All Five Bison Wrestlers Post Wins, Four Advance to Second Day of NCAA Championships

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – All five Bison competing at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships earned wins on Thursday, and four advanced to the second day of the tournament and will fight through the consolation bracket when the tournament resumes at the T-Mobile Center on Friday. Kurt Phipps (133), Noah Mulvaney (165) and Dorian Crosby (285) each won their first-round matches, and Dylan Chappell picked up a win in the first round of consolations Thursday evening to stay alive. Myles Takats won in the consolation prelims before being eliminated in the first consolation round of 16.

Mulvaney and Crosby both posted upsets in their first victories, and all three Bison that won in the first round did so in come-from-behind fashion. It's the first time since 2010 and only the second time in program history that three Bucknell wrestlers won their first-round matches in the same year. It's also the first time since 2016 that four Bison remained alive in the bracket after the opening day.

Phipps, seeded 13th, got the day started with a 5-3 decision over 20th-seeded Tyler Wells of Minnesota. Wells defeated Phipps 11-5 back in November during a dual at Davis Gym, and it looked like the result might be the same as Phipps trailed 3-1 after the opening period. The Bison captain added an escape in the second period to narrow the gap to 3-2, and with 23 seconds to go in the third he scored the winning takedown. It was Phipps' first NCAA tournament victory after he went 0-2 in his first appearance a year ago.

Phipps faced a tall task in his second-round matchup, as he drew fourth-seeded Dylan Shawver of Rutgers. Still, Phipps held the 2024 Big Ten champion scoreless for seven minutes before ceding a 1-0 decision to Shawver, who racked up two minutes of riding time in the second period.

Phipps is set to face #32 seed Cayden Rooks in the consolation second round on Friday. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two.

22nd-seeded Mulvaney posted the biggest comeback and the biggest upset of the group in his opening-round win over EIWA runner-up Andrew Cerniglia of Navy. Cerniglia, seeded 11th, jumped out to a 9-2 lead over Mulvaney. The Bison freshman appeared dominant the rest of the way, however, working Cerniglia into a cradle and nearly pinning the three-time NCAA qualifier. Mulvaney posted four nearfall points in the second and added a reversal and a takedown in the third to win by a 12-9 decision.

Mulvaney went on to face 2023 All-American and #6 seed Mike Caliendo of Iowa in the second round. Mulvaney hung close to Caliendo early on, posting a first-period takedown to cut his deficit to 6-5, but he ultimately lost by tech fall, 26-10.

Mulvaney now turns his attention to #21 seed Caleb Fish of Michigan State, who he'll face in the consolation second round on Friday.

Crosby, the #19 seed, fell behind 3-0 and ceded 2:29 of riding time to his first-round opponent, #14 Boone McDermott of Oregon State, in the first period. Crosby dealt his damage in the second, scoring an escape, a takedown and a reversal to go up 6-3. McDermott added one more escape and secured the riding time point, but it wasn't enough. Crosby held on with a 6-5 decision and advanced.

The senior heavyweight was one of two Bison to face a #3 seed when he drew Air Force's Wyatt Hendrickson in the second round. The 2023 All-American posted a first-period fall to send Crosby to the consolation bracket. Crosby will face #20 Daniel Bucknavich of Cleveland State on Friday.

Chappell, seeded 16th, went up against #17 Isaiah Powe of Chattanooga in the first round. Chappell looked strong through the first two periods and led 4-1 until late in the third, but Powe scored an escape, a takedown and back points, all in the final 65 seconds to send Chappell to the consolations.

In the wrestlebacks, Chappell took on #33 seed Todd Carter of Gardner-Webb. He raced to an early lead with two takedowns in the first and held on for an 8-6 decision. Chappell now prepares for Rutgers' #15 seed Mitch Moore.

Takats saw his season come to an end in the consolation first round, but not before he secured a win over #32 Brody Baumann of Purdue in the consolation pigtail. The Bison freshman fell behind after a pair of Baumann takedowns in the first 90 seconds, and he trailed 9-2 late in the opening period. Takats began his comeback at the end of the first with a takedown. He then had the bout tied at 9-9 by the end of the second. Takats scored the winning takedown in the third to advance to the consolation first round, where he lost by technical fall to North Dakota State's #114 Gaven Sax.

In his first-round matchup, 30th-seeded Takats nearly went to overtime against #3 seed Edmond Ruth of Illinois. The pair were tied at 1-1 until Ruth scored the winning takedown with 11 seconds to go. Takats ends his rookie campaign with 25 wins.

Both the consolation second round and the first consolation round of eight take place during the afternoon session on Friday, which begins at noon ET.

133: #13 Kurt Phipps (1-1)
Round of 32: W, dec. over #20 Tyler Wells (Minnesota), 5-3
Round of 16: L, dec. to #4 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), 1-0

141: #16 Dylan Chappell (1-1)
Round of 32: L, dec. to #17 Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga), 9-4
Consolation First Round: W, dec. over #33 Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb), 8-6

165: #22 Noah Mulvaney (1-1)
Round of 32: W, dec. over #11 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), 11-9
Round of 16: L, tech fall to #6 Mike Caliendo (Iowa), 26-10 (6:22)

174: #30 Myles Takats (1-2)
Round of 32: L, dec. to #3 Edmond Ruth (Illinois), 4-1
Consolation Prelims: W, dec. over #32 Brody Baumann (Purdue), 12-9
Consolation First Round: L, tech fall to #14 Gaven Sax (North Dakota St.), 15-0 (4:28)

285: #19 Dorian Crosby (1-1)
Round of 32: W, dec. over #14 Boone McDermott (Oregon St.), 6-5
Round of 16: L, fall to #3 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force), 2:45