Brown University
NCAA Championships
Viruet's Upset Leads Wrestling on Day One of NCAA Championships
3/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Junior Jon Viruet upset the No. 8 seed in the 165-pound weight class to lead Brown University wrestling on day one of the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Viruet (Springfield, Mass.) and junior 184-pounder CJ LaFragola (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) both advanced to day two competition, tallying one win apiece with each posting his first career win at the NCAA Championships. Making his third appearance at the NCAA Championships, senior 157-pounder Justin Staudenmayer (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) fell twice to close his career.
On Friday, Viruet will face Drew Daniels of Navy in the consolation while LaFragola will meet No. 13 seed Steven Schneider of Binghamton in the consolation. During the season, Viruet dropped a 3-2 decision to Daniels, and LaFragola fell to Scheneider twice (4-1 and 1-0).
Making his NCAA debut, Viruet upset No. 8 seed Chandler Rogers of Oklahoma State in the round of 32 with a 6-5 decision, dealing Rogers just his fourth loss of the year. Viruet took a 4-2 lead at the end of the first period behind a pair of takedowns. After Rogers pulled ahead 5-4, Viruet tallied an escape in each of the second and third periods to rally for the win.
In the round of 16, Viruet pushed No. 9 seed Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven in an eventual 5-3 setback. Following a scoreless first period, Viruet used a pair of escapes to keep the score knotted at 2-2 entering the third period. Marsteller scored an escape and takedown early in the third frame and held on for the win despite an escape from Viruet with 1:20 left.
Making his second NCAA appearance, LaFragola fell to No. 14 seed Nick Gravina of Rutgers, 6-0, in the round of 32. LaFragola remained within 3-0 of Gravina early in the third period before the Scarlet Knight posted a takedown and a point for riding time.
In his second contest of the day, LaFragola emerged with a 7-6 win over Clarion's Greg Bulsak in the consolation. LaFragola took a 4-2 lead at the end of the first period and remained ahead 6-3 late in the third period. After Bulsak tied the score at 6-6 with an escape and takedown, LaFragola notched an escape to take the victory.
Staudenmayer dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 13 seed Luke Zilverberg of South Dakota State in the round of 32. After a scoreless first period, Zilverberg moved ahead 3-0 at the end of the second. Zilverberg went ahead 5-0 in the third frame prior to Staudenmayer notching a late escape.
In his second match-up, Staudenmayer fell to Jake Short of Minnesota, 5-2. Staudenmayer used two escapes in the first period to stay within 4-2 at the end of the opening stanza before Short closed the match with an escape late in the third period. Staudenmayer closed his career with two NCAA wins.
At the end of its day one competition, Brown stood in a tie for 49th place out of 72 schools in the team standings. Brown garnered three NCAA qualifiers for the first time since 2008.
Brown Results
157 Pounds
Justin Staudenmayer (0-2)
Thursday
No. 13 Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State) def. Staudenmayer in Round of 32, Dec. 6-1
Jake Short (Minnesota) def. Staudenmayer in Consolation, Dec. 5-2
165 Pounds
Jon Viruet (1-1)
Thursday (1-1)
Viruet def. No. 8 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) in Round of 32, Dec. 6-5
No. 9 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) def. Viruet in Round of 16, Dec. 5-3
Friday
Vs. Drew Daniels (Navy) in Consolation
184 Pounds
CJ LaFragola (1-1)
Thursday (1-1)
No. 14 Nick Gravina (Rutgers) def. LaFragola in Round of 32, Dec. 6-0
LaFragola def. Greg Bulsak (Clarion) in Consolation, Dec. 7-6
Friday
Vs. No. 13 Steven Schneider (Binghamton) in Consolation
