THE RUNDOWN
- Event: 2017 NCAA Division II National Championships (Hosted by CrossPlex-Harris Arena - Birmingham, Ala.)
- Number of Competing Teams: 44
- Result: Gannon is tied for 12th out of 44 teams after day one with 21.5 points.
- The Short Story: Gannon freshman Carmine Ciotti (Erie, Pa./McDowell) (133), redshirt junior Eric Lewandowski (Depew, N.Y./Lancaster Central) (157) and redshirt junior Nick Budd (Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany) (Hwt.) advanced to day two with two victories each during Friday's two sessions. Ciotti will open Saturday's action in the 133-pound championship semifinals. The Golden Knights sit in 12th place after the first day, representing the NCAA Division II Super Region One's third-best team behind Notre Dame (Ohio) and Kutztown.
MEDIA CENTER
BOUT-BY-BOUT RESULTS
133 Pounds
- Gannon Wrestler: Carmine Ciotti (Erie, Pa./McDowell)
- Record on Day One: 2-0
- Ciotti Record After Day One: 25-3 Overall
- Notes: Ciotti is ranked 10th in NCAA Division II ... Ciotti posted a 3-1 victory against sixth-ranked Mike Rhone of St. Cloud State during his opening bout ... Ciotti recorded a takedown with 12 seconds left in the first period to assume a 2-0 lead ... after a scoreless second period, Rhone started the final period down ... Ciotti accumulated one minute and 26 seconds of riding time, before Rhone cut the deficit to 2-1 with an escape ... Ciotti held off Rhone the rest of the way and added a riding-time point for a 3-1 victory ... Ciotti then pinned unranked Devin Rogers of Findlay during the championship quarterfinals ... Rogers had upset fourth-ranked Paul Garcia of Colorado State-Pueblo during the first round ... Rodgers took a 1-0 lead after one period ... Ciotti started the second period down and tied the match at one with an immediate escape ... Ciotti followed with a takedown 30 seconds into the period to forge ahead 3-1 and turned the move into a pin with 39 seconds left in the middle frame ... Ciotti won his team-best 25th match while recording his team-best 12th pin ... Ciotti clinched all-america honors with the victory ... Ciotti will face the nation's top-ranked 133-pound wrestler in Ashland's Michael Labry in the championship semifinals during Saturday's morning session ... Labry handed Ciotti one of his three losses this season with a 3-2 decision at the Findlay Open on November 19 ... Ciotti qualified for the national championships as a true freshman.
157 Pounds
- Gannon Wrestler: Eric Lewandowski (Depew, N.Y./Lancaster Central)
- Record on Day One: 2-1
- Lewandowski Record After Day One: 16-5 Overall
- Notes: Lewandowski is ranked 12th in NCAA Division II ... Lewandowski began the day with a 10-0 major decision against ninth-ranked Tyler Nation of Augustana (S.D.) ... Lewandowski led 6-0 after one period due to a takedown and four-point nearfall ... Lewandowski started the middle stanza on top and increased his lead to 8-0 with a two-point nearfall, before receiving another point with 39 seconds left in the period due to a second stalling call on Nation ... the two wrestlers were unable to score during the final two minutes, before Lewandowski added a riding-time point for a 10-0 shutout ... Lewandowski recorded his fourth major decision of the season ... Lewandowski then dropped a 3-1 decision to second-ranked Desti McCauley of Nebraska-Kearney during the championship quarterfinals ... after a scoreless first period, McCauley started the second period down and escaped 36 seconds after the whistle for a 1-0 lead ... Lewandowski duplicated the effort to begin the third period, doing so in eight seconds to tie the bout at one ... McCauley recorded the decisive takedown with 18 seconds left to earn a 3-1 victory ... Lewandowski remained alive for the second day with a dominating third period during a 17-2 technical fall against eighth-ranked Greg Tooley of Fort Hays State (Kan.) ... Tooley went ahead 2-0 with a takedown 15 seconds into the match ... Lewandowski needed only five seconds to escape and trailed 2-1 after one period ... after a scoreless second period, Lewandowski started the final period on top and simply dominated ... Lewandowski recorded three four-point nearfalls and a pair of two-point nearfalls to end the match with 24 seconds remaining and a 17-2 technical fall ... Lewandowski produced his team-best seventh technical fall of the season ... Lewandowski opens Saturday's action against fourth-ranked Larry Bomstad of St. Cloud State (Minn.) in the consolation quarterfinals ... Lewandowski is making his first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship appearance.
174 Pounds
- Gannon Wrestler: Jake Stratton (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley)
- Record on Day One: 0-2
- Stratton Record After Day One: 21-14 Overall
- Notes: Stratton suffered an 18-2 setback against Nick Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside during Friday's first match ... Becker entered the bout ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II with a spotless 21-0 record ... Becker led 10-1 after recording two takedowns, a four-point nearfall and a two-point nearfall during the first period ... Stratton's escape during the first period cut the deficit to 4-1 at the time ... Becker extended his lead to 13-1 after two periods with an escape and takedown ... Becker opened the final period with a takedown that was followed by a Stratton escape to leave the score at 15-2 ... Becker countered with another takedown that ended the match in a technical fall with 1:27 remaining, before adding a riding-time point for an 18-2 win ... Stratton open the wrestlebacks with an 8-6 loss to 10th-ranked Brandon Supernaw of Western State (Colo.) ... Stratton drew first blood with a takedown 1:06 into the contest ... Supernaw escaped eight seconds later and trailed 2-1 after one period ... Supernaw started the second period down and immediately escaped to tie the match at two ... Supernaw later recorded a pair of takedowns followed by Stratton escapes to assume a 6-4 advantage after two periods ... Stratton started the final period down and clawed with 6-5 after an escape 10 seconds in ... Supernaw countered with his third takedown midway through the period ... Stratton escaped, but was unable to score again before suffering an 8-6 loss ... Stratton was eliminated with the loss, concluding his campaign at 21-14 overall ... Stratton was making his first NCAA Division II National Championship appearance.
184 Pounds
- Gannon Wrestler: Nicholas Costa (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial)
- Record On Day One: 0-2
- Costa Record After Day One: 10-4 Overall
- Notes: Costa started his national championship experience with a 4-0 loss to sixth-ranked Zeb Wahle of Maryville (Mo.) ... after a scoreless first period, Wahle started the middle stanza down and scored the first point with an escape ... Wahle then recorded a takedown with 49 seconds left and rode Costa out the rest of the period ... Wahle posted the only point of the third period due to a penalty and secured a 4-0 victory ... Costa opened the wrestlebacks with a 7-5 setback against unranked Jared Chambers of Tiffin ... Chambers led 4-2 after the first period following a pair of takedowns that resulted in two Costa escapes ... Costa started the middle frame down and escaped after 10 seconds, cutting the deficit to 4-3 ... Chambers bumped his lead to 5-3 after a second stalling call on Costa, who countered with a takedown 35 seconds later to tie the bout at five ... Chambers was able to escape with 27 seconds showing on the clock and went into the final two minutes with a 6-5 edge ... Chambers started the final period down and escaped after 16 seconds, increasing his lead to 7-5 which proved to be the final score as neither wrestler could score the rest of the way ... Costa was eliminated with the loss, ending his campaign with a 10-4 record ... Costa was making his first NCAA Division II National Championship appearance.
Heavyweight
- Gannon Wrestler: Nick Budd (Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany)
- Record on Day One: 2-1
- Budd Record After Day One: 20-10 Overall
- Notes: Budd began the day with a 3-2 victory against 11th-ranked Dylan Faulkenberg of Indianapolis ... after a scoreless first period, Faulkenberg started the middle period down and recorded the first point with an escape ... Budd countered with a takedown 35 seconds later to forge ahead 2-1 ... Faulkenberg added another escape 13 seconds later to tie the match at two ... Budd started the final period down and needed only nine seconds to escape and regain the lead at 3-2 ... neither wrestler was able to score the rest of the way, before Budd recorded a 3-2 win ... Budd later dropped an 8-4 decision against eighth-ranked Logan Hopp of Upper Iowa during the championship quarterfinals ... Hopp upset the nation's top-ranked heavyweight Caleb Carter of Central Oklahoma 9-7 during his first-round match ... Hopp sandwiched a Budd escape with a pair of takedowns during the first period for a 4-1 lead ... Budd started the second period down and produced two escapes during the stanza, but allowed a Hopp takedown after both ... Hopp held an 8-3 advantage after two periods ... Budd recorded an escape for the only point of the final period, before dropping an 8-4 decision ... Budd rebounded with an 11-5 victory against unranked Deaken McCoy of Ashland during the consolation quarterfinals ... Budd recorded an early takedown, before a McCoy reversal six seconds later tied the match at two ... Budd followed with an escape five seconds later and ended the first period with a 3-2 advantage ... Budd started the second period down, responding with an escape and takedown for a 6-2 lead ... McCoy escaped, but was taken down again as Budd assumed an 8-3 advantage after two periods ... Budd completed the scoring with a takedown between two McCoy escapes in the third, before adding a riding-time point for an 11-5 victory ... Budd avenged an earlier 4-3 loss to McCoy at the Midwest Classic on December 17 ... the decision was Budd's 20th victory of the season ... Budd begins Saturday's action in the consolation quarterfinals against a familiar foe in unranked Ryan Appleby of Kutztown ... Budd is 2-0 against Appleby this season, including a pin during the third-place match of the NCAA Division II Super Regional One ... Budd is making his second NCAA Division II National Championship appearance ... Budd wrestled in the 2015 national championships after placing second at the regional tournament that season.
TEAM NOTES
- Gannon is listed among others receiving votes in the latest Wrestling Coaches Association (WCA) Top 25 Poll.
- The Golden Knights finished second at the NCAA Division II Super Regional One, recording their best team finish since placing second at the 2010 NCAA Division II East Regional.
- Gannon's five national qualifiers are the program's most since sending six to the 2010 national championships.
- Four of Gannon's five national qualifiers are making their first-ever trip with Budd making his second appearance.
- Ciotti, Lewandowski and Budd all picked up their first career victory at the national championship level.
- Gannon recorded three first-round victories at the national championships for the first time since 2009 when Kevin McElhaney (149), Jacob Tazzi (184) and Frank McGrath (Hwt.) earned wins during their first bouts.
- Ciotti, Lewandowski and Budd have already secured all-america honors.
- The trio are Gannon's first All-Americans since Matt Turek (125) in 2014.
- Ciotti is the program's third 133-pound All-Americans, but first since Corey Bowers in 2010.
- Lewandowski is Gannon's first-ever 157-pound All-American.
- Budd became the fourth heavyweight in program history to achieve all-america status. The previous three reached that level seven times. The last heavyweight to earn all-america honors was McGrath in 2010.
- Ciotti is Gannon's first freshman All-American since R.J. Paterniti placed sixth at 141 pounds in 2003.
UP NEXT
- The 2017 NCAA Division II National Championships continues Saturday, March 11 with the third session beginning at 11 a.m. eastern standard time.
- The third session includes the championship semifinals, third-round consolation, consolation semifinals, third-place matches, fifth-place matches and seventh-place matches.
- The national championships conclude Saturday night with the final session that begins at 7 p.m. eastern standard time. The final session features only the championship matches one at a time on one mat.
2017 NCAA Division II National Championships Results for Gannon
133 -
Carmine Ciotti (Erie, Pa./McDowell) (22-2) placed 6th and scored 10.00 team points.
  Champ. Round 1 - Ciotti (Gannon) 22-2 won by decision over Mike Rhone (St. Cloud St.) 19-8 (Dec 3-1)
  Quarterfinal - Ciotti (Gannon) 22-2 won by fall over Devin Rogers (Findlay) 22-22 (Fall 4:21)
157 -
Eric Lewandowski (Depew, N.Y./Lancaster Central) (16-5) placed 8th and scored 7.00 team points.
  Champ. Round 1 - Lewandowski (Gannon) 16-5 won by major decision over Tyler Nation (Augustana (SD)) 21-12 (MD 10-0)
  Quarterfinal - Destin McCauley (Neb.-Kearney) 33-6 won by decision over Lewandowski (Gannon) 16-5 (Dec 3-1)
  Cons. Round 2 - Lewandowski (Gannon) 16-5 won by tech fall over Greg Tooley (Fort Hays St.) 27-6 (TF-1.5 6:38 (17-2))
174 -
Jake Stratton (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) (15-9) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
  Champ. Round 1 - Nick Becker (Wis.-Parkside) 23-0 won by tech fall over Stratton (Gannon) 15-9 (TF-1.5 5:34 (18-2))
  Cons. Round 1 - Brandon Supernaw (Western St.) 31-11 won by decision over Stratton (Gannon) 15-9 (Dec 8-6)
184 -
Nicholas Costa (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) (7-9) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
  Champ. Round 1 - Zeb Wahle (Maryville (MO)) 27-4 won by decision over Costa (Gannon) 7-9 (Dec 4-0)
  Cons. Round 1 - Jared Chambers (Tiffin) 18-15 won by decision over Costa (Gannon) 7-9 (Dec 7-5)
285 -
Nick Budd (Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany) (14-4) placed 8th and scored 4.50 team points.
  Champ. Round 1 - Budd (Gannon) 14-4 won by decision over Dylan Faulkenberg (UIndy) 27-11 (Dec 3-2)
  Quarterfinal - Logan Hopp (Upper Iowa ) 22-8 won by decision over Budd (Gannon) 14-4 (Dec 8-4)
  Cons. Round 2 - Budd (Gannon) 14-4 won by decision over Deaken McCoy (Ashland ) 18-12 (Dec 11-5)
