DEKALB, Ill. – No. 15 Killian Cardinale will be wrestling for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship at 125 pounds, while five other members of the Old Dominion wrestling team are still competing in the consolation brackets after day one of the 2020 MAC Wrestling Championships, hosted by Northern Illinois.
Cardinale earned a spot in the 125-pound finals after winning all three of his bouts on day one. The Bristow, Va. native started his day with a bang, as he pinned Buffalo's Jordan Reyes in just under four minutes of action. He then earned an 8-6 win by decision over Clarion's Jake Gromacki in the quarterfinal round.
Cardinale was then tasked with facing No. 30 Logan Heil of Cleveland State in the semifinal round. The redshirt sophomore dispatched the top-30 wrestler in an 8-5 decision to move onto the 125-pound finals. Cardinale, who came into the tournament as the third seed, will be facing off against Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan, who is the tournament's No. 1 seed and is ranked No. 7 in the nation.
Redshirt seniors Sa'Derian Perry and Larry Early also reached the semifinal round in their respective weight classes, but both were defeated, preventing them from earning a MAC title. At 141 pounds, Perry earned a bye to start his afternoon, coming into the tournament as the third seed. He then defeated Anthony Gibson of Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals in a 5-3 decision to move onto the semifinal round. It was there where Perry lost to No. 14 Evan Cheek, of Cleveland State in a 3-2 decision. In his first match tomorrow, Perry will be wrestling either No. 13 Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven or Marcus Robinson of Buffalo.
Early started day one dispatching NIU's Mason Kauffman in a 4-1 decision. He then was able to get revenge on No. 19 Justin Ruffin, who defeated the 157-pound Monarch in November in a 3-1 decision in overtime. Early got the better of the Cougar this time around, earning a 6-4 victory in the quarterfinal round. In the semifinals, the Oak Park, Ill. native faced off against another wrestler that took him down earlier in the year in No. 5 Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider. This time though, Early couldn't get his revenge, as the ranked Bronc earned a place in the MAC finals by beating him, 6-4. Just like Perry, Early will need to wait to see who he'll be wrestling tomorrow, as he awaits the results of the bout between Alex Carida of Bloomsburg or No. 18 Logan Parks of Central Michigan.
No. 30 Kenan Carter, Alex Cramer and Antonio Agee are also still alive in the consolation brackets. At 149 pounds, Carter won his first match of the day, beating Lock Haven's Brock Port in a 6-2 decision. Carter then lost to No. 11 Brock Zacherl of Clarion, 5-3. In his third bout of the day, Carter stayed alive by shutting out Kent State's Kody Komara, 4-0.
Cramer started his day in the 174-pound bracket with a 4-1 win by decision over Anthony Lombardo of George Mason, who he downed for the second time this season. Cramer then faced off against No. 12 Dean Sherry and lost in a 16-8 major decision. Cramer staved off elimination in his next bout with a 3-1 win over Logan Stanley of Ohio.
At 184 pounds, Agee also won his initial battle of the afternoon, earning an 8-0 major decision victory over GMU's Paul Pierce. Agee then suffered a 4-3 loss in overtime to #31 George Walton of Rider before downing Central Michigan's Ben Cushman in his final bout of the day, 3-1.
In the team standings, Old Dominion finds itself in seventh place in the 15-team conference with 48.5 points. Cardinale paces the team, garnering 17 points. Missouri sits atop the leaderboard with 112.5 points, followed by Central Michigan with, 86.0 points, and Northern Illinois with 67.5 points to round out the top-three teams in the standings.
The biggest upset of possibly the whole tournament came at 197 pounds, when Timothy Young earned a 6-4 victory over No. 10 Wyatt Koelling of Missouri. Earlier this season, Koelling got the better of Young at the South Beach Duals, but Young took the ranked Tiger to overtime before eventually falling, 3-1. At last year's MAC Championships, Young knocked off Koelling in the semifinal round, earning a spot in the 197-pound title bout.
Young's day ended after getting defeated in his next two bouts. Shannon Hanna II, Shane Jones and Jacob Bullock also were eliminated from contention today after suffering two losses each.
For updated brackets of the 2020 MAC Wrestling Championships, click here.
Day two of the 2020 MAC Conference will begin tomorrow a 1 p.m. ET. Coverage will begin on ESPN+ at 2:25 p.m. ET.
ODU Results
125: Killian Cardinale – MAC Finals
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
133: Shannon Hanna II
Champ. Round 1 - #15 DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven) dec. over Shannon Hanna II (ODU) 6-4 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 1 - Josh Jones (GMU) dec. over Shannon Hanna II (ODU) 10-3
141: Sa'Derian Perry - Consolation
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
149: Kenan Carter – Consolation
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
157: Larry Early – Consolation
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
165: Shane Jones
Champ. Round 1 - Nate Newberry (Bloomsburg) dec. over Shane Jones (ODU) 8-4
Cons. Round 1 - Shane Jones (ODU) received a bye
Cons. Round 2 - Joseph Terry (Ohio) dec. over Shane Jones (ODU) 9-8
174: Alex Cramer – Consolation
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
184: Antonio Agee – Consolation
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
197: Timothy Young
Champ. Round 1 - Timothy Young (ODU) dec. over #10 Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) 6-4
Quarterfinal - #26 Landon Pelham (CMU) dec. over Timothy Young (ODU) 7-3
Cons. Round 2 - Jake Walker (Ohio) dec. over Timothy Young (ODU) 4-1
285: Jacob Bullock
Champ. Round 1 - #4 Matt Stencel (CMU) fall over Jacob Bullock (ODU) 3:44
Cons. Round 1 - Jacob Bullock (ODU) received a bye
Cons. Round 2 - #25 Max Ihry (NIU) dec. over Jacob Bullock (Old Dominion) 2-1 (TB-1)
Team Standings
1. Missouri – 112.5
2. Central Michigan – 86.0
3. Northern Illinois – 67.5
4. Rider – 66.5
5. Lock Haven – 54.5
6.Cleveland State – 50.0
7. Old Dominion – 48.5
8. Kent State – 43.0
9. Buffalo – 41.0
10. Edinboro – 39.0
11. Clarion – 33.5
T12. George Mason – 33.0
T12. Ohio – 33.0
14. Bloomsburg – 27.0
15. SIUE – 18.5
Cardinale Advances to MAC Finals, Team Seventh After Day One
Killian Cardinale earns a shot at the MAC Title at 125 pounds