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Oklahoma State All-Americans Nolan Boyd, Anthony Collica, Austin Marsden and Joe Smith all earned a medal, but their efforts weren't enough to hold off Penn State from clinching its fifth NCAA title in six seasons Saturday morning at the 2016 NCAA Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Cowboys sit in second place with 89.5 points, 24.5 points back of Penn State. Virginia Tech trails OSU by seven and half points, while Iowa (81) and defending champion Ohio State (78) round out the top five. The Hokies do not have a finalist, but the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes sport three and two, respectively, and could leapfrog the the Cowboys in the final round. The NCAA final round will feature No. 1 seeds Dean Heil (141) and Alex Dieringer (165) for OSU, and will begin at 7 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN.
True freshman Joe Smith was the lone wrestler to win his final match in the consolation bracket to earn seventh place at 157 pounds. Smith scored first-period takedowns and added a takedown and riding time in the third for a 6-3 win over No. 2 seed Tommy Gantt of North Carolina State.
Smith went 4-2 during his first national tournament appearance, and is the seventh member of his family to earn All-American honors, joining his dad and coach John, uncles Lee Roy, Mark and Pat, and cousins Chris, an OSU assistant, and Mark, associate head coach at Illinois.
The No. 11 seed Collica got the Cowboys off to a great start with a fall as the second period expired over No. 10 Mike DePalma of Kent State. Collica drew No. 3 Lavion Mayes of Missouri, who he beat 3-2 in the quarterfinals, for the 149 third-place bout. Mayes' first-period takedown proved to be the difference in a 3-2 win over the OSU junior, who placed fourth.
Boyd, the No. 8 seed at 184, also won his consolation semifinal match with a 6-0 decision over No. 14 Willie Miklus of Missouri. Boyd scored a first-period takedown before adding an escape and takedown with riding time to advance to the fourth-place match against No. 13 Pete Renda of North Carolina State. The OSU junior from Edmond was no match for Renda, who took third with an 18-3 tech fall.
The No. 4 seed Marsden dropped two matches to end his Cowboy career with a sixth-place finish at heavyweight. Marsden fell 9-4 to No. 3 Ty Walz of Virginia Tech and was pinned in 1 minute, 29 seconds by No. 7 Amarveer Dhesi of Oregon State in the fifth-place bout. The sixth-place finish is the highest in his career.
Team Standings
1. Penn State - 114.0
2. Oklahoma St. - 89.5
3. Virginia Tech - 82.0
4. Iowa - 81.0
5. Ohio St.- 78.0
Finals schedule
141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) vs. No. 14 Bryce Meredith (WYO)
165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) vs. No. 2 Isaac Jordan (WISC)
Third-place match results
149: No. 3 Lavion Mayes (MIZZ) dec. No. 11 Anthony Collica (OSU), 3-2
184: No. 13 Pete Renda (NCST) TF No. 8 Nolan Boyd (OSU), 18-3
Fifth-place match result
285: No. 7 Amarveer Dhesi (ORST) fall No. 4 Austin Marsden (OSU), 1:29
Seventh-place match result
157: No. 6 Joe Smith (OSU) dec. No. 2 Tommy Gantt (NCST), 6-3
Consolation semifinals results
149: No. 11 Anthony Collica (OSU) fall No. 10 Mike DePalma (KENT), 5:00
184: No. 8 Nolan Boyd (OSU) dec. No. 14 Willie Miklus (MIZ), 6-0
285: No. 3 Ty Walz (VT) dec. No. 4 Austin Marsden (OSU), 9-4