The Penn State Nittany Lions won their fourth consecutive national title behind championship performances from Jason Nolf, Bo Nickal and Anthony Cassar.
Thirty-three athletes in each of the following weight classes qualified for the tournament either through automatic bids or at-large bids: 125 pounds, 133 pounds, 141 pounds, 149 pounds, 157 pounds, 165 pounds, 174 pounds, 184 pounds, 197 pounds, Heavyweights (183-285 pounds). The remaining 45 spots were awarded as at-large bids by NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee.
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At 125 pounds, Spencer Lee earned his second consecutive national title when he took down then undefeated Jack Mueller of Virginia. At 133 pounds, Nick Suriano made school history with a win over No. 1 Daton Fix of Oklahoma State to become the first Scarlet Knight national champ. He was later followed by 149-pound national champion Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers to bring two golden trophies back to Jersey. Yianni Diakomihalis won the 141-pound weight class over Ohio State's Joey McKenna, and Jason Nolf took home his third-consecutive individual title at 157 pounds. At 165 pounds, Mehki Lewis became the first Virginia Tech athlete to win a national title in wrestling when he beat returning national champion Vincenzo Joseph in the finals.
In a rematch of last year's 174 pound finals, Zahid Valencia stopped Mark Hall again to pick up his second consecutive title. Drew Foster won the 184-pound final against Max Dean after both athletes pulled off upsets to work themselves into the final bout. At 197 pounds, Bo Nickal exerted his dominance again to add to his national championship total. Teammate Anthony Cassar became the champion at 285 pounds in his senior season for the Nittany Lions.
Ohio State finished second in the team race while Oklahoma State took third and Iowa rounded out the trophy teams in fourth. ;
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NCAA TOURNAMENT INFO: How the NCAA wrestling tournament works
Penn State won last year’s NCAA Division I wrestling title, and the Nittany Lions picked up their fourth consecutive national championship in 2019. The Nittany Lions also won the Big Ten tournament this weekend by more than 30 points, the first time they have won the conference title since 2016. The win in Pittsburgh at the NCAA championships marks their eighth national title in nine years.
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