ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Iowa won all three of its NCAA championship tie-in matches Sunday Morning.
Sophomore Montell Marion (141), junior Jake Kerr (157), and senior Ryan Morningstar (165) will all vie for third place at the Big Ten championships later today.
Both Marion and Kerr needed to win their first consolation bouts, while Morningstar only needed to place fifth or better.
Meanwhile, Iowa top-seeded 197-pounder Chad Beatty, who already qualified for the national meet, forfeited both of his consolation matches.
Marion earned his NCAA ticket with a 11-6 win against eighth-seeded 141-pounder Cole Schmitt of Wisconsin.
The Des Moines native broke a 6-6 tie with under 10 seconds to go in the third period on a takedown and a three-point near-fall. He will face Purdue’s No. 6 seed Juan Archuleta in the 141-pound third-place bout.
Marion defeated Archuleta, 7-5, on Saturday during the championship quarterfinals.
At 157, Kerr also clinched a spot in the national tournament with a 5-3 win over No. 6 seed David Johnson of Michigan. The Oskaloosa, Iowa native held a 5-0 advantage heading into the third period, but a third-period takedown by Johnson eliminated the shutout.
Kerr will go toe-to-toe with unseeded Anthony Jones of Michigan State. The two did not wrestler during Iowa’s regular-season road dual with the Spartans.
Junior Aaron Janssen took the mat for the Hawkeyes at 157 in the meet.
Morningstar’s consolation semifinal with No. 5 seed Paul Young turned into a thriller. The second-seeded Hawkeye broke a 3-3 tie on an escape with 30 seconds left in the third period.
An evasive Morningstar picked up a stall warning with five seconds left.
For more coverage of the Big Ten wrestling championships, be sure to read Monday’s edition of The Daily Iowan.
— by Ryan Young
Consolation Semifinals:
141 — No. 3 Montell Marion (I) dec. No. 8 Cole Schmitt (Wis), 11-6
157 — No. 4 Jake Kerr (I) dec. No. 6 David Johnson (Mich), 5-3
165 — No. 2 Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. No. 5 Paul Young (Ind), 4-3
197 — No. 7 Logan Brown (Pur) wins by forfeit No. 1 Chad Beatty (I)
