DEKALB, Ill. – Four members of the Old Dominion wrestling team punched their tickets to Minneapolis, Minn. by earning spots in the NCAA Championships with strong performances in the 2020 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships that were held this weekend and hosted by Northern Illinois.
No. 15 Killian Cardinale (125 pounds), No. 22 Sa'Derian Perry (141 pounds), No. 11 Larry Early (157 pounds) and Antonio Agee (184 pounds) all clinched NCAA Championship berths with their results on the final day of the MAC Championships.
"We were happy with the way the guys competed today, they fought hard and scored points," head coach Steve Martin said after an impressive showing from his team. "We walked into the gym with one automatic qualifier and walked out with four."
Cardinale earned a trip to the 125-pound final round on day one, winning all three of his bouts yesterday. The Bristow, Va. Native was tasked with facing No. 7 Drew Hildebrandt out of Central Michigan, the top-seed in the weight class coming into the championships. It was Cardinale's only match of the afternoon, and he was defeated in a close 2-0 decision as he struggled to get out from under the top-10 wrestler. Cardinale may get another chance at the MAC champion, as they will both be competing in Minneapolis.
"I would have liked to have won my final match, but I've been wanting to go to the NCAA Championships for a while and it feels good to finally punch my ticket," Cardinale said after his second-place showing. "I expect to get on that podium."
"Cardinale had a great performance this weekend, with his only loss coming against a top-eight opponent after we got hit with a stalling on top, "Martin said of his 125-pounder. "That is a match we can turn around."
At 141 pounds, Perry had to take down No. 13 Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven to earn a spot in the third-place bout and an NCAA qualification. Perry defeated the top-15 wrestler earlier in the season, in a 5-4 decision in the Monarchs' win over the Bald Eagles back in January. This time around, Perry earned a 10-2 major decision victory over Shoop to solidify his shot at another All-American run. In the third-place bout, No. 28 Grant Leeth of Missouri, who Perry earned a -3 victory over at the South Beach Duals, earned a tight 4-3 decision over the Monarch, who settled for fourth place. This will be Perry's third straight trip to the NCAA Championships.
"Perry's weight class had three returning All-Americans, and he beat a returning All-American to get to the consolation semi finals," Martin said of Perry. "He continues to ,ake a push to get back on the podium."
An All-American from a year ago, Early will look for a repeat performance at the NCAAs this season to become just the fifth Monarch wrestler to earn All-American status in consecutive years. Early won both of his bouts this afternoon, including a wild come-from-behind victory in the third-place bout against No. 19 Justin Ruffin of SIUE.
With under two minutes left in the final frame of the bout, Early found himself trailing, 7-2. The Oak Park, Ill. native earned a takedown, three points on penalties and another takedown of the ranked Cougar with 17 seconds left to storm back and tie the score at 9-9 after Ruffin earned an escape point and a riding time point. In the sudden victory overtime period, Early completed the comeback by downing Ruffin and earning the third-place prize. Early reached the bronze bout by defeating another top-20 wrestler, No. 18 Logan Parks of CMU, 94.
"Early wrestled with a lot of heart this weekend. He narrowly lost to the No. 6 kid in the nation in the semis and came back in his third-place match from a 6-0 deficit," Martin said of his returning All-American. "We really like how he is competing right now, as he can beat anyone in his weight."
The fourth NCAA qualifier the Monarchs had today came at 184 pounds, as Agee won three battles on the day, two in overtime against ranked opponents, to stun the Conference and clinch his first-ever NCAA qualification. Agee's day started with a 3-2 victory over DeAndre Nassar of Cleveland State. Then, in the consolation semifinal round, the Monarch senior had to battle No. 17 Trevor Allard of Bloomsburg, an opponent who narrowly defeated Agee in the regular season finale match on a last-second takedown.
The two combatants were tied at three apiece and headed towards a sudden-victory period. It was there where Agee got his revenge, taking down the ranked Husky 19 seconds into the extra frame and earning a spot in the third-place bout.
The Hayfield, Va. native met #31 George Walton of Rider in a bout for bronze and an NCAA Championships berth. Walton defeated Agee twice before this season, including on day one of the MAC Championships in a 4-3 decision that went into a tiebreaker round.
Down 6-5 in the final period, Agee managed to get an escape point and force yet another overtime period between the two wrestlers. In overtime, the two combatants refused to give up, as nobody scored a point in the first sudden victory round or the first tiebreaker round. A winner wasn't named until the second tiebreaker period, where Agee escaped Walton's clutches and held on for the 7-6 victory and his first appearance in the NCAA Championships.
"The moment I took third, the feeling was just unreal," Agee said after his victory. "I'm definitely going to celebrate today, it's an unreal feeling, but it's back to business after today."
"Agee is another guy who has wrestled with a hardened mindset," Martin said of his 184-pounder. "His third-place match went 11 minutes and he beat a former teammate in Walton. He started his journey on self belief about a month ago."
No. 30 Kenan Carter and Alex Cramer both placed in the MAC Tournament as well. Carter checked in at sixth place after winning his first match of the day, but then losing to No. 20 Tyshawn Williams of SIUE and No. 15 Colton DiBlasi of George Mason in the fifth-place bout.
Cramer, a true freshman for ODU, placed eighth in the conference after going 2-3 in the tournament. In the seventh-place bout, Cramer was tasked with facing #14 Jacob Oliver, who pinned the Monarch in 3:28.
As a team, the Monarchs finished the MAC Championships in sixth place with 68.0 points. Missouri won its eighth-straight MAC Tournament Championship with 142.0 points. Central Michigan claimed second with 121.0 points, followed by a third-place finish from host Northern Illinois with 90.5 points.
Click hereto see the full final bracket of the 2020 MAC Wrestling Championships.
Up Next
The NCAA Selection Show, which will air on March 11 at 6 p.m. on NCAA.com, will reveal the final seeding and brackets, as well as if any other Monarch wrestlers receive an at-large bid to join their four teammates in Minneapolis. The NCAA Championships begin on Thursday, March 19 and will continue through Saturday, March 21.
ODU Results
125: Killian Cardinale – 2ndPlace *
Champ. Round 1 - #15 Killian Cardinale (ODU) fall over Jordan Reyes (Buffalo) 3:58
Quarterfinal - #15 Killian Cardinale (ODU) dec. over Jake Gromacki (Clarion) 8-6
Semifinal - #15 Killian Cardinale (ODU) dec. over #30 Logan Heil (Cleveland St.) 8-5
Final - #7 Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) dec. over #15 Killian Cardinale (ODU) 2-0
141: Sa'Derian Perry – 4thPlace *
Champ. Round 1 - #22 Sa`Derian Perry (ODU) received a bye
Quarterfinal - #22 Sa`Derian Perry (ODU) dec. over Anthony Gibson (NIU) 5-3
Semifinal - #14 Evan Cheek (Cleveland St.) dec. over Sa`Derian Perry (ODU) 3-2
Cons. Semi - #22 Sa`Derian Perry (ODU) MD over #13 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) 10-2
3rd Place Match - #28 Grant Leeth (Missouri) dec. over #22 Sa`Derian Perry (ODU) 4-3
149: Kenan Carter – 6thPlace
Champ. Round 1 - #30 Kenan Carter (ODU) dec. over Brock Port (Lock Haven) 6-2
Quarterfinal - #11 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) dec. over #30 Kenan Carter (ODU) 5-3
Cons. Round 2 - #30 Kenan Carter (ODU) dec. over Kody Komara (Kent St.) 4-0
Cons. Round 3 - #30 Kenan Carter (ODU) dec. over McCoy Kent (NIU) 2-1 (TB-1)
Cons. Semi - #20 Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) MD over #30 Kenan Carter (ODU) 14-5
5th Place Match - #15 Colston DiBlasi (GMU) dec. over #30 Kenan Carter (ODU) 4-3
157: Larry Early – 3rdPlace *
Champ. Round 1 - #11 Larry Early (ODU) dec. over Mason Kauffman (NIU) 4-1
Quarterfinal - #11 Larry Early (ODU) dec. over #19 Justin Ruffin (SIUE) 6-4
Semifinal - #5 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) 29-2 dec. over #11 Larry Early (ODU) 6-4
Cons. Semi - #11 Larry Early (ODU) dec. over #18 Logan Parks (CMU) 9-4
3rd Place Match - Larry Early (ODU) dec. over #19 Justin Ruffin (SIUE) 11-9 (SV-1)
174: Alex Cramer – 8thPlace
Champ. Round 1 - Alex Cramer (ODU) dec. over Anthony Lombardo (GMU) 4-1
Quarterfinal - #12 Dean Sherry (Rider) MD over decision over Alex Cramer (ODU) 16-8
Cons. Round 2 - Alex Cramer (ODU) dec. over Logan Stanley (Ohio) 3-1
Cons. Round 3 - Kenny Moore (NIU) dec. over Alex Cramer (ODU) 5-2
7th Place Match - #14 Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) fall over Alex Cramer (ODU) 3:28
184: Antonio Agee – 3rdPlace *
Champ. Round 1 - Antonio Agee (ODU) MD over Paul Pierce (GMU) 8-0
Quarterfinal - #31 George Walton (Rider) dec. over Antonio Agee (ODU) 4-3 (TB-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Antonio Agee (ODU) dec. over Ben Cushman (CMU) 3-1
Cons. Round 3 - Antonio Agee (ODU) dec. over DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State) 3-2
Cons. Semi - Antonio Agee (ODU) dec. over #17 Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg) 5-3 (SV-1)
3rd Place Match - Antonio Agee (ODU) dec. over #31 George Walton (Rider) 7-6 (TB-2)
*- Clinched spot in the NCAA Championships
Team Standings
1. Missouri – 142.0
2. Central Michigan – 121.0
3. Northern Illinois – 90.5
4. Rider – 84.5
5. Lock Haven – 82.0
6. Old Dominion – 68.0
7.Cleveland State – 62.0
8. Ohio – 58.5
9. Kent State – 51.5
10. Buffalo – 49.5
11. Edinboro – 45.5
12. Clarion – 39.5
13. George Mason – 39.0
14. Bloomsburg – 32.5
15. SIUE – 31.0
Four Wrestling Monarchs Qualify for NCAAs With Strong Showings at the 2020 MAC Wrestling Championships
Antonio Agee is one of four Monarch wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Championships with this weekend's performance