Two of Navy's three NCAA qualifiers made it through Thursday's opening day of competition at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championship held at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.
Josh Koderhandt (Fr / 133 / Belleville, Ill.) and
Jacob Koser (Jr / 197 / Dillsburg, Pa.) will continue their quest to garner All-America honors when action resumes Friday at 11:00 am ET. As a team, the Mids are tied for 44th among the field of 69 teams with 2.5 points.
Penn State is atop the leader board where it holds a 5.5-point advantage over second-place Arizona State (27.5-22.0). Rounding out the top five are NC State (21.5) in third, Michigan (21.0) in fourth and Iowa (20.5) in fifth. Eleven teams representing the EIWA have recorded at least a point, including 2022 EIWA Champion Cornell who is tied for ninth alongside Oregon State with 14 points.
The Mids opened the day on a high note, as 16th-seeded Koderhandt earned a 5-4 victory over the #17 seed Haiden Drury of Utah Valley in his first-collegiate NCAA Championship bout. Koderhandt struck first with a takedown with under a minute to go in the opening period, but midway through the third period the match would be locked up at 3 apiece. Koderhandt went on to score the match-winning takedown on the edge of the circle with 46 seconds to go. While there would be a fast and furious scramble over the final 30 seconds, Koderhandt hung on to take a 5-4 victory after Drury's riding time point was factored in.
Andrew Cerniglia (So / 157 / Nazareth, Pa.) and Koser, however, were unable to keep the momentum rolling for Navy as both wrestlers would be tripped up in their opening-round matches. Cerniglia, the 18th seed, trailed in his match against 15th-seeded Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan nearly the entire bout. Lovett broke a 2-2 tie midway through the second frame and never looked back, as he dealt Cerniglia a 6-5 loss.
Koser, meanwhile, took 13th-seeded Jake Woodley of Oklahoma to the mat midway through the first period and looked for the pin. Woodley, however, regained his composure and was credited with a reversal just before the final horn of the first fram. Woodley rode out Koser in the second period before scoring what would be the match-winning takedown halfway into the third period for the 4-2 victory.
Koderhandt was rewarded for his effort in the first round with a match against defending National Champion and top-seeded Roman Bravo-Young. The veteran built a 4-0 advantage over Koderhandt before pinning the first-time qualifier at 4:46 in the match.
Cerniglia, meanwhile, will exit the tournament early after suffering his second defeat of the day. He dropped a 9-5 decision to Oklahoma State's Wyatt Sheets, who was seeded #31. After a scoreless opening period, the second frame turned into a wild one as the two wrestlers combined for 8 points on four reversals. Sheets took his first lead of the match with an escape in the third period, holding on for a 9-5 win.
Koser, a two-time qualifier who is seeded 20th, earned his first NCAA Championship win in dominating fashion. He scored a takedown against 29th-seeded Ben Smith just 16 seconds into the match, scoring a pair of 2-point nearfalls as he rode him out for the remainder of the period. In complete control of the match, Koser pushed his lead to 9 in the second period and a final takedown in the third to go along with his riding time gave him a 12-0 major decision.
Koderhandt will face 18th-seeded Joseph Hellman of North Carolina in Friday's morning's session, while Koser will take on Rutgers' Greg Bulsak, the #14 seed.
2022 NCAA Championship | March 17-19, 2022 | Detroit, Mich.
Team Scores
1. 27.5 - Penn State
2. 22.0 - Arizona State
3. 21.5 - NC State
4. 21.0 - Michigan
5. 20.5 - Iowa
6. 15.0 - Northern Iowa
7. 14.5 - Nebraska
    14.5 - Virginia Tech
9. 14.0 - Cornell *
    14.0 - Oregon State
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15. 11.0 - Penn *
19. 9.0 - Princeton *
34. 4.0 - Lehigh *
35. 3.5 - Binghamton *
41. 3.0 - Drexel *
44. 2.5 - Navy *
48. 1.5 - Army *
48. 1.5 - Columbia *
53. 1.0 - Bucknell *
53. 1.0 - Harvard *
Navy Results at 2022 NCAA Championship
133 - (16) Josh Koderhandt (1-1 / Advances to Day 2)
• 26-8 this season | 26-8 career | 1-1 NCAA Championship career
• Championship Rd 1: defeated (17) Haiden Drury, Utah Valley / Dec / 5-4
• Championship Rd 2: lost to (1) Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State / Fall / 4:46
• Consolation Rd 2: (18) Joseph Hellman, North Carolina
157 - (18) Andrew Cerniglia (0-2)
• 27-8 this season | 36-11 career | 1-4 NCAA Championship career
• Championship Rd 1: lost to (15) Johnny Lovett, Central Michigan / Dec / 6-5
• Consolation Rd 1: lost to (31) Wyatt Sheets, Oklahoma State / Dec / 9-5
197 - (27) Jacob Koser (1-1 / Advances to Day 2)
• 26-8 this season | 54-22 career | 1-3 NCAA Championship career
• Championship Rd 1: lost to (13) Jake Woodley, Oklahoma / Dec / 4-2
• Consolation Rd 1: defeated (29) Ben Smith, Cleveland State / Major / 12-0
• Consolation Rd 2: (14) Greg Bulsak, Rutgers
### Go Navy ###
