CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. - A pair of Spartan wrestlers clinched All-American status at the conclusion of day one of the NCAA National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Dalton Rohrbaugh (133 lbs.) and Camden Farrow (197 lbs.) both secured their spots on the national podium and will determine their final placements tomorrow. Rohrbaugh will begin his day tomorrow in the championship semifinals, while Farrow will start in the consolation quarterfinal round.
York is tied with Loras for the 11th-most points (16) in the 70-team field. Wartburg leads the way 58.0 points, followed by, Augsburg (45.0), Wabash (40.5), North Central (32.5), Stevens (29.5), RIT (26.5), Coe (24.0), Millikin (22.5), Chicago (20.0), Baldwin Wallace (18.0), Coast Guard (18.0), Wisconsin-Oshkosh (18.0).
All-Americans
Two-seed Dalton Rohrbaugh (24-0) began his day with a 12-3 win over Zach Thompson (UW-Platteville) in round one of the 133-pound bracket. Thompson scored the first takedown of the bout, but Rohrbaugh recovered with an escape and a takedown to take a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period. Rohrbaugh reversed Thompson from bottom to start the second and held a 5-3 advantage after two periods. Rohrbaugh finished the bout strong with another takedown and a tilt for four as he out-scored Thompson, 7-0, in the third.
In the quarterfinals, Rohrbaugh drew a rematch with seventh-seed Kyle Kaiser (RWU) as the two met back in November in the Ned McGinley title bout with Rohrbaugh winning by a score of 5-3. The end result was the same this time around as the Spartan senior used a big third period to pull off an 8-5 win.
After a scoreless first period, Kaiser escaped from bottom to start the second, but Rohrbaugh scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds. Kaiser managed to get back to his feet before time expired in the second as the two headed to the third tied, 2-2. Each wrestler scored reversals to start the third, but Rohrbaugh was able to escape with 90 seconds left to take a one-point lead. He then scored what turned out to be the winning takedown with 46 seconds left even though Kaiser managed to escape with 25 seconds remaining.
Camden Farrow (33-6) opened his day with a pigtail bout against Gage Linahon (Central) in which Farrow earned a comeback 7-5 win in sudden victory. Linahon scored the first takedown of the bout and owned a 3-2 lead after two periods. Farrow escaped from bottom to start the third, but was taken down with 28 seconds left. Farrow suddenly reversed Linahon right after giving up the takedown as the two were tied, 5-5, at the end of regulation. Farrow rode the momentum into overtime and scored the winning takedown 36 seconds into the sudden-victory period.
Farrow moved on to third-seed Coy Spooner (Coast Guard) in the championship round one. Spooner scored a takedown in the first minute and neither wrestler scored again until Farrow reversed from bottom early in the third. He was unable to hold Spooner down and eventually surrendered the winning escape with 1:08 left as Spooner earned the 4-2 win.
In the consolation round one, Farrow matched up with Mathew Kelly (NYU) and needed overtime to keep his postseason run alive. Both wrestlers got busy in the third as neither scored in the first five minutes. The two swapped reversals before Kelly broke free with 16 seconds left, but Farrow remained on the attack and scored a takedown before time expired to send the bout into overtime as Kelly was saved by his riding time bonus. After a great scramble ensued, it was Farrow prevailing in the end as he scored a takedown with just 34 seconds left.
Farrow capped off the night and secured his spot on the podium with a dramatic first-period win over fifth-seed Donovan Corn (Luther). Corn took Farrow down 2:14 into the bout, but Farrow got his feet quickly. Soon after getting the escape, the Spartan senior suddenly threw Corn to the mat, locked up a cradle and stuck Corn on his back with 1:08 remaining to become an NCAA All-American.
Eric Hutchinson
A season and a career came to a close for one Spartan wrestler on day one at the NCAA Championships. Graduate student Eric Hutchinson (21-8) suffered back-to-back losses to fifth-seed Tyler Shilson (Augsburg), 20-5, and Joe Sacco (TCNJ), 3-2, as his hopes at a first podium appearance went away.
Hutchinson's career had plenty of its ups and downs, but his overall body of work is that of success. After qualifying for nationals his freshman year, Hutchinson suffered a season-ending knee injury his sophomore year, but he came back strong the next season and qualified for nationals again. He carried a 32-4 record into the 2020 national championships only to have them canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic approximately 12 hours before matches were scheduled to begin. Hutchinson then missed his entire senior season as the pandemic once again canceled competition, but he used his extra year of eligibility to return one more time to the Spartan lineup and punched his ticket once again to the national tournament.
Hutchinson closes out his career with an overall record of 81-26 (.804 win pct.) which is tied for 14th on the Spartan all-time wins list. He earned NWCA Third Team All-America honors in 2020, is one of 15 Spartans to qualify for nationals three times and one of just four wrestlers in program history to earn NWCA Scholar All-America honors three times.
Up Next
Dalton Rohrbaugh will face sixth-seed Andrew Perelka (John Carrol) in the championship semifinals. Camden Farrow will square off against Gable Crebs (Lycoming) for the fourth time this season as the two will meet in the consolation quarterfinals.
Session three is slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET.
