Pennsylvania's NCAA Medal Chances Plus Schedule and Brackets
Of the 62 wrestlers from Pennsylvania who will be competing in the NCAA National Tournament at Madison Square Garden below are the top 20 wrestlers I feel have the best shot of leaving New York City with NCAA hardware. Photo of Zach Zavatsky by Virginia Tech Athletics.
In 2015 Pennsylvania had 48 National Qualifiers and came away with 13 All-Americans but no Champions. The Keystone State is taking 62 wrestlers this season and could see upward of 20 All-Americans and has a legitimate shot at two National Champions.
You can see the full list of 62 Pennsylvania wrestlers who will be competing in New York City by clicking here! Below are the brackets and Championship schedule!
1. Zain Retherford (Penn State / Benton Area) – 149 lbs. – First Seed
Undefeated sophomore Zain Retherford is one of the most dominate wrestlers in the entire Tournament. The former 2x PIAA State Champion from Benton Area will be returning to the NCAA Tournament after taking a redshirt season last year. His freshman season Retherford competed at 141 lbs. and finished fifth at the NCAA Tournament. He is a heavy favorite to be one of Pennsylvania’s National Champion in 2016.
2. Jason Nolf (Penn State / Kittanning) – 157 lbs. – Third Seed
Cyborg has been one of the most talked about wrestlers in the NCAA this season and for good cause as the redshirt freshman has torn through the Nation at 157 lbs. After securing a convincing victory over returning National Champion Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) early this season Nolf was slated as a favorite to win a NCAA Championship. The gap was closed in the BIG10 Finals with Martinez coming away with a narrow tiebreaker win over Nolf. It was the first lost of his season and career at Penn State. Nolf has earned a third seed and will be on the same side of the bracket as undefeated senior Thomas Gannt (N.C. State) who is the #2 seed. Nolf is more than capable of defeating both Gannt and Martinez to win a NCAA Championship.
3. Nico Megaludis (Penn State / Franklin Regional) – 125 lbs. – Third Seed
Journeyman Nico Megaludis has been in search of a NCAA National Championship since he arrived in Happy Valley back in 2011. His freshman season Nico stormed into the National Finals where he was a runner-up, a feat he duplicated in 2013. His junior season Nico again earned All-American honors by finishing in third place. The 3x PIAA State Champion redshirted last season and is now making his fourth trip to the Big Dance. Mega enters as the third seed on the same side as #2 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) who defeated Nico in tiebreaker (4-3 TB) back in November.
4. Jordan Conaway (Penn State / New Oxford) – 133 lbs. – Fifth Seed
The Fourth likely wrestler from Pennsylvania to end on the medal stand is none other than Jordan Conaway. The senior and PIAA State Champion earned All-American honors last season at 125 lbs. finishing in eighth. Now at 133 lbs. Jordan enters as the fifth seed and will face fellow Keystone State wrestler Corey Keener (Central Michigan / Blue Mountain) in the first round.
5. Darian Cruz (Lehigh / Bethlehem Catholic) – 125 lbs. – Seventh Seed
Sophomore Darian Cruz was an All-American in his true freshman season at Lehigh and after a redshirt year he is back in action for the Mountain Hawks at 125 lbs. Cruz is the seventh seed in a deep weight-class and will have to battle through the bottom of the bracket and may have to face former PIAA State 2x Champion Connor Schram (Stanford / Canon-McMillan) in the Round of 16.
6. Evan Henderson (North Carolina / Kiski Prep) – 149 lbs. – Eighth Seed
North Carolina senior Evan Henderson was tabbed as a National Title contender at 141 lbs. at the beginning of the season. He took some lumps throughout the season but moved up from 141 lbs. to 149 lbs. and won the ACC Championship earning an eighth seed. The former National Prep Champion will on the top half with #1 seed Retherford.
7. Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech / Canon-McMillan) – 141 lbs. – Seventh Seed
Redshirt freshman Solomon Chishko is making his first appearance at the NCAA Tournament after finishing as the ACC Runner-up at 141 lbs. The former 2x PIAA State Champion for Canon-McMillan has several quality wins this season including one over returning All-American and fellow PA wrestler Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State / Derry Area). Chishko has a favorable draw on the bottom half and could find himself in the quarterfinals.
8. Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech / Greater Latrobe) – 184 lbs. – Fifth Seed
Chisko’s teammate and fellow WPIAL redshirt freshman Zach Zavatsky is going to surprise fans in New York City. The 2014 PIAA State Champion appears to be peaking at the right time and reversed a defeat from earlier this season to Alex Utley (North Carolina). He was an ACC Champion at 184 lbs. defeating fellow Keystone State wrestler Pete Renda (N.C. State / Brandywine Heights) in the finals (5-2). Zach got a favorable seed at fifth considering he has a major decision loss to Penn State’s #16 seed Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area) against his record.
9. Matt Cimato (Drexel / LaSalle College) – 149 lbs. – Fourth Seed
Drexel’s Matt Cimato made headlines early this season when he defeated NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) and won the EIWA Tournament for the first time in his career. The redshirt junior got an outstanding seed at fourth and will be in a good position to make the quarters. Matt has defeats this season to 9th seed Justin Oliver and #1 seed Zain Retherford.
10. Joe Stolfi (Bucknell / Souderton) – 285 lbs. – Tenth Seed
One of the most decorated heavyweights from Pennsylvania over the last four years has been Bucknell’s Joe Stolfi. The redshirt senior is making his fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and will be in search of his first All-American finish. The former Souderton 2x PIAA State Medalist has been close on multiple occasions. Stolfi is the tenth seed and will wait for the pigtail round winner on the bottom half of the bracket.
11. Lorenzo Thomas (Penn / Central Catholic) – 184 lbs. – Eleventh Seed
University of Pennsylvania senior Lorenzo Thomas was an NCAA All-American in 2014 placing sixth at 184 lbs. and was an NCAA Qualifier in 2015. He was the 10th seed last season and will be 11th in 2016. He will need to win some big matches if he wants to return to the podium in 2016. If he wins in round one he will likely get #8 seed Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) in the round of 16.
12. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh / Lewisburg Area) – 184 lbs. – Tenth Seed
In 2015 Nathaniel Brown was a NCAA National Finalist for Lehigh at 184 lbs. Brown had a difficult EIWA Championship falling to Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) and Matthew Miller (Navy) but will look for his second All-American finish. He will be on the bottom half and could face seventh seed Tim Dudley (Nebraska) who he lost to in November (5-3 SV) in the round of 16.
13. Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall / Malvern Prep) – 141 lbs. – Ninth Seed
Diplomat wrestler Rick Durso (Malvern Prep) made Franklin & Marshall history this season when he qualified for his fourth straight NCAA National Tournament. In 2014 Durso came away with an eighth place finish and his first All-American honor before redshirting during the 2014-2015 season. In 2016 Durso is back at 141 lbs. where he enters as the ninth seed. Durso has a tough draw on the top half with #8 seed Joey Ward (North Carolina) and top seed #1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State). Rick is peaking at the right time having won 16 straight matches with his last defeat all the way back in December 2015 at the Midlands.
14. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh / North Allegheny) – 133. Eleventh Seed
Pittsburgh junior Dom Forys will have a tough draw on the bottom half with Dom Malone (Northwestern) in the first round and potentially sixth seed George DiCamillo (Virginia) in the round of 16. It will be the former PIAA State Medalist’s second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. This season Forys has be consistent for the Panthers at 133 lbs. and was an ACC Runner-up.
15. Mike DePalma (Kent State / Jeannette) – 149 lbs. – Tenth Seed
Redshirt senior Mike DePalma will be making his third trip to Nationals and is seeded 10th after winning the MAC Championship. He will be in search of his first All-American honors and has a tough draw on the bottom half at 149 lbs. with seventh seed Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) a likely round of 16 opponent if both win their opening matches.
16. Mackenzie McGuire (Kent State / Upper Saint Clair) – 133 lbs. – Ninth Seed
PIAA State Champion Mack McGuire is making his fourth trip to Nationals and will be in contention for his first All-American finish at 133 lbs. The senior is seeded ninth and awaits a pig tail round winner. He is on the top half with eighth seed Earl Hall (Iowa State) and top seed Nashon Garrett (Cornell). Last season McGuire went (2-2) at Nationals and could again make a run in the consolation round.
17. Austin Matthews (Edinboro / Reynolds) – 157 lbs. Fourteenth Seed
Austin was a National Qualifier last season while at Clarion. The former PIAA State Champion transferred to Edinboro for his sophomore season and won the EWL Championship. He is only (10-4) on the season and if he wins his first round match he will get third seed Jason Nolf. Don’t be surprised if Matthews knocks off higher seeded wrestlers in the consolation round.
18. John Staudenmayer (North Carolina / Plymouth Whitemarsh) – 165 lbs. – Eleventh Seed
PIAA State Champion John Staudenmayer has a tough draw in round one facing unseeded wrestler Geno Morelli (Penn State). It will be John’s fourth straight trip to Nationals as the senior is in search of his first All-American finish. If he can secure a win in the first round the ACC Tournament Runner-up will need to knock some guys off to reach the podium.
19. Mike Boykin (N.C. State / Coatesville Area) – 197 lbs. – Twelfth Seed
2014 PIAA State Champion Mike Boykin is the 12th seed at 197 lbs. and faces fellow ACC wrestler Chip Ness (North Carolina) in the first round who he defeated in overtime (3-1 SV) at the ACC Tournament. The sophomore will be making his first trip to Nationals and will have his hands full in a deep 197 lbs. bracket.
20. Dan Neff (Lock Haven / Solanco) – 149 lbs. – Fifteenth Seed
Former Solanco PIAA State Champion Dan Neff has been on a roll since a slow start to the season when he was competing down a weight at 141 lbs. Neff, a returning All-American at 149 lbs. finishing eighth in 2015, went (7-8) in his first 15 matches but turned that around when he bumped back up to 149 lbs. Since then Neff is (19-0) including a Championship at the EWL. He is the 15th seed at 149 lbs. and will face Bucknell’s Victor Lopez in the first round. He will need to wrestle back against a tough field in order to finish in the top 8.
2016 DI WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS EVENT SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, MARCH 17
11 a.m. Doors Open- Madison Square Garden
Noon – 4 p.m. (Approx.) First Session- Eight Mat Configuration, Pigtails and First-Round Competition
6 p.m. Doors Open- Madison Square Garden
7 – 11 p.m. (Approx.)
Second Session- Eight Mat Configuration,
Preliminaries: Wrestle-Back Prelims (pigtail matches) as needed; Wrestle-Back First Round.
Followed by Championship Round, Second Round and Consolation Round
FRIDAY, MARCH 18
10 a.m. Doors Open- Madison Square Garden
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. (Approx.) Third Session- Eight Mat Configuration, *Quarterfinals on middle four mats; Wrestle-Back Second and Third Rounds on outside mats.
7 p.m. Doors Open- Madison Square Garden
8 – 11:30 p.m. (Approx.) Fourth Session- Six Mat Configuration, *Semifinals on inside two mats (one weight at a time) and Wrestle-back Fourth Round on outside four mats.
Followed by Wrestle-Back fifth rounds on all six mats.
SATURDAY, MARCH 19
10 a.m. Doors Open, Madison Square Garden
11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Approx.) Fifth Session- Three Mats, *Wrestle-Back Semifinals on all three mats followed by third, fifth and seventh place medal round matches.
2:30 p.m. Doors Open- Theater at Madison Square Garden
3 – 4 p.m. Championship Preview Show/Weigh In, Theater at Madison Square Garden
4 p.m. AT&T Autograph Session, Theater at Madison Square Garden
7 p.m. Doors Open, Madison Square Garden
7:35- 7:50 p.m. Grand March Parade of All-Americans.
8 – 11 p.m. (Approx.) Sixth Session, One Mat, Individual weight class awards. Championship Finals.
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