Sparkman Advances to Day 2 of NCAA Championships
3/16/2017 10:26:00 PM | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS – Kent State sophomore Casey Sparkman (Massillon, Ohio/Massillon Perry) went 1-1 Thursday at the Scottrade Center during day one of the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships. In his first career appearance at the national tournament, Sparkman dropped his opening match, but bounced back to defeat Aaron Walker of The Citadel 5-3.
Sparkman scored a pair of first period takedowns against Walker, starting with a double leg at the edge of the mat. Up 2-1, Sparkman tossed Walker to his back with a lateral drop and collected two more points. Beginning the third with a 4-3 lead, Sparkman escaped midway through the period and fought off a pair of late attacks by Walker.
The No. 14 seed Sal Mastriani of Virginia Tech handed Sparkman a 20-5 loss to start the day at 157. Â Tomorrow, Sparkman will take on Kyle Langenderfer of Illinois.
Sophomore Anthony Tutolo's season came to an end Thursday evening in heartbreaking fashion. Chattanooga's Chris Debien pulled out a 3-2 win in the tiebreaker period.
Tutolo dropped his opening bout 12-3 against Cornell's Mark Grey in the pigtail round. Grey jumped out to a 6-0 lead midway through the first period on his way to a major decision.
Friday's first session at the Scottrade Center begins at 11 a.m. Eastern.
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