20-03-2025
WATCH: Ohio State wrestling's Seth Shumate pulls off big upset with pin
WATCH: Ohio State wrestling's Seth Shumate pulls off big upset with pin
There were very few major upsets in the first round of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. In fact, only one wrestler seeded six or better lost (Johnson Paniro of Iowa State at 149 lbs). As we got lower in the top ten seeds, though, a few upsets were sprinkled in. And by far the most exciting upset of the first round came from Ohio State's Seth Shumate at 197 lbs, as he upset No. 10 seed, Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota.
The first period was relatively uneventful, with both wrestlers jockeying for position consistently. No one came too close to a takedown, so the match entered the second period tied 0-0. Shumate began the second period in the bottom position and seemed to work the position to his advantage for half the period. He couldn't complete the reversal or escape before a stalemate was called. Still on bottom, he quickly flipped things to his advantage for one of the best pins of the first round.
It was Ohio State's second pin of the day, as at 133 lbs Nic Bouzakis needed barely two minutes to lock a cradle on N.C. State's Kai Orine, earning himself a victory and some all-important bonus points for the Buckeyes squad.
In the second round in Thursday's evening session (at about 8:30 PM Eastern), Shumate will face No. 26 seed Brock Zuwarski of Rider. Zuwarski himself pulled off the second-biggest upset of the entire tournament so far, taking down No. 7 seed Wyatt Voelker of Northern Iowa. Shumate will likely be favored in the match, meaning a quarterfinal berth and one win away from All-American status.
As a team, Ohio State had six wrestlers reach the second round, earning 11.5 team points for fourth place overall. Penn State is out to a large early lead and is a prohibitive favorite for the team title.
