NCAA Day 3: Medal Rounds

Iowa State Boasts 3 place winners in the NCAA tournament

This wrestling tournament is one of the most brutal things to be a part of. It’s three days of pure blood, sweat, and tears. To get placed in the top-8 is absolutely an honor. That’s what David Carr, Marcus Coleman, and Younger Bastida did. They fought back and got on that podium. That’s one hell of an accomplishment. Let’s break down each of their journeys to the podium.

David Carr

What a story this man has. David fought back from being knocked out of the winner’s bracket early. Today in his first match, he went against #8 Will Lewan of Michigan. This match was tight, but in the end, David was just too much for Will and won it 6-3. In his third-place match, he went against #10 Peyton Robb of Nebraska. That match was also close, until the third period where David Carr defeated Peyton Robb 7-2. You can tell David was pretty emotional after his last match. His dad talked to him after the match saying that he will grow much stronger after this and that he will. It’s awesome to win a national championship, but to battle back and place 3rd is absolute hell. You have to wrestle more matches, it’s “win or you’re out” and everyone is gunning to take you out. To see David place 3rd might be a disappointment to some but this is true grit in its purest form. Congrats David on placing 3rd! You should feel proud to be back on that podium!

Marcus Coleman

Marcus Had a tough bracket but made his way to the 7th place match. Let me tell you, the 184-pound weight class is stacked! Marcus held his own and it showed in his match. Coleman went against #11 Jonathan Loew of Cornell. Marcus flexed his muscles and defeated Jonathan 8-3 to place 7th. Marcus Coleman is one of the cogs in Iowa State’s wrestling program and very excited to see him back next year. This is excellent for the future of the program. Congrats Marcus on placing 7th! Way to push through it and make it onto the podium.

Younger Bastida

Younger was in one of the toughest weight classes in this Tournament. Bastida has shown why the 197-pound weight should know his name! He has fought tooth and nail (and even lost some of his own teeth) to get to the place matches today. Younger Bastida faced #2 Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming. Younger fought hard but fell just short 4-3 which sent him to the 5th place round. In his 5th place match, he went against #21 Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State. Bastida wasted no time and pinned Hoffman in the 1st period. He gave a celebratory backflip to show how excited he was. What an accomplishment for this young man. Can’t wait to see you absolutely shake the 197-pound class next year. Congrats Younger Bastida on placing 5th! Way to grind through that weight class and get on the podium!

Conclusion

The Finals will be on tonight but I wanted to give my last thoughts out. This might have been one of the best years for Iowa State wrestling in a long time! Congrats to all the Iowa State wrestlers for such a great year! I cannot wait for what is in store for next year.