NCAA Wrestling Championships: Finals recap as Carr and Keckeisen win titles
KANSAS CITY — After three days and 640 bouts of wrestling, 10 national champions have been crowned and three teams walked away with trophies.
The Iowa State Cyclones, behind David Carr's second NCAA title, finished in fourth place at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. In previous seasons, that would have been good enough for a team trophy. However, only the top three teams finish with trophies now, so the Cyclones fell just short of that goal despite one of their best seasons in recent memory.
They finished ahead of the Iowa Hawkeyes for the first time since 2007. Iowa took fifth place as Drake Ayala fell in the finals, leaving Spencer Lee's title in 2021 as the last one in Hawkeye history.
For Northern Iowa, they finished in 14th behind Parker Keckeisen's first national title and UNI's first since 2019.
We'll have stories and updates flying in through the end of finals night here and into the morning, so stay tapped in with the Des Moines Register for all of our wrestling content. In the meantime, get caught up on all the action in the finals.
More: Family efforts push Iowa State's David Carr to second NCAA wrestling championship
285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) over No. 10 Lucas Davison (Michigan) - 13-4 major decision
Kerkvliet struck first in this bout with an ankle pick into a three-point takedown, but Davison got the quick escape to make it 3-1. Before the end of the first period, Kerkvliet went low and scored on a similar action, but Davison got yet another fast escape to give the Nittany Lion just 17 seconds of riding time into the second frame.
Davison got his third escape of the bout after choosing bottom to begin the second, but Kerkvliet scored on a single-leg takedown yet again to lead 9-3 after the first five minutes of action. Kerkvliet earned an escape point and his fourth takedown of the bout in the third to cruise to his first NCAA title in a 13-4 decision.
This win for him is a plus for Iowa, who remains within striking distance of passing Michigan in the team standings heading into Ayala's match.
125 pounds: No. 8 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) over No. 3 Drake Ayala (Iowa) - 7-2 decision
In the first period, Ayala was in on a single-leg shot, but Figueroa fought it off. Ayala deferred to start the second period, so Figueroa chose bottom and was let up by Ayala. At the buzzer in the second, Figueroa scored on a single-leg takedown despite going to official review and later challenged by the Iowa coaching staff, giving the Sun Devil a 4-0 lead into the third.
Ayala began the third period with a fast escape, making it 4-1 with about two minutes to get a takedown to tie. However, Figueroa got a takedown with under 20 seconds to go on a mad scramble to win the bout 7-2.
This is the first time since 2016 the Hawkeyes have finished without a NCAA Champion and team trophy in the same season. Iowa is currently in fourth, which was formerly a team trophy position, but trophies will not be awarded to a fourth-place team this year.
133 pounds: No. 8 Vito Arujau (Cornell) over No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) - 5-3 decision
Arujau got a cut on his forehead to begin this bout, slowing it dramatically with a couple blood time stoppages. As a result, the bout was tied at zero after the first three minutes of action with no true danger moments. Early in the second, Arujau was dinged for a locked hands penalty, giving Fix a 1-0 advantage. He then quickly got an escape to make it 2-0 heading into the third.
Arujau got an escape seconds into the third to make it 2-1. Fix was penalized for a stalling call to tie the match, much to the joy of the Kansas City crowd who was heckling Fix with "stalling" chants and boos for his defensive style of wrestling. After a takedown was waved off for Arujau to keep it tied at two, former national champion scored almost instantly to secure a 5-3 decision for the title.
141 pounds: No. 1 Jesse Mendez over No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) - 4-1 decision
After trading escapes in the second and third period, it was Mendez who found his way on top of Bartlett in a mad scramble to secure a 4-1 win at the buzzer. After losing to Bartlett in a dual to begin the year, Mendez has now won a Big Ten title and NCAA title over Bartlett this season.
149 pounds: No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) over No. 6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) - 15-7 major decision
This one got off quick, as Gomez got a takedown right away in the first period. After a quick escape, however, Henson took Gomez feet to back for a takedown and secured a two-point near-fall action and a pair of three-point near-falls to go up 13-4 as the first period came to a close.
Gomez scored on one more takedown in this match, but Henson held on for a 15-7 major decision over Gomez. After a slow and drug out start to this finals round with reviews and blood time, this was the most-entertaining bout of the night yet.
157 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) over No. 2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) - 5-0 decision
Haines' escape in the second period, plus a takedown early in the third period handed Penn State its second national champion of the night. Haines finishes his season undefeated.
With the loss, Arizona State can no longer jump above Iowa and Iowa State in the team standings.
165 pounds: No. 4 David Carr (Iowa State) over No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) - 9-8 decision
Right off the bat, Carr went for a blast-double and executed it within five seconds of the match starting to go up 3-0. He then racked up a 1:42 of riding time along with several thunderous mat returns before Mesenbrink could get an escape to make it 3-1.
Carr earned an escape quickly in the second, extending his advantage to 4-1. Carr was hit for a stalling point, but converted on a single-leg takedown to go up 7-3 following a Mesenbrink escape heading into the third period.
Mesenbrink earned another stalling point and got a takedown to take his first lead of the match, but Carr's escape and riding time point earned him a national title. You can read more here about him and his family's legacy at Iowa State.
174 pounds: No. 9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) over No. 6 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) - 2-0 decision
Earning a point via stall calls on Welsh and an escape, Starocci became the sixth-ever four-time NCAA Champion and Penn State's third national champion of the night.
184 pounds: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) over No. 3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) - 14-5 major decision
Right off the gun, Keckeisen scored with a shot low and work his way into control. He then rode Plott for 46 seconds before getting an escape. Almost identical to his last one, Keckeisen got an additional three-point takedown to take a 6-2 lead into the second period following a Plott escape.
Plott got a second-period escape to cut the deficit to just one takedown. However, Keckeisen earned two more takedowns in the third to secure yet another bonus-point win and a national title in a 14-5 decision with the riding time.
He is the first undefeated champion at Northern Iowa since 1963 and will return next season. You can read more about his humble beginnings here.
197 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) over No. 2 Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State) - 6-0 decision
Right as Starocci made history, Brooks turned around and made his own against one of the nation's best wrestlers in Hidlay. He secured a 6-0 decision to become the seventh four-time NCAA Champion ever.
Final team scores from the NCAA Championships
1st - Penn State (172.5 points)
2nd - Cornell (72.5)
3rd - Michigan (71)
4th - Iowa State (68.5)
5th - Iowa (67)
6th - Arizona State (64.5)
7th - Virginia tech (64)
8th - Ohio State (62)
9th - Nebraska (60.5)
10th - Oklahoma State (56)
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: NCAA Wrestling Championships: Recap from Saturday's finals
