The Big Ten conference championship is not just a conference tournament – it is the toughest conference tournament in entire country. And no, that is not an opinion, it’s a fact. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the numbers.
The Big Ten had the most NCAA champions in 2018 with six. The league is also home to the most nationally ranked top 25 teams with nine. In addition, the conference tournament was allotted the most automatic bids for the 2019 NCAA tournament, with 78 to be exact.
All ten Rutgers Scarlet Knights went through the meat grinder of a tournament this weekend. Each wrestler entered with with the hope of securing one of the 78 available bids on the line. For five of those Scarlet Knights, their dream continues.
Nick Suriano, Peter Lipari, Anthony Ashnault, John Van Brill, and Nick Gravina all earned automatic bids to the NCAA tournament in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Nick Suriano captured his first Big Ten title, as Anthony Ashnault became the 58th wrestler in Big Ten history to win three individual titles - first to ever do it at Rutgers.
Peter Lipari was able to secure a 9th place finish in the bracket, in a weight that received nine automatic bids. Despite losing his first match of the tournament to Nebraska’s Chad Red, Lipari defeated Michigan State’s Austin Eicher, and Purdue’s Nate Limmex to punch his ticket to Pittsburgh. This marks Lipari’s first trip to the national tournament in his career.
John Van Brill made noise right from the start in Minneapolis, pinning the nationally ranked No. 8 Ke-Shawn Hayes. Van Brill’s 157-pound weight class was also granted nine bids. Meaning, following Van Brill’s pin over Hayes, the redshirt senior needed to win just one more bout to guarantee his career stayed alive.
Van Brill dropped a decision to the second seed, Tyler Berger, which set up a rematch with Purdue’s Griffin Parriott in the blood-round. In the dual meet season, Parriott defeated Van Brill in a narrow 3-2 win. Van Brill was able to capture both revenger, and a NCAA bid, after beating Parriott 3-1.
Nick Gravina was another senior trying to keep his career alive. Gravina needed to place in the top eight if he wanted to keep his All-American dreams alive, but the dream looked bleak after losing to Max Lyon of Purdue. The loss to Lyon came as a bit of a surprise, as Gravina defeated Lyon in the regular season.
Gravina was set to face Cameron Caffey in the consolations to decide who will lock up their trip to Pittsburgh. Gravina gained control early on, in what was a back-and-forth match. After exchanging points in the third period, Gravina was able to avoid giving up a late takedown attempt from Caffey to hang on for the 4-3 win. The sixth-year senior picked up one last win over Mason Reinhardt of Wisconsin, before injury defaulting out of the tournament for a sixth place finish.
After two trips with hindered health, a fully prepared Suriano was able to make his first complete run at a conference title. Suriano was on a collision course with his Iowa counterpart, Austin DeSanto, to set up a rematch from the dual meet. During the regular season, a late takedown by DeSanto gave him the victory.
Suriano wrestled the opening of the match somewhat tentative. However, as the match continued, the points build up, and so did the tension. As DeSanto made a last ditch effort to spoil Suriano’s tournament, the Scarlet Knight picked up and threw Austin DeSanto as time expired. The exchange led to some fireworks, which resulted in Suriano walking away with a bloodied eye.
Fortunately for Suriano, the chaos, and cut, did not slow down the returning All-American. Suriano took on Ohio State Buckeye, Luke Pletcher, in the tournament final. Despite the narrow margin, Suriano maintained control over Pletcher for a majority of the match, dictating the pace and the ties. Nick Suriano stood tall with a 4 – 1 decision, solidifying his crown in what was a loaded bracket.
If there is one person that loves the Big Ten tournament, it’snAshnault. The sixth-year senior found individual titles in two of three trips to the tournament. Ashnault looked to keep his streak alive, earning a third Big Ten championship.
Ashnault used a major decision, and two decisions, to earn his spot in the championship bout. On the other side of the bracket was No. 2 Micah Jordan. Ashnault defeated Jordan 14-10, in what was an offensive frenzy at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Open in December.
Ashnault and Jordan had another instant classic. The match featured a lot of scoring once again, especially in the third period.
Jordan was conscious to stay out from underneath Ashnault. In their prior showdown, Ashnault used an onslaught of tight-waist tilts in his victory. Jordan was able to get offense going, but it was not enough for the reversals and counter-attacks of Ashnault.
Ashnault’s 8-6 win not only earned him his third Big Ten title, but also gave Ashnault his fourth NCAA appearance, and secured Ashnault’s spot as the all-time wins leader at Rutgers University, with 118 wins.
For the remaining five wrestlers, there is some hope that remains alive. Wildcard bids are still available, but are few and far between. At this point, there is not much more they can do than hope for the best. Those wildcard bids will be announced Tuesday, March, 12th. As for the other five wrestlers who qualified, they will see their path to the podium on March, 13th at 6:00 PM, when the NCAA championship brackets are released.
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