Buchanan knocks off Adams again

ST. LOUIS -- You think Noah Adams is tired of seeing Stephen Buchanan across the mat from him?

For the fourth time this season, the Wyoming sophomore knocked off the former No. 1 wrestler in the 197-pound weight class, pinning the West Virginia redshirt sophomore at the 1:59 mark of the match.

Adams has lost just four matches this season. All have come at the hands of the guy in the video below:

Buchanan picked up his first career NCAA Tournament victory in his first tilt, pinning JJ Dixon (Oregon State). The win over Adams punched Buchanan's ticket to the quarterfinals.

He's not alone, either.

Wyoming's Jacob Wright, the No. 23 seed, opened his day with an upset win over Oklahoma's Justin Thomas a week after falling to him at the Big XII Tournament in Tulsa. Thomas was ranked 10th in the nation heading into St. Louis. A 5-4 victory in overtime -- aided by 22 seconds of riding time -- gave Wright the improbable win in the 157-pound class.

The redshirt junior capped his day with another overtime victory. This time it was a 2-1 win over No. 26 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan).

“After getting an opportunity taken away last year, I don’t want the man standing across from me taking another one away,” Wright said. “I’m excited to keep the thing going. I feel like my best is yet to come.”

In his first match of the day, Hayden Hastings was tested against No. 19 Michael O’Malley (DREX). Hastings secured a reversal in the third period and rode his opponent out to get the 4-2 victory and advance to the next round.

Brian Andrews ended the morning session with another win for the Cowboys over No. 20 Quinn Miller (UVA). After an exciting first period which ended 3-3, Andrews settles in and took control of the match. A takedown and escape sealed the 6-4 victory for Andrews.

Cole Moody (165) and Tate Samuelson (184) both picked up wins in the consolation bracket to stay alive in the tournament. For Moody, his 2-0 victory over No. 29 Brian Meyer (LEH) was the first NCAA Tournament win of his career. Samuelson earned a hard fought 3-2 victory over No. 25 DeAndre Nassar (CLVST).

The Cowboys currently sit in a tie for 16^th with 11.0 team points. Buchanan earned six of those, making him the highest scoring wrestler on Day 1. The tournament will resume tomorrow at 9 a.m. MST with the quarterfinals and consolation rounds.

A total of six Pokes are still in contention for All-American status after the first two sessions of competition.

Day One Results

141 - Chase Zollmann
Round of 32: No. 4 Tariq Wilson (NCST) Tech. Fall No. 29 Zollmann (WYO) 17-0

Consi. Round: No. 13 Dj Lloren (FS) Maj. Dec. No. 29 Zollmann (WYO) 11-3

157 - Jacob Wright

Round of 32: No. 23 Wright (WYO) Dec. No. 10 Justin Thomas (OU) 5-4 (TB-2)

Round of 16: No. 23 Wright (WYO) Dec. No. 26 Johnny Lovett (CMU) 2-1 (TB-1)

165 - Cole Moody

Round of 32: No. 13 Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) Dec. No. 20 Moody (WYO) 3-2

Consi. Round 1: No. 20 Moody (WYO) Dec. Brian Meyer (LEH) 2-0

174 - Hayden Hastings

Round of 32: No. 14 Hastings (WYO) Dec. No. 19 Michel O’Malley (DREX) 4-2