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Once the reality of not being able to leave Philadelphia with his second NCAA Division I wrestling championship set in, Cal State Bakersfield 197-pound AJ Ferrari went right back to work, finishing his business the best he could.
Late Friday, the No. 3 seeded Ferrari lost a 3-0 decision to Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan, the No. 2 seed, in the championship semifinals, preventing him vying for the national title. Instead, he woke up on Saturday morning and competed in the consolation bracket. The end result was two more wins, first a 5-3 decision over Wyoming’s Joseph Novak in a 197 consolation semifinal, and then a meet-up with the overall No. 1 seed in the weight class, Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas.
Ferrari defeated Cardenas by a 2-0 decision and the CSUB redshirt sophomore finished in third place for the 2024-25 season, his first as a Roadrunner. He left Philadelphia as an NCAA All-American for finishing among the top eight in his weight class. He went 5-1 in the tournament and his final season record is 22-1.
Ferrari’s third-place NCAA finish is the highest for a CSUB wrestler since Stephen Neal won his second of back-to-back NCAA titles at heavyweight in 1999. Ferrari is the first Roadrunner to earn NCAA Division I All-American status since 2014 when Bryce Hammond was eighth place at 184 pounds. Ferrari is the first NCAA All-American at 197 pounds since Brandon Halsey was seventh in 2009.
Ferrari, who won the Pac-12 Conference championship, was one of three CSUB wrestlers to compete in this year’s NCAA tournament. Senior heavyweight (285) Jake Andrews, a Frontier High alumnus, went 1-2, making it to the second day of the three-day event. Richard Castro-Sandoval, competing at 125, went 0-2 and was eliminated on the first day.
CSUB which had no NCAA qualifiers in 2024, which snapped a 50-year streak of not being represented by at least one CSUB wrestler, had three NCAA qualifiers for the first time since 2021.
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Late Friday, the No. 3 seeded Ferrari lost a 3-0 decision to Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan, the No. 2 seed, in the championship semifinals, preventing him vying for the national title. Instead, he woke up on Saturday morning and competed in the consolation bracket. The end result was two more wins, first a 5-3 decision over Wyoming’s Joseph Novak in a 197 consolation semifinal, and then a meet-up with the overall No. 1 seed in the weight class, Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas.
Ferrari defeated Cardenas by a 2-0 decision and the CSUB redshirt sophomore finished in third place for the 2024-25 season, his first as a Roadrunner. He left Philadelphia as an NCAA All-American for finishing among the top eight in his weight class. He went 5-1 in the tournament and his final season record is 22-1.
Ferrari’s third-place NCAA finish is the highest for a CSUB wrestler since Stephen Neal won his second of back-to-back NCAA titles at heavyweight in 1999. Ferrari is the first Roadrunner to earn NCAA Division I All-American status since 2014 when Bryce Hammond was eighth place at 184 pounds. Ferrari is the first NCAA All-American at 197 pounds since Brandon Halsey was seventh in 2009.
Ferrari, who won the Pac-12 Conference championship, was one of three CSUB wrestlers to compete in this year’s NCAA tournament. Senior heavyweight (285) Jake Andrews, a Frontier High alumnus, went 1-2, making it to the second day of the three-day event. Richard Castro-Sandoval, competing at 125, went 0-2 and was eliminated on the first day.
CSUB which had no NCAA qualifiers in 2024, which snapped a 50-year streak of not being represented by at least one CSUB wrestler, had three NCAA qualifiers for the first time since 2021.
Continue reading...
