Michigan
NCAA Championships
Three Wolverines Secure All-America Honors at NCAA Championships
3/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Conor Youtsey
» Conor Youtsey (125 pounds), Alec Pantaleo (149 and Adam Coon (Hwt) locked up NCAA All-America honors; Youtsey and Coon for the second straight season.
» Youtsey, unseeded at 125 pounds, used a double-overtime takedown to defeat Missouri's eight-seeded Barlow McGhee, 5-3, in the Round of 12.
» Brian Murphy and Domenic Abounader dropped decision losses in the Round of 12 to finish one match shy of All-America honors.
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Site: New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
Event: NCAA Wrestling Championships (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 11th Place (39 points) after Day 2
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 19 -- at NCAA Championships - Day 2 (New York, N.Y.), 11 a.m.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Senior/junior Conor Youtsey, sophomore Alec Pantaleo and junior Adam Coon of the University of Michigan wrestling team locked up All-America honors at the NCAA Championships on Friday (March 18) in front of a sold-old crowd of 18,309 at Madison Square Garden. The Wolverines sit in 11th place (39 points) in the team standings.
The Wolverine trio earned the 182nd, 183rd and 184th All-America citations in program history and upped head coach Joe McFarland's tally to 52 over his 17-year tenure. Michigan has boasted at least one All-American in 23 of the last 25 seasons. Youtsey and Coon repeat as All-Americans, while Pantaleo earned the distinction for the first time in his career.
It was a tough evening round for the Wolverines, who dropped both of their semifinal bouts and went 1-for-3 in the Round of 12.
Youtsey, unseeded at 125 pounds, was the bright spot, bouncing back from a quarterfinal loss against Penn State's third-seeded Nico Megaludis to earn two wrestleback wins, including a dramatic 5-3 double-overtime decision against Missouri's eight-seeded Barlow McGhee in the "blood round." With the score knotted up at the end of regulation and a pair of quick escapes in the tiebreaker, Youtsey scrambled to score off a single leg in the second sudden-victory frame, continuing to improve his position before earning the points with just 0:01 remaining on the clock. He followed that wrestleback win with another, defeating Stanford's 10th-seeded Connor Schram, 3-3 TB2, on six seconds of riding-time advantage. It is the second straight season that Youtsey took the podium as an unseeded wrestler.
Pantaleo and Coon both secured their All-America honors with wins in the morning quarterfinal round.
Pantaleo, seeded fifth at 149 pounds, earned bonus points in his quarterfinal bout, pinning Drexel's fourth-seeded Matthew Cimato at the 3:48 mark. The Wolverine wrestler took the initial lead on a first-period double leg and struck again on a single leg in the second, finishing with a half and driving Cimato to his back for the fall. Pantaleo was pinned himself in the evening semifinal round as Penn State's top-seeded Zain Retherford used a leg turk to earn the fall at 4:48.
Coon, seeded fifth at heavyweight, knocked off Oklahoma State's fourth-seeded Austin Marsden, 3-2, in the quarterfinal round after making a first-period single leg hold up for the win. His semifinal bout -- a rematch of last season's NCAA final against NC State's top-seeded Nick Gwiazdowksi -- proved just the reverse. It was Gwiazdowski who struck on a first-period single leg to hold on for the 3-2 advantage. The Wolfpack wrestler, the two-time defending NCAA champion, continued to back away from Coon throughout the second and third period and was hit with a late stalling warning but not a second.
The Wolverines dropped heartbreakers in their other two Round-of-12 matchups, eliminating juniors Brian Murphy and Domenic Abounader from the tournament.
Murphy, seeded 12th at 157 pounds, lost close decisions in both of his bouts today, falling to Kent State's fourth-seeded Ian Miller, 6-3, in the quarterfinals before dropping a 6-2 decision to NC State's second-seeded Thomas Gantt in the wrestlebacks. Murphy gave up takedowns in the first and second periods against Miller but reversed the Golden Flash wrestler to his back in the waning seconds of the second -- but did not get near-fall points. He rode out the third but could not earn more than a single stall warning on Miller. His bloodround bout against Gantt remained tied until midway through the third period when Gantt finished on a single leg on the edge, regained riding-time advantage and added another counter takedown at the buzzer.
Abounader, seeded fourth at 184 pounds, posted a 2-1 record on the day, earning back-to-back tiebreaker wins before falling to Iowa's second-seeded Sammy Brooks, 13-7, in the bloodround. Abounader struck first against the Hawkeye with a quick single leg but was headlocked for six points as Brooks stole a significant early lead. He added another takedown, but Brooks responded with one of his own and added another in the third to ice the match.
Graduate student Max Huntley, seeded 10th at 197 pounds, was also eliminated from the competition after suffering a disqualification loss to Lock Haven's Phil Sprenkle in the morning's first round of wrestlebacks. After giving up a takedown in the first and reversal in the second, Huntley struggled to do anything on bottom and was hit with four stalling calls, resulting in the disqualification at the 4:20 mark.
Tweet of the Day 
TAKEDOWN YOUTSEY! In deep on single leg, kept working for it, got the call w :01 left on the clock. Beats Barlow, 5-3! #WrestleNYC #GoBlue
-- Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling) March 19, 2016
The Wolverines will return for the NCAA Championships' fifth session at 11 a.m. on Saturday (March 19) at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The morning session will feature third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches. The finals will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN.
Top 15 Teams (After Day 2)
1. Penn State 114 2. Oklahoma State 79.5 3. Iowa 77.5 4. Virginia Tech 69.5 5. Ohio State 68 6. Missouri 58.5 7. Nebraska 56 8. Cornell 53.5 9. NC State 43 10. Illinois 42 11. MICHIGAN 39 12. Lehigh 30 13. Iowa State 29.5 14. Oklahoma 28 15. Kent State 25.5
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
125 Pounds -- Conor Youtsey
Quarterfinals - dec. by #3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), 4-0
Consolations - dec. #8 Barlow McGhee (Missouri), 5-3 SV2
Consolations - dec. #10 Connor Schram (Stanford), 3-3 TB2
Consolations - vs. #1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
149 Pounds -- #5 Alec Pantaleo
Quarterfinals - pinned #4 Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 3:48
Semifinals - pinned by #1 Zain Retherford (Penn State), 4:48
Consolations - vs. #3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri)
157 Pounds -- #12 Brian Murphy
Quarterfinals - dec. by #4 Ian Miller (Kent State), 6-3
Consolations - dec. by #2 Thomas Gantt (NC State), 6-2
Eliminated with a 6-2 record
184 Pounds -- #4 Domenic Abounader
Consolations - dec. Corey Griego (Oregon State), 3-1 TB
Consolations - dec. #12 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 2-2 TB2
Consolations - dec. by #2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 13-7
Eliminated with a 3-2 record
197 Pounds -- #10 Max Huntley
Consolations - disqualified against Phil Sprenkle (Lock Haven), 4:20
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
Heavyweight -- #5 Adam Coon
Quarterfinals - dec. #4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State), 3-2
Semifinals - dec. by #1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State), 3-2
Consolations - vs. #7 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State)
Players Mentioned
