Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
NCAA Championships Day 2
Players Mentioned
Thrilling Season Ends With Five Returners Capping NCAA Championship Journey
March 21, 2015 | Wrestling
Princeton matched a program record by sending five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, and then watched all five advance to Day 2. Each of the five saw their All-America dreams fall short in St. Louis, but all five will return in Orange and Black next season and build on the foundation of this experience.
Juniors Abram Ayala and Chris Perez, sophomores Brett Harner and Jordan Laster, and freshman Jonathan Schleifer each recorded at least one victory in St. Louis, and Laster took the mat with an opportunity to become the ninth Princeton wrestler to earn All-American status. Unfortunately, his last obstacle was his most formidable one of the weekend, as fourth-seeded Devin Carter controlled that final match for an 18-7 major decision.
Laster, who opened the Princeton season with a win in the NWCA All-Star Classic, earned the right to close it with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Purdue's Nick Lawrence in the third round of consolation matches. After receiving a medical forfeit to open Friday, he and Lawrence were even at 1-1 in the third period when Laster scored a late takedown to open a 3-1 lead. Lawrence escaped, but Laster stayed aggressive and fought off any late shot to move to the Friday night session.
Unfortunately, he drew Carter, who was upset by unseeded Kevin Jack of NC State. Carter scored three takedowns in the first period and never looked back, leaving Laster one match short of the podium. The last Princeton All-American remains Greg Parker '03, who earned the honors in both 2002 and 2003.
Perez joined Laster in the third round of the consolation draw, and he fell in a 7-5 heartbreaker to Rider's Bryant Clagon, the 15th seed of the tournament. Perez opened the day with a 10-6 win over Rutgers' Ken Theobold, who had defeated Perez earlier this month. The Princeton junior, who joined Laster in the EIWA finals two weeks ago, scored the first takedown and got two more points on a tilt just before the final period ended to open a 4-0 lead.
Perez never let Theobold back in the match, and he moved on to face Clagon later in the third session. Clagon led early, but a late takedown in the second period for Perez evened the match at 4-4. He scored an escape in the third period, but he did so one second short of eliminating the riding time point, which basically left the match even over the final minute. Both were aggressive over that stretch, but it was Clagon who scored the final takedown to claim the 7-5 win. Clagon went on to earn All-American honors in his next match, meaning both of Perez' losses during the tournament came to wrestlers who reached the podium.
Ayala, Harner and Schleifer all fell in their first matches Friday. Ayala nearly pulled out an incredible comeback, but a tough second period did him in. Ayala, the seventh seed at 197, lost to ninth-seeded Jace Bennett of Cornell 10-8; Bennett rode Ayala through the second period and scored back points to grab a significant lead. Ayala was the aggressor in the third period, scoring multiple takedowns but falling one short of tying the match.
Both Schleifer and Harner fell to seeded wrestlers as well. Schleifer lost to fourth-seeded Nicholas Sulzer of Virginia; Sulzer, who earned All-American honors Friday night, was in full control of the match and never allowed Schleifer an opportunity to get comfortable. Schleifer's brilliant debut season, which included Princeton's first ever Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors, ended with a 10-1 loss.
Harner had one of the what-could-have-been finishes to his season; after topping two returning All-Americans in February, he suffered a foot injury that forced him to default from the EIWA Championships. He still received an at-large berth to the NCAAs, but he wasn't fully healthy and couldn't generate any offense in a 9-0 loss to Nebraska's Timothy Dudley.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on the All-American podium, Princeton will bring significant momentum into the 2015-16 season, and it won't need to travel much in the postseason. Jadwin Gym will serve as host for the 2016 EIWA Championships, while Madison Square Garden will host the NCAA Championships.
And Princeton would love to set a new record of NCAA competitors when it travels to the World's Most Famous Arena.
141 – Jordan Laster
Pigtail: Jordan Laster dec. Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) 4-2 (SV-2)
1st Round: #1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) TF Jordan Laster 18-1
C1: Jordan Laster dec. George Fisher (Michigan) 5-4
C2: Jordan Laster def. #15 Jamel Hudson (Hofstra), medical forfeit
C3: Jordan Laster dec. Nick Lawrence (Purdue) 3-2
C4: #4 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Jordan Laster 18-7
149 – Chris Perez
1st Round: #8 Alexander Robertson (Old Dominion) dec. Chris Perez 8-6
C1: Chris Perez def #9 Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), medical forfeit
C2: Chris Perez def. Ken Theobold (Rutgers) 10-6
C3: #15 Bryant Clagon (Rider) dec. Chris Perez 7-5
165 – Jonathan Schleifer
1st Round: #3 Isaac Jordan (Nebraska) dec. Jonathan Schleifer 9-3
C1: Jonathan Schleifer dec. Adam Fierro (Cal-State Bakersfield) 7-2
C2: #4 Nicholas Sulzer (Virginia) maj. dec. Jonathan Schleifer 10-1
184 – Brett Harner
1st Round: #15 Richard Robertson (Wisconsin) dec. Brett Harner 4-0
C1: Brett Harner dec. Jakob Scheffel (West Virginia) 7-1
C2: #16 Timothy Dudley (Nebraska) maj. dec. Brett Harner 9-0
197 – Abram Ayala
1st Round: #7 Abram Ayala dec. Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) 3-2
2nd Round: #10 Conner Hartmann (Duke) dec. #7 Abram Ayala 5-2
C2: #9 Jace Bennett (Cornell) dec. #7 Abram Ayala 10-8