Iowa's Spencer Lee sees quest for 4th NCAA wrestling title end in semifinal shocker

Spencer Lee’s bid for a fourth NCAA championship ended in one of the biggest upsets in college wrestling history Friday night.

The Iowa senior and Franklin Regional grad was pinned by Purdue redshirt sophomore Matt Ramos, the fourth seed, with 1 second left in the 125-pound semifinals.

The loss ended a 58-match win streak for Lee, who fell to 18-1 this season. Ramos improved to 34-4.

“Growing up, my whole life, I’ve seen Spencer Lee,” Ramos said. “I’ve watched his matches growing up. I’m like, ‘That bar half, I’m going to learn that.’ In high school and middle school, I’m like, ‘That’s what I want to learn.’ And the next thing you know, I have a shot to wrestle one of the GOATs in the sport of wrestling. When I get to wrestle him, it’s just unreal. I’m very excited I get to wrestle one of the best wrestlers on the planet, and to be able to beat him too, it feels unreal.”

Ramos hit a takedown in the first period to take a 4-1 lead, but Lee racked up four near fall points in the second period and a takedown in the third to take a 7-5 advantage.

With less than a minute left, Ramos said he used a front head pinch that he learned wrestling freestyle to take Lee down and put him on his back, eventually earning the fall.

Lee was bidding to join Oklahoma State’s Pat Smith, Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson, Cornell’s Kyle Dake and Ohio State’s Logan Stieber as the only four-time champs in NCAA history.

That list could still grow to five Saturday as Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis remains in contention for his fourth title. He defeated Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness, 8-3, in his semifinal match at 149. Diakomihalis will meet Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso in the final.

Diakomihalis was well aware that Lee had lost before his semifinal.

“In the moment it was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know what to think,’” Diakomihalis said. “I mean, he’s one of those guys who’s been very dominant — probably more dominant than I’ve been.”

Diakomihalis said he understood the pressure Lee faced.

“You gotta feel for him a little bit, right?” he said. “I’m kind of in a similar position. The whole arena is waiting for you to lose. Maybe they’re not cheering against you, but secretly in the back of their head, it gets a little louder when the other guy is going to score.”

Penn State is closing in on its 10th national title in 12 years. The Nittany Lions have 116.5 points. Iowa is in second with 77.5 points followed by Cornell (64) and Ohio State (62).

Ramos will face Princeton’s Pat Glory, who defeated Nebraska’s Liam Cronin 8-2 in the other semifinal, for the championship on Saturday. Glory, the No. 2 seed, is undefeated.

“It’s a dream for me,” Ramos said. “The job is not done yet.”

The three Penn State wrestlers seeking their third national titles — Roman Bravo-Young at 133, Carter Starocci at 174 and Aaron Brooks at 184 — all advanced to the finals.

Bravo-Young got a two-point takedown in sudden victory time against Arizona State’s Michael McGee. He now has the nation’s longest win streak at 56 matches.

“That was a fun match there,” Bravo-Young said. “Found a way to get it done.”

Bravo-Young will face Cornell’s Vito Arujau, who defeated Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix, 11-3, in the other semifinal. Fix had lost in the finals three times, but he was unbeaten and seeded second.

Starocci defeated Cornell’s Chris Foca in the semifinals and advanced to face Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola in the final. Starocci defeated Labriola, 6-1, in the Big Ten final in a battle of unbeatens.

Brooks, seeded third, defeated No. 2 seed Trent Hilday of North Carolina State, 6-3, in a semifinal. He will face the top seed, Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, in the final.

Penn State got a fourth finalist when freshman Levi Haines, the No. 2 seed, defeated Nebraska’s Peyton Robb in the semifinals at 157. He’ll face North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor in the final. The top seed remained unbeaten after defeating Lehigh’s Josh Humphreys.

At 165, No. 1 seed David Carr defeated Princeton’s Quincy Monday, 6-5, in a semifinal. Monday’s father is 1988 Olympic gold medalist wrestler Kenny Monday.

Other No. 1 seeds that advanced to the finals were Michigan’s Mason Parris at 285, Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi at 197 and Iowa’s Real Woods at 141.

Bonaccorsi, a Bethel Park graduate, rolled past fourth seed Ethan Laird of Rider, 10-4, in the semifinals, reaching the championship round for the second time.

Bonaccorsi could become Pitt’s first champion since Keith Gavin, now the team’s head coach, won at 174 pounds in 2008. Bonaccorsi will face No. 7 seed Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State.

“It feels surreal,” Bonaccorsi said. “I know I can beat anyone if I just focus on myself. My dreams are coming to fruition, but I have one more to go. I’m just fired up to go get it done on Saturday night.”