Coming into this year’s NCAA Championships in Kansas City, many wondered if Penn State wrestling would do something only one team in history has done.
For at least another year, the 2001 Minnesota Golden Gophers will be the only team in NCAA history to have 10 All-Americans.
No. 1 Braeden Davis (125) and No. 10 Aaron Nagao (133) each fell in their first Round of 12 matches Friday night, and thus fell short of All-American status.
Davis came in with a lot of momentum, less than two weeks removed from winning the Big Ten Championship as a true freshman. Many saw Davis as a favorite to win the whole thing, and he got off to a solid start, winning both his matches Thursday.
But Friday was a different story.
In his quarterfinal match, Davis met Arizona State’s Richard Figueroa, seeded eighth. In a tough bout, Davis lost, 3-2, ending his national title bid.
He still had a chance to be an All-American, though, and first had to beat Wyoming’s Jorge Volk to do that.
Volk won in sudden victory, 4-1.
At 133, No. 10 Aaron Nagao lost his first bout Thursday, then fought back to win his next three.
He faced No. 3 NC State redshirt junior Kai Orine (18-3) in the Round of 12.
Orine started off with a takedown, but got four near fall points and an escape to go up 8-1 in the third period. Nagao got a takedown late, but Orine made a reversal and won an 11-4 decision after riding time.
Nagao and Davis each have multiple seasons of eligibility left, and Penn State has seven wrestlers who have already secured All-American status, with Bernie Truax trying to make it eight.
