jordan (Ohio St.) MD Luke Weiland (Army West Point), 14-5

157 Markus Scheidel (Columbia) DEC Andrew Shomers (Edinboro), 6-4

157 John Van brill (Rutgers) F Alex Klucker (Lock Haven), 4:20

157 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) DEC Joseph Lavallee (Missouri), 8-6

165 Pounds

Chance Marsteller drew Bryce Martin and they are our first 165 pound R32 match of the weekend. Marsteller was looking for the fall but time ran out in the second. Chance takes a 7-0 lead into the third. 

Pretty full crowd here in the Quicken Loans Arena. I don't remember it being this crowded in the 1st round the last two NCAAs, although maybe that's just me. 

Andrew Crone, done 8-5 with about 30 seconds left in the 3rd period, gets the reversal and fall to win it with just 14 seconds on the clock over Larry Early of Old Dominion. 

And John Van Brill wins the second match of the tournament for Rutgers, pinning Alex Klucker of Lock Haven. 

It's IMAR time. The senior get's his final tournament going against Zac Carson. Chad Walsh finds himself in a 4-0 hole against pig tail winner Gordon Wolf. And Alex Marinelli has a 2-0 lead over Big Ten rival Jacob Morrissey.

Jonathon Chavez of Cornell continues his late season surge with a 7-3 lead deep in the third over 4X qualifier Andrew Atkinson of Virginia. 

It's IMar by tech fall. Marinelli leads 6-2 now. And Te'Shan Campbell is in a 1-1 brawl int he third against DaWaylon Barnes. Check that, 2-1 Campbell with a minute to go. 

Richie Lewis and Vincenzo Joseph both start their first matches. Meanwhile Nick Wanzek of Minnesota gets the pinfall to advance. Marinelli now also gets the fall. And the many Hawkeye fans applaud. 

UPSET ALERT: Chandler Rogers loses 6-5 to Jonathan Viruet of Brown!

Richie Lewis extends his lead to 11-3. Joseph leads 11-4. Also Isaiah White has an early 2-0 lead over Demetrius Romero and David McFadden leads Zach Finesilver 2-0. 165 is insane if you didn't already know. 

Joseph seals the deal and advances while Evan Wick holds 7-4 lead over Drew Daniels late in the 3rd. Chad Walsh holding a 10-5 lead over Gordon Wolf as they go to concussion protocol for Wolf. Looks like Wolf is OK and they'll resume with 90 seconds left in regulation. 

Walsh, McFadden, Lewis and White all win. Logan Massa takes the mat as one of the last 165 pound matches to start. He leads 4-1 in the 1st already. 

Branson Ashworth of Wyoming takes out another Missouri wrestler as Connor Flynn goes down.

Results

165 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) TF Zachary Carson (Eastern Mich.), 20-5 4:19

165 Jonathon Chavez (Cornell) MD Andrew Atkinson (Virginia), 14-3

165 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) MD Bryce Martin (Indiana), 9-1

165 Jonathan Viruet (Brown) DEC Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma St.), 6-5

165 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) F Jacob Morrissey (Purdue), 6:20

165 Nicholas Wanzek (Minnesota) F Keilan Torres (Northern Colo.), 6:53

165 Te`shan Campbell (Ohio St.) DEC Dawaylon Barnes (Oklahoma), 4-2

165 Chad Walsh (Rider) MD Gordon Wolf (Lehigh), 17-6

165 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn St.) MD Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), 15-4

165 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) DEC Connor Flynn (Missouri), 5-2

165 Isaiah White (Nebraska) DEC Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley), 9-4

165 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) MD Quentin Perez (Campbell), 14-5

165 Logan Massa (Michigan) MD Nate Higgins (Siue), 16-5

165 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) DEC Drew Daniels (Navy), 11-4

165 Anthony Valencia (Arizona St.) MD Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota St.), 13-4

165 David Mcfadden (Virginia Tech) DEC Zach Finesilver (Duke), 4-0

174 Pounds

#1 seed Zahid Valencia with an 6-2 lead after a mere 60 seconds of wrestling. Zahid is good. 

4 time NCAA qualifier and two time bloodround finisher Jadaen Bernstein leads Ty Schoffstall 2-0 deep in the first period. 

Jacobe Smith already with a 6-0 lead after 1 period. Zahid extends his lead to 13-4. Myles Amine and Jordan Kutler both start their first matches.

Daniel Lewis of Missouri gets the Tigers back on track with a fall over Dean Sherry of Rider. Lewis is a dad gum pin machine. 

Bernstein picks up the victory (I believe he's now won 8 NCAA matches lifetime) while Mark Hall toes the line. Jacobe Smith finishes Iowa's Joey Gunther's championship run with a 13-2 major.

Mark Hall has a 2pt lead and over a minute of riding time to start the second against Austin Rose of Drexel, whereas Brandon Womack of Cornell get a take down a minute into his match to score first against Brandon Womack. Hall wins to advance another Nittany Lion to the round of 16.

Hunter Bolen and Ethan Ramos in an ACC finals rematch. Ramos, an All-American senior, beat Bolen, a freshman, but Bolen got the win in a dual meet from February. Ramos will win the rubber and most important match of the series. 

2-0 win from Jordan Kutler. An escape and riding time is how he did it over Josef Johnson of Harvard. Danial Bullard of NC State and Yoanse Mejias of Oklahoma in a barnburner, about to go into sudden victory 4-4. Mejias get the W in SV!

Bo Jordan also got it done in sudden victory over returning All-American Brandon Womack of Cornell.

Dylan Lydy of Purdue and Johnny Sebastian are locked up in their third match in less than two months. They split their previous two meetings. Lydy needed sudden victory but he avenges his Big Ten loss to Sebastian and advances to the next round. 

Results

174 Zahid Valencia (Arizona St.) MD Matt Finesilver (Duke), 14-4

174 Christian Brucki (Central Mich.) MD Seldon Wright (Old Dominion), 10-2

174 Keaton Subjeck (Stanford) DEC Devin Skatzka (Indiana), 7-4

174 Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) DEC Ty Schoffstall (Edinboro), 8-4

174 Myles Amine (Michigan) DEC Tyrel White (Columbia), 6-0

174 Forrest Przybysz (Appalachian St.) DEC Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 7-2

174 Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma St.) MD Joseph Gunther (Iowa), 13-2

174 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) DEC Josef Johnson (Harvard), 2-0

174 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) F Dean Sherry (Rider), 1:01

174 Yoanse Mejias (Oklahoma) DEC Daniel Bullard (NC State), 6-4 SV

174 David Kocer (South Dakota St.) DEC Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 3-1

174 Bo Jordan (Ohio St.) DEC Brandon Womack (Cornell), 4-2 SV

174 Taylor Lujan (Uni) DEC Will Schany (Virginia), 5-3

174 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) DEC Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech), 7-3

174 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) DEC Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern), 6-2

174 Mark Hall (Penn St.) MD Austin Rose (Drexel), 12-2

184 Pounds

#1 seed and returning champ (Penn State has 5 of those returning champs just in case you forgot) takes the mat against Martin Mueller of South Dakota State. Bo is up 6-0 already because Bo is really good at wrestling. Now it's 10-2. Nickal dominates 15-5 for the major. 

#9 Seed Max Dean and #4 seed Pete Renda are both leading their matches in the second period. Domenic Abounader is looking for his first top 8 placement on his fourth trip to the NCAAs. He leads Brandon Krone 3-0 in the second. Max Dean will hold for the win, as will Pete Renda. 

Ryan Preisch is large and in charge of Greg Bulsak 2-0 90 seconds into the 1st. Zack Zavatsky has a 4-0 lead over Michael Coleman as the 1st period runs out. 

All-American Drew Foster gets a win over Arizona State freshman Kordell Norfleet as Nick Gravina gets a takedown over fellow New Jerseyan Chrisian LaFragola. 

Nebraska freshman Taylor Venz of Nebraska is pouring it on Chaz Polson. Venz leads 8-0 after 3 minutes of wrestling. 

Zavatsky, Preisch and Gravina are all leading and in control in the third period. Venz now heads to the third with a 12-1 lead. They all win.

Myles Martin finally gets his first match as one of the last 184 pounders to wrestle. He has Bryce Gorman of Northern Illinois. Mitch Bowman of Iowa currently trying to make life more miserable for the Missouri Tigers. He holds on to beat Canten Marriott 10-2. 

Chip Ness of North Carolina trying to hold on for dear life and upset Emery Parker of Illiniois. Ness has a one point lead and needs a ride out. Parker close to a reversal. He won't get it! Illini coaches challenge. The call stands, Chip Ness on to the round of 16. 

Results

184 Bo Nickal (Penn St.) MD Martin Mueller (South Dakota St.), 16-4

184 Jordan Ellingwood (Central Mich.) DEC Kayne Maccallum (Eastern Mich.), 11-5

184 Maxwell Dean (Cornell) MD Dylan Gabel (Northern Colo.), 11-3

184 Drew Foster (Uni) DEC Kordell Norfleet (Arizona St.), 6-1

184 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) DEC Brandon Krone (Minnesota), 4-0

184 Corey Hazel (Lock Haven) DEC Bryce Carr (Chattanooga), 6-3 TB2

184 Steven Schneider (Binghamton) DEC Joe Heyob (Penn), 4-1

184 Pete Renda (NC State) DEC Keegan Moore (Oklahoma St.), 9-2

184 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) DEC Greg Bulsak (Clarion), 5-1

184 Nick Gravina (Rutgers) DEC Christian Lafragola (Brown), 6-0

184 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) MD Alexander Deciantis (Drexel), 13-2

184 Zachary Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) DEC Michael Coleman (Navy), 9-2

184 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) TF Chaz Polson (Wyoming), 19-1 6:53

184 Chip Ness (North Carolina) DEC Emory Parker (Illinois), 5-3

184 Mitchell Bowman (Iowa) MD Canten Marriott (Missouri), 10-2

184 Myles Martin (Ohio St.) TF Bryce Gorman (Northern Ill.), 24-9 7:00

197 Pounds

Kollin Moore, the top seeded Buckeye, faces off against Tanner Orndorff, who have Moore a tough match at the CKLV. Moore looks in better shape today, and scores the first takedown in about a minute of wrestling. Orndorff though isn't done either. He makes a match of it, and it's 10-8, Moore leading with 17 seconds left. Ohio State has challenged a call so we pause for review. Not sure what the call was but it's moot, as Moore gets a go behind in the final seconds to ice it 12-8. 

There's a baker's dozen of title contenders at 197 pounds. Preston Weigel is up against Kyle Conel, Shakur Rasheed has Sawyer Root, and Nate Rotert has Hunter Ritter. 

Shakur Rasheed locks up a cross face cradle. This could be much needed bonus points for the Nittany Lions! The crowd wants it! But Root bucks out of the hold. The score is 10-5 late in the 3rd, PSU fans unhappy with the lack of a pin call. Time runs out and with the RT Rasheed wins 13-5 and salvages a single bonus point. 

ATTENDANCE ALERT: 18,660 for the first session. That sounds pretty good to me. Not many empty seats, especially in the upper deck.

Michael Macchiavello of NC State, yet another 197 pounder contender, has Thomas Lane of Cal Poly. Macch leads 4-1 in the first. Jared Haught leads Jacob Seely 2-0. Jeric Kasunic is leading 5-1 and Frank Mattiace has a 2-0 lead. 

Cash Wilcke and Eric Schults in a brawl nearing the end of the 2. Wilcke go underneath for the 3rd trailing 0-1. Willie Miklus with a narrow 3-1 lead over Jacob Holschlag in the second period. 

#3 seed Hared Haught cruising over Seely 10-2, late in the third now. And Now Wilcke gets a takedown as time expires to break a 1-1 tie. The Cornhusker coaches want to challenge though, saying Schultz had a TD earlier. Call is confirmed, Wilcke advances in dramatic fashion!

Ben Darmstadt of Cornell faces off against Jake Smith of WVU. Smith qualified for 2017's NCAAs but couldn't wrestle due to injury. Darmstadt is a freshman. Darmstadt holding on to a 2-0 lead late in the 3rd, with RT locked up. Darmstadt will take it and send another Cornellian to the next round. 

Lehigh's Chris Weiler and Chattanooga's Scottie Boykin looked in a 0-0 slobberknocker deep in the second. Weiler gets the TD as time runs out. Boykin needed to try something as he was trailing by 2 after RT was locked up. Weiler advances to the next round. 

Results

197 Kollin Moore (Ohio St.) DEC Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley), 12-8

197 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) DEC Christian Brunner (Purdue), 8-6

197 Kyle Conel (Kent St.) DEC Preston Weigel (Oklahoma St.), 5-0

197 Nate Rotert (South Dakota St.) DEC Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 6-2

197 Shakur Rasheed (Penn St.) MD Sawyer Root (The Citadel), 13-5

197 Daniel Chaid (North Carolina) MD Stephen Loiseau (Drexel), 12-4

197 Jeric Kasunic (American) DEC Dustin Conti (Clarion), 5-2

197 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) MD Thomas Lane (Cal Poly), 13-4

197 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) MD Jacob Seely (Northern Colo.), 11-2

197 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) DEC Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 4-3

197 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) DEC Corey Griego (Oregon St.), 9-3

197 William Miklus (Missouri) DEC Jacob Holschlag (Uni), 7-3

197 Frank Mattiace (Penn) DEC Rocco Caywood (Army West Point), 5-4

197 Chris Weiler (Lehigh) DEC Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga), 4-1

197 Matt Williams (CSU Bakersfield) F Jordan Atienza (Central Mich.), 2:18

197 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) DEC Jacob Smith (West Virginia), 3-0

285 Pounds

Last weight class of the 1st sessions of the 2018 NCAA Championships!

Kyle Snyder is wrestling, as is Sam Stoll and Tanner Hall.

Derek White holds a 2-1 lead over Dustin Dennison. Jacob Kasper of Duke faces off against AJ Nevills of Fresno State. Shawn Streck with a 7-4 lead late over Billy Miller. 

The gargantuan Mike Hughes of Hofstra starts his final championship run. Youssif Hemida of Maryland holds a 1-0 lead over Tyler Love of Virginia. Michael Boykin of NC State gets a pinfall over Gage Hutchison of Eastern Michigan. Amar Dhesi and Andrew Dunn face off, as do Nick Nevills and Stephen Suglio in two of the last matches to start in this round. 

Nathan Butler thoroughly dominate Jeremy Sweany and notches a 15-0 techfall. 

And with Kyle Snyder's victory over Ryan Solomon, the Ohio State Buckeyes go 10 for 10 in the first round of the NCAAs. Folks, not even our own Danial The Wrestling Nomad Lobdell knows when the last time that happens was. Yowza. 

Nick Nevills gets the fall over Sugio and the PSU fans in attendance erupt. They know they need to scrap for every bonus point available. This team race already rules. 

Finally Adam Coon get his last NCAA run started. The Wolverine has Matt Voss of George Mason. Thomas Haines leads Conan Jennings 4-1 in the 2nd. Mick Hughes takes out Jake Gunning 6-0. Jordan Wood has a 1-0 lead over Cory Daniel with 1 minute left in the 3rd. Wood trying to get the riding out or the win. He'll get it to advance with a 2-0 victory.

Just two matches left in this session, although Doug Vollaro may still have a match, I can't yet confirm. 

Haines gets the W. Coon and Voss in the third period, Coon with a 5 point lead. And you can put session 1 in the books. Coon advances with a 12-3 victory. 

Results

285 Kyle Snyder (Ohio St.) MD Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh), 15-5

285 Jere Heino (Campbell) DEC Matt Stencel (Central Mich.), 8-3

285 Derek White (Oklahoma St.) DEC Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley), 6-1

285 Tanner Hall (Arizona St.) DEC Garrett Ryan (Columbia), 4-0

285 Samuel Stoll (Iowa) F Antonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall), 2:27

285 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) MD Tyler Love (Virginia), 9-1

285 Shawn Streck (Purdue) DEC William Miller (Edinboro), 10-5

285 Jacob Kasper (Duke) F Aj Nevills (Fresno St.), 6:31

285 Nick Nevills (Penn St.) F Stephen Suglio (Kent St.), 5:26

285 Michael Boykin (NC State) F Gage Hutchison (Eastern Mich.), 0:55

285 Mike Hughes (Hofstra) DEC Jake Gunning (Buffalo), 6-0

285 Amar Dhesi (Oregon St.) DEC Andrew Dunn (Virginia Tech), 6-1 SV

285 Nathan Butler (Stanford) TF Jeramy Sweany (Cornell), 15-0 6:12

Thanks for reading along my friends. We'll be back doing the same for the second round. Apologies for the typos, see you soon for session 2!