Glory Clinches Best Freshman Finish In Program History, But Kolodzik/Brucki Fall To #1 Seeds In Semis

Session Recaps: Thursday Morning l Thursday Afternoon l Friday Morning

Check out the "Beyond The Stripes" feature on Matthew Kolodzik

While Friday night didn't produce the exact form of history that head coach Chris Ayres and the Princeton wrestling team hoped for, there was some impressive history all the same.

Patrick Glory became Princeton's 12th All-American — mere hours after teammate Patrick Brucki became the 11th — and he clinched the highest finish for a freshman in program history Friday night with a pair of impressive wins during the NCAA Championships consolation round at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. While teammates Matthew Kolodzik and Patrick Brucki both fell to the top seeds of their respective weight classes in the semifinals, all three have clinched Top-6 finishes for the Tigers — yet another first in program history.

Princeton enters Saturday's fifth session (11 am, ESPNU) in 16th place overall with 30.5 points. If Princeton ended in that exact position, it would tie for the third-best in team history, and the best since 1985 (also 16th).

Both Princeton semifinalists entered as underdogs against undefeated seniors, but both battled against their respective #1 seeds.

Kolodzik and Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault wrestled a fairly quiet first period, with both easily fending off any offense from their opponent. Ashnault grabbed the first point of the match with an escape, and Kolodzik took the down position in the third looking for the tie. He got to his feet several times, but Ashnault had the answer each time. He grabbed riding time and then returned Kolodzik to the mat one final time to secure the 2-0 win.

Brucki went on the offensive early against two-time NCAA champion Bo Nickal, but the two-time reigning NCAA champion showed exactly why he's been one of the leaders of the top-ranked Nittany Lions. He spun around Brucki for a pair of early takedowns, and as he's done to many of the nation's best wrestlers, he caught the Princeton sophomore in a cradle and posted a second-period pin to advance to his fourth straight NCAA final.

Both Kolodzik and Brucki can wrestle to third place Saturday morning. Kolodzik will open against third-seeded Mitch Finesilver; Kolodzik won an unofficial match between the two in the NWCA All-Star Classic. Brucki will take on 16^th-seeded Josh Hokit of Fresno State.

Glory secured his All-America honor with an impressive Friday night opener over 12th-seeded Michael McGee of Old Dominion. As he did twice on Thursday, Glory got a quick first takedown to grab the lead, and then he turned McGee for a couple nearfall points to open a 4-0 lead. An escape and another Glory takedown later, and he had total control of his eventual 7-1 win.

Glory wasn't finished from there. He took it to ninth-seeded RayVon Foley of Michigan State from the start of their next consolation match. He grabbed nearfall points on three different occasions in the first period to open a 10-0 lead, and he eventually finished the match with a 13-5 win.

Glory will see the top-seeded wrestler in the field Saturday morning, Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern.

Hear from @tigercoachayres following the Friday night session ... 2?? tough semis, but 2?? great wins for All-American Patrick Glory! #GetIn pic.twitter.com/D9UkN7YtVK
— Princeton Wrestling (@tigerwrestling) March 23, 2019

125 – #7 Patrick Glory
1^st – Glory TF #26 Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga) 16-0
2^nd – Glory mdec. #10 Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State) 10-0
QF —#2 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) dec. Glory 9-5
Cons Round of 12 — Glory dec. #12 Michael McGee (Old Dominion) 7-1
Cons Round of 8 — Glory mdec. #9 RayVon Foley (Michigan State) 13-5
Cons Semifinal — Glory vs. #1 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern)

149 – #5 Matthew Kolodzik
1^st – Kolodzik dec. #28 Michael Sprague (American) 3-2
2^nd – Kolodzik dec. #12 Brady Barge (Penn State) 8-5
QF — Kolodzik dec. #4 Brock Mauller (Missouri) 5-3
SF — #1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. Kolodzik 2-0
Cons Semifinal — Kolodzik vs. #3 Mitch Finesilver (Duke)

157 – #26 Quincy Monday
1^st – #7 Larry Early (Old Dominion) mdec. Monday 10-0
1^st Cons – #23 Chase Straw (Iowa State) dec. Monday 13-12, TB-1

174 — #31 Travis Stefanik
1^st – #2 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) WBF Travis Stefanik 1:13
1^st Cons — #18 Andrew Morgan (Campbell) dec. Stefanik 8-4

184 — #31 Kevin Parker
1^st – #2 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) mdec. Parker 11-2
1^st Cons — #18 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) mdec. Parker 14-2

197 — #4 Patrick Brucki
1^st – Brucki dec. #29 Brandon Whitman (UNC) 8-2
2^nd — Brucki dec. #13 Malik McDonald (NC State) 3-2
QF — Brucki dec. #21 Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) 4-3
SF —#1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) WBF Brucki 4:41
Cons Semifinal — Brucki vs. #16 Josh Hokit (Fresno State)

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