Local wrestlers at NCAAs: Iowa's Lee, Kemmerer among WPIAL grads in quarters

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A handful of Westmoreland County wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships with a pair of wins Thursday in St. Louis.

Iowa's Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) and Michael Kemmerer (Franklin Regional), Pitt's Micky Phillippi (Derry), Ohio State's Ethan Smith (Latrobe) and Bucknell's Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon) moved on to the round of eight on Friday morning.

Lee (125) and Kemmerer (174), both top seeds, had little trouble. Lee's second-round opponent, West Virginia's Killian Cardinale, was the first opponent to last the full seven minutes with Lee (9-0) this season. Lee won, 15-5. Kemmerer advanced with a pair of technical falls.

Phillippi, the fifth seed at 133, was dominant in his matches, winning 14-3 and 6-1 to set up a quarterfinal matchup with fourth-seeded Austin DeSanto of Iowa.

Hartman, the fifth seed at 165, followed an 8-6 win over Gardner-Webb's Rodrick Mosley in the first round with a 6-0 victory over West Virginia's Peyton Hall.

Smith, the No. 7 seed at 165, defeated No. 10 Travis Whitlake of Oklahoma State, 4-3, to earn a meeting with No. 2 Anthony Valencia of Arizona State in the quarterfinals.

Phillippi was one of three Pitt wrestlers from WPIAL schools who advanced to the quarterfinals.

Bethel Park grad Nino Bonaccorsi rolled at 197, racking up wins by scores of 15-2 and 13-3.

Wentzel, a South Park alumnus, had little trouble with Nebraska's Peyton Robb in the second round, winning 8-1. The first round was another story. After officials first ruled Drexel's Evan Barczak had secured a winning takedown at the buzzer of the 165-pound match, the call was overruled seconds later and Wentzel was awarded a 1-0 win.

North Allegheny grad Jake Woodley had a big day for Oklahoma.

Coming in as the No. 26 seed at 197 pounds, he knocked off seven seed Rocky Elam of Missouri, 4-1, and 10th-seeded Cameron Caffey of Michigan State, 4-3, to reach the quarterfinals, where he will meet 15th-seeded Michael Beard of Penn State.

Iowa leads the team race with 33.5 points. The Hawkeyes sent eight of 10 wrestlers through the quarterfinals. Penn State is close behind with 28 team points and seven of its nine representatives alive in the championship bracket.

Pitt is tied with Ohio State for 11th place in the team race with 13 points.

Here is a look at how area wrestlers did during the first round:

125: Spencer Lee (Iowa/Franklin Regional) t.f. Patrick McCormick (Virginia), 17-1 (1:33); Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) dec. Codi Russell (Appalachian State), 7-6; Jacob Camacho (NC State) m.d. Gage Curry (American/North Hills), 21-9; Robert Howard (Penn State) dec. Malik Heinselman (Ohio State), 6-4.

133: Micky Phillippi (Pitt/Derry) m.d. Ty Smith (Utah Valley), 14-3; Ryan Sullivan (West Virginia/Shaler) dec. Zach Redding (Iowa State), 4-3; Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec. Darren Miller (Bucknell/Kiski Area), 8-3; Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) t.f. Sean Carter (Appalachian State), 20-5.

141: Cole Matthews (Pitt/Reynolds) m.d. McKenzie Bell (Rider), 17-3; Nick Lee (Penn State) t.f. Julian Flores (Drexel), 18-0.

149: Max Murin (Iowa/Central Cambria) dec. Graham Rooks (Indiana), 8-7; Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) p. Kody Komara (Kent State/Freedom), 1:26.

157: Kaleb Young (Iowa/Punxsutawney) m.d. Caleb Licking (Nebraska), 10-2; Brady Berge (Penn State) m.d. Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), 12-4.

165: Zach Hartman (Bucknell/Belle Vernon) dec. Rodrick Mosley (Gardner-Webb), 8-6; Peyton Hall (West Virginia) m.d. Jake Keating (Virginia), 14-4; Jake Wentzel (Pitt/South Park) dec. Evan Barczak (Drexel), 1-0; Peyton Robb (Nebraska) dec. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue/Canon-McMillan), 4-1; Ethan Smith (Ohio State/Latrobe) dec. Andrew Nicholson (Chattanooga), 12-5; Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) dec. Joe Lee (Penn State), 8-1.

174: Michael Kemerer (Iowa/Franklin Regional) t.f. Drew Hughes (Michigan State), 23-7 (4:08); Bernie Traux (Cal-Poly) t.f. Jacob Oliver (Edinboro), 19-3 (3:19); Carter Starocci (Penn State) m.d. Victor Marcelli (Virginia), 10-2.

184: Aaron Brooks (Penn State) t.f. Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb), 17-1 (5:26); Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 6-4.

197: Noah Adams (West Virginia) dec. Benjamin Smith (Cleveland State), 6-0; Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) dec. Max Shaw (North Carolina/Thomas Jefferson, 4-2; A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State) t.f. Colin McCracken (Kent State/Waynesburg), 18-2 (4:52); Thomas Penola (Purdue) dec. Greg Bulsak (Clarion/South Park), 6-4; Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt/Bethel Park) m.d. Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 15-2; Jake Woodley (Oklahoma/North Allegheny) dec. Rocky Elam (Missouri), 4-1; Michael Beard (Penn State) m.d. Jacob Koser (Navy), 14-2.

285: Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) t.f. John Birchmeier (Navy), 18-0 (2:18); Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) m.d. Jonathan Spaulding (Edinboro), 9-1.

Here's a look at how area wrestlers did in the evening session:

125: Spencer Lee (Iowa/Franklin Regional) m.d. Killian Cardinale (West Virginia), 15-5: Taylor Lamont (Utah Valley) dec. Robert Howard (Penn State), 2-1. Consolation: Danny Vega (South Dakota State) t.f. Gage Curry (American/North Hills), 21-4 (6:13).

133: Micky Phillippi (Pitt/Derry) dec. Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 6-1; Austin DeSanto (Iowa) p. Ryan Sullivan (West Virginia/Shaler), 1:36; Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) m.d. Kyle Burwick, Wisconsin, 11-3. Consolation: Boo Dryden (Minnesota) p. Darren Miller (Bucknell/Kiski Area), 1:36.

141: Nick Lee (Penn State) m.d. Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), 14-3; Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. Cole Matthews (Pitt/Reynolds), 5-3.

149: Max Murin (Iowa/Central Cambria) dec. Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), 5-3. Consolation: Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) p. Kody Komara (Kent State/Freedom), 2:16.

157: Brady Berge (Penn State) dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa/Punxsutawney), 3-2.

165: Zach Hartman (Bucknell/Belle Vernon) dec. Peyton Hall (West Virginia), 6-0. Jake Wentzel (Pitt/South Park) dec. Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 8-1. Ethan Smith (Ohio State/Latrobe) dec. Travis Wittlake of Oklahoma State, 4-3. Consolations: Ricky Stamm (Hofstra) p. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue/Canon-McMillan), 3:44. Andrew Nicholson (Chattanooga) dec. Joe Lee (Penn State), 10-4.

174: Michael Kemerer (Iowa/Franklin Regional) t.f. Benjamin Pasiuk (Army), 17-1, 5:06. Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. Hayden Hastings (Wyoming), 8-2. Consolations: Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) dec. Timothy Fitzpatrick (American), 7-5.

184: Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. Owen Webster (Minnesota), 5-0. Consolations: Gregg Harvey (Pitt) dec. Zach Braunagel (Illinois), 5-2.

197: Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) p. Noah Adams (West Virginia), 1:59. Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt/Bethel Park) m.d. Jay Aiello (Virginia), 13-3. Jake Woodley (Oklahoma/North Allegheny) dec. Cameron Caffey (Michigan State), 4-3. Michael Beard (Penn State) m.d. Owen Pentz (North Dakota State), 17-8. Consolations: Max Shaw (North Carolina/Thomas Jefferson) dec. Colin McCracken (Kent State/Waynesburg), 5-3. Greg Bulsak (Clarion/South Park) m.d. Trey Rogers (Hofstra), 10-1.

285: Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) m.d. Jordan Wood (Lehigh), 12-2. Consolations: Christian Lance (Nebraska) dec. Jonathan Spaulding (Edinboro), 3-2.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul by email at pschofield@triblive.com or via Twitter .