Michigan State University
Big Ten Championships
Gasca Advances To B1G Championship Match
3/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Championships Central | Updated Brackets
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Michigan State junior 141-pounder Javier Gasca advanced to the finals with three wins Saturday in the opening day of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Indiana's Assembly Hall. Gasca will be joined at the NCAA National Championships by freshman teammate Drew Hughes at 165 pounds and Austin Eicher.
The seventh-seeded Gasca will face top-seeded and defending champion Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers in the finals. Gasca advanced to the finals by needing extra time to knock off third-seeded Tommy Thorn in an intense scramble in overtime to win 5-1 in the semifinals. In his second-round bout, Gasca upset second-seeded Jimmy Gulibon of Penn State with a fall at 6:20. Gasca opened the day with a 16-1 technical fall over Alec McKenna of Northwestern.
Gasca will be trying to become the first Spartan to win a conference title since Franklin Gomez in 2009.
Hughes lost to top-seeded Isaiah Martinez of Illinois, who is No. 1 in the nation at 165 pounds in the second round, but bounced back with a 3-0 decision over Patrick Gerish of Maryland and a tight, 1-0 win over Cody Burcher of Ohio State. He'll face third-seeded Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin in the consolation semifinal round on Sunday for the right to go the consolation final.
At 133 pounds, redshirt sophomore Austin Eicher, the 12th seed, lost to fifth-seeded Stevan Micic of Michigan in a 12-4 major decision, but bounced back with a 7-0 decision over Garrett Pepple of Indiana and then a major decision of his own at 13-2 over Bill Rappo of Maryland before an injury default to Nebraska's Eric Montoya.
Senior 149-pounder Nick Trimble won his first round bout against eighth-seeded Chris Perez of host Indiana in an 11-6 decision before losing to top-seed Zain Retherford of Penn State in the quarterfinals and Shayne Oster of Northwestern in the consolation second round.
Fellow senior, 174-pounder Drew Barnes lost his first bout to No. 5 Alex Meyer of Iowa, but bounced back to pin Josh Ugalde of Maryland in 1:47 in the consolation first round but then lost to Ryan Christensen of Wisconsin.
The Spartans are in 10th in the team standings with 37.5 points after the first day, a significant improvement from the last two seasons, as MSU had 10.5 points at the Big Ten Championships last year and 12.5 in 2015.
Session three of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships begin on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET; live brackets are available at TrackWrestling.com and live streaming is available at BTN2Go.com, or visit Indiana's Championships Central.
BIG TEN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS â€" DAY ONE SPARTAN RESULTS
125 First Round: No. 8 Jose Rodriguez (Oho State) dec Logan Griffin (MSU), 5-3.
125 Consolation First Round: Griffin Bye
125 Consolation Second Round: Ben Thornton (Purdue) dec. Logan Griffin (Michigan State), 7-2.
133 First Round: No. 5 Stevan Micic (Michigan) major dec. Austin Eicher (Michigan State), 12-4.
133 Consolation First Round: Austin Eicher (Michigan State) dec. Garrett Pepple (Indiana), 7-0.
133 Consolation Second Round: Austin Eicher (Michigan State) maj. dec. Bill Rappo (Maryland), 13-2.
133 Consolation Third Round: Eric Montoya (Nebraska) injury default Austin Eicher (Michigan State), 1:19.
141 First Round: No. 7 Javier Gasca (Michigan State) tech. fall Alex McKenna (Northwestern), 16-1 (3:43).
141 Quarterfinals: No. 7 Javier Gasca (Michigan State) fall Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 6:20.
141 Semifinals: No. 7 Javier Gasca (Michigan State) dec. No. 3 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), SV-1 5-1.
149 First Round: Nick Trimble (Michigan State) dec. No. 8 Chris Perez (Indiana), 11-6.
149 Quarterfinals: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) fall Nick Trimble (Michigan State), 4:46.
149 Consolation Second Round: Shayne Oster (Northwestern) dec. Nick Trimble (Michigan State), 7-5.
157 First Round: No. 5 Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois) major dec. Austin Thompson (Michigan State), 17-3.
157 Consolation First Round: Justin Alexander (Maryland) dec. Austin Thompson (Michigan State), 6-3.
165 First Round: No. 8 Drew Hughes dec. Dylan Painton (Rutgers), 1-0.
165 Quarterfinals: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) fall No. 8 Drew Hughes (Illinois) 0:58.
165 Consolation Second Round: No. 8 Drew Hughes dec. Patrick Gerish (Maryland), 3-0.
165 Consolation Quarterfinal: No. 8 Drew Hughes dec. Cody Burcher (Ohio State), 1-0.
174 First Round: No. 5 Alex Meyer (Iowa) tech. fall Drew Barnes (Michigan State), 19-3 (7:00).
174 Consolation First Round: Drew Barnes (Michigan State) fall Josh Ugalde (Maryland) 1:47.
174 Consolation Second Round: Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) major dec. Drew Barnes (Michigan State), 13-2.
184 First Round: No. 4 Myles Martin (Ohio State) major dec. Shwan Shadaia (Michigan State), 20-8.
184 Consolation First Round: Shwan Shadaia (Michigan State) injury default Ernest Battaglia (Michigan), 3:45.
184 Consolation Second Round: No. 6 Emery Parker (Illinois) fall Shwan Shadaia (Michigan State), 2:57.
197 First Round: No. 7 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) major dec. Wesley Maskill (Michigan State), 12-2.
197 Consolation First Round: Jacob Hinz (Indiana) dec. Wesley Maskill (Michigan State), 8-5.
HWT First Round: No. 7 Youssif Hamida (Maryland) dec. Jacob Cooper (Michigan State), 6-0.
HWT Consolation First Round: Fletcher Miller (Indiana) dec. Jacob Cooper (Michigan State), 1-0.
Players Mentioned
