Pennsylvania’s Five Best Chances At First Round NCAA Tournament Upsets on Thursday

PITTSBURGH, PA – It’s not a question of IF the upsets will happen it’s WHO they will happen to. Below are five Pennsylvania wrestlers who could find themselves pulling the upsets on Thursday afternoon. Photo of Dakota Geer by Sam Janicki.

 

141 Pounds: #21 A.C. Headlee (North Carolina) over #12 Cameron Kelly (Ohio)

Redshirt junior A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) is in his second trip to the NCAA Tournament but still in search of his first win there after going 0-2 last season. His record, 19-10, isn’t great but he can keep it close with just about anyone. In the first round the former 2015 PIAA State Champion will get Ohio’s Cameron Kelly who is a senior in his third trip to Nationals. Kelly has two wins over 2018 All-American Sa`Derian Perry (Old Dominion) but has loses to Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) and Cory Simpson (Kent State).

 

149 Pounds: #24 Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) over #9 Justin Oliver (N.C. State)

Redshirt senior Cortlandt Schuyler is a journeyman. He has battled for a spot in the Lehigh line-up for the last four years and now in his final year he makes his second trip to Nationals. He is a dangerous wrestler who can beat quality opponents on any given day. Last season he lost to Navy’s Jared Prince in the EIWA Tournament by tech-fall 16-1. The next week at the NCAA Tournament he beat Prince 4-3. Schuyler will need that type of performance when he takes on N.C. State’s Justin Oliver. The senior is making his fourth trip to Nationals having earned All-American honors back in 2017 while still at Central Michigan. 

 

165 Pounds: #21 Te’shan Campbell (Ohio State) over #12 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel)

Back in his hometown of Pittsburgh Te’shan Campbell will make one final run at earning All-American honors. The Penn Hills graduate is seeded 21st at 165 pounds and will face Drexel’s Ebed Jarrell in Round 1. The junior is making his first trip to Nationals while Campbell is in his fourth trip. The 2015 Pennsylvania State Champion has twice made the Round of 16 at Nationals. These two have not faced each other in their careers.

 

184 Pounds: #26 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) over #7 Nick Reenan (N.C. State)

Franklin High School graduate Dakota Geer is making his first trip to Nationals in the Cowboy Orange after transferring from Edinboro. Back in 2017 Geer made the Round of 16 while competing for Edinboro and this season has seen action at 197 pounds before making the drop down to 184 pounds. He gets the 7th seed Nick Reenan of N.C. State who, since returning from an injury, hasn’t quite been the same wrestler. Geer will be hoping to take advantage of the situation and make a significant step towards earning his first All-American honors. 

 

197 Pounds: #23 Kellan Stout (Pittsburgh) over #10 Tom Sleigh (VA Tech)

Two Pennsylvania wrestlers will go head-to-head in the first round with a pair of ACC foes meeting at 197 pounds. Redshirt senior Tom Sleigh is a DuBois graduate who is spending his final season at Virginia Tech after a successful career at Bucknell. Sleigh is in his fourth trip to Nationals and once made the Round of 16. He faces hometown wrestler Kellan Stout (Mount Lebabon) who received a wildcard bid at 197 pounds. These two have wrestled twice this season with Sleigh winning both bouts by scores of 4-3, and 3-1.