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Five wrestlers with New Jersey ties advanced to the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.
The semifinals and the fourth round of wrestlebacks, which will determine which wrestlers on the backside of the bracket, earn All-American honors, will be at 8 p.m. tonight. The semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Two of the finalists with New Jersey ties are at 197 pounds in Michigan's Jacob Cardenas, who was a two-time NJSIAA 195-pound champion during his scholastic career at Bergen Catholic and Cal State Bakersfield's A.J. Ferrari, who wrestled parts of his prep career at Blair Academy and Bergen Catholic.
New Jersey's other semifinalists are:
Virginia Tech's Eddie Ventresca (125), who was the NJSIAA 120-pound champion in 2019 when he was a junior at Pope John; Penn State's Shayne Van Ness (149), who is a former Blair Academy standout and Somerville native and Lehigh's Owen Trephan (heavyweight), who was a two-time prep champion at Blair Academy.
Cardenas, the top seed, defeated No. 24 Gabe Sollars of Indiana 10-5. He built a 7-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and four back points.
Cardenas will wrestle No. 4 Josh Barr of Penn State in the semifinal. The two have split four bouts this season. Barr won 3-2 in tiebreaker period No. 1 on a reversal with five seconds left. Cardenas won 4-1 in sudden victory in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal. Cardenas then won the Big Ten title with a win over Iowa's Stephan Buchanan.
Ferrari, who was the 2021 197-pound champion, when he was at Oklahoma State, defeated Pitt's Mac Stout 2-0 with a rideout in the third period.
He will wrestle Buchanan, the No. 2 seed, in the semifinal.
Ventresca, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 6 Jeff Strickenberger of West Virginia 4-1 on a takedown with 48 seconds left in sudden victory.
The seventh-place finisher at 125 in 2023 when he was the No. 27 seed, Ventresca will wrestle No. 7 Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State. Spratley knocked off No. 2 and 2023 runner-up Matt Ramos of Purdue 5-2.
The other 125 semifinal will have No. 4 Vince Robinson of North Carolina State, who defeated No. 12 Dean Peterson of Rutgers 4-2, against No. 8 Sheldon Seymour of Lehight, who defeated No. 1 Luke Lilledahl of Penn State on riding time in tiebreaker period No. 1.
Van Ness, who was third at 149 in 2023, defeated North Carolina's Lachlan McNeil 7-2. He will wrestle No. 2 and Big Ten champion Ridge Lovett of Nebraska. Lovett majored Van Ness 10-2 on Jan. 17.
The other 149 semifinal has defending champion and No. 1 Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech against No. 13 Dylan D'Emilio of Ohio State.
Trephan, who was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion when he was at North Carolina State, defeated No. 5 Ben Kueter of Iowa 4-2. He will wrestle No. 1 and two-time champion and 2021 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson of Minnesota.
The other heavyweight semifinal has No. 2 and defending champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State against No. 3 Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 2025 NCAA wrestling championship: 5 with NJ ties reach semifinals
Continue reading...
The semifinals and the fourth round of wrestlebacks, which will determine which wrestlers on the backside of the bracket, earn All-American honors, will be at 8 p.m. tonight. The semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
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Two of the finalists with New Jersey ties are at 197 pounds in Michigan's Jacob Cardenas, who was a two-time NJSIAA 195-pound champion during his scholastic career at Bergen Catholic and Cal State Bakersfield's A.J. Ferrari, who wrestled parts of his prep career at Blair Academy and Bergen Catholic.
New Jersey's other semifinalists are:
Virginia Tech's Eddie Ventresca (125), who was the NJSIAA 120-pound champion in 2019 when he was a junior at Pope John; Penn State's Shayne Van Ness (149), who is a former Blair Academy standout and Somerville native and Lehigh's Owen Trephan (heavyweight), who was a two-time prep champion at Blair Academy.
197 will be a weight to watch tonight
Cardenas, the top seed, defeated No. 24 Gabe Sollars of Indiana 10-5. He built a 7-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and four back points.
Cardenas will wrestle No. 4 Josh Barr of Penn State in the semifinal. The two have split four bouts this season. Barr won 3-2 in tiebreaker period No. 1 on a reversal with five seconds left. Cardenas won 4-1 in sudden victory in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal. Cardenas then won the Big Ten title with a win over Iowa's Stephan Buchanan.
Ferrari, who was the 2021 197-pound champion, when he was at Oklahoma State, defeated Pitt's Mac Stout 2-0 with a rideout in the third period.
He will wrestle Buchanan, the No. 2 seed, in the semifinal.
How New Jersey's other semifinalists advanced
Ventresca, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 6 Jeff Strickenberger of West Virginia 4-1 on a takedown with 48 seconds left in sudden victory.
The seventh-place finisher at 125 in 2023 when he was the No. 27 seed, Ventresca will wrestle No. 7 Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State. Spratley knocked off No. 2 and 2023 runner-up Matt Ramos of Purdue 5-2.
The other 125 semifinal will have No. 4 Vince Robinson of North Carolina State, who defeated No. 12 Dean Peterson of Rutgers 4-2, against No. 8 Sheldon Seymour of Lehight, who defeated No. 1 Luke Lilledahl of Penn State on riding time in tiebreaker period No. 1.
Van Ness, who was third at 149 in 2023, defeated North Carolina's Lachlan McNeil 7-2. He will wrestle No. 2 and Big Ten champion Ridge Lovett of Nebraska. Lovett majored Van Ness 10-2 on Jan. 17.
The other 149 semifinal has defending champion and No. 1 Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech against No. 13 Dylan D'Emilio of Ohio State.
Trephan, who was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion when he was at North Carolina State, defeated No. 5 Ben Kueter of Iowa 4-2. He will wrestle No. 1 and two-time champion and 2021 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson of Minnesota.
The other heavyweight semifinal has No. 2 and defending champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State against No. 3 Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 2025 NCAA wrestling championship: 5 with NJ ties reach semifinals
Continue reading...
