For Rutgers, it was all about 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault. The redshirt freshman became the tenth All-American in Rutgers program history. And for the first time ever, Rutgers had All-Americans in back-to-back years. Scott Goodale was very pleased about that. "It's good. That's where this thing is going. I don't think as a team we wrestled great all week in but it's good to get one and keep building on it. We're going to keep building on it, we're going to keep getting better kids and keep building on what we're doing. We've got a good room right now with guys certainly capable. There's guys back home certainly capable. The future is definitely exciting."
Redshirt freshman Anthony Ashnault receives his 141-pound All-America trophy #RUWR #d1wrestle https://t.co/iZdEldESK2
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) March 22, 2015
Ashnault did not wrestle for seventh place due to an injury. "I think Anthony is the third-best kid at the weight", said Coach Scott Goodale. "We felt good about where he was in the bracket and him coming back I was excited about it and boom (the injury). But that's the sport - what are you going to do?"
Anthony Ashnault NCAA Parade of champions 2015 @atowndown2 @RUWrestling pic.twitter.com/PTTsPXPT8K
— josh1728 (@jg1728) March 22, 2015
As a team, Rutgers finished tied for 31st with 9.5 points. The other four RU competitors did not place. Scott Delvecchio went 0-2, Ken Theobold 1-2 (win over No. 10 Christian Pagdilao of Arizona State), Anthony Perrotti 0-2 (both in sudden victory), and Billy Smith 2-2 (win over No. 15 Ross Larson of Oklahoma).
So, how do we celebrate back-to-back All Americans?
One of my favorite comments during the tournament came from friend Jon Newman. He likes what Scott Goodale has done at RU and thinks he deserves what a few other coaches have received.
Decided that given the back to back AAs, I'm holding out for a @CoachGoodale bobblehead. #CHOPNation #RUWR
— Jon Newman (@jonnew) March 22, 2015
Sounds good to me. Hey, Rutgers Marketing....all you need is to put a sweater vest on the bobblehead and you're set!
Big Ten at the NCAA Championships
Ohio State won the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championship, capturing its first national title in school history. The Buckeyes' title marked the ninth straight year that a Big Ten school has claimed the NCAA Championship. In the 141-pound weight class, Ohio State's Logan Stieber won his fourth individual NCAA title, becoming the fourth person in NCAA history and the first in Big Ten annals to win four NCAA championships. The Buckeyes' Nathan Tomasello also claimed the 125-pound title.
The Buckeyes amassed 102.0 team points to finish 18 points ahead of second-place Iowa (84 points). Also finishing among the top 10 was Penn State in sixth place, eighth-place Minnesota, and Nebraska in ninth place.
Two other Big Ten wrestlers claimed their first individual titles at the NCAA Championships. Illinois' Isaiah Martinez secured the 157-pound title, while Penn State's Matthew Brown won the 174-pound championship.
Thirty-eight Big Ten wrestlers earned All-America honors at the championships. That is 47.5% of the full 80 All Americans awarded. All Americans by school are below:
Illinois - 2 | |
Indiana - 1 | |
Iowa - 6 | |
Michigan - 5 | |
Minnesota - 5 | |
Nebraska - 3 | |
Northwestern - 2 | |
Ohio State - 5 | |
Penn State - 5 | |
Rutgers - 1 | |
Wisconsin - 3 |
Pennsylvania reigns again
As usual, the state of Pennsylvania is the most well-represented when it comes to Division I qualifiers. Pennsylvania, with 48, outdistances Ohio by 12, with New Jersey (30), Illinois (26), California (19), Iowa (16), Minnesota (15), Virginia (11), Missouri (10), Florida (9), Indiana (9) and New York (9) rounding out the top 10.
NCAA Team Scoring
Finish |
Scoring |
Champions |
|
1 |
Ohio St. |
102 |
2 |
2 |
Iowa |
84 |
|
3 |
75.5 |
||
4 |
73.5 |
1 |
|
5 |
Cornell, |
71.5 |
1 |
6 |
67.5 |
1 |
|
7 |
65 |
1 |
|
8 |
59.5 |
||
9 |
59 |
||
10 |
56 |
||
11 |
54 |
||
12 |
51 |
1 |
|
13 |
39.5 |
||
14 |
39 |
1 |
|
15 |
34.5 |
||
16 |
34 |
1 |
|
17 |
32.5 |
||
18 |
Oklahoma, |
29.5 |
1 |
19 |
26.5 |
||
20 |
23.5 |