Parsons Advances After Day One of NCAAs

Thursday, March 16

St. Louis, Mo.

12 PM ET

Army West Point

NCAA Championships

Parsons Advances After Day One of NCAAs

March 16, 2017 | Wrestling

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A pair of Army West Point wrestlers picked up victories on the first day of the NCAA Championships on Thursday at the Scottrade Center.

Senior co-captains Logan Everett and Russ Parsons each came away with a victory on the first day of the tournament. Parsons is the lone Black Knight to advance to the second day after capturing his win in the first round.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The first day of the NCAA Championships was attended by a total of 36,314 fans as 18,157 were present at both the first and second sessions of the tournament.
Senior co-captain Russ Parsons opened the tournament with his first-ever victory at the NCAA Championships.
It was also Parsons' 10th-career victory over a ranked opponent.
Junior Andrew Mendel made his debut at the national tournament by nearly upsetting the 11-seed at 165 pounds, dropping a one-point decision.
Senior co-captain Logan Everett earned his second-career victory at the big dance in the consolation pigtails.
Everett's career came to an end in the first round of the consolation bracket with the Tioga, Pa., native finishing with an overall record of 73-63 with 30 bonus-point wins on 10 pins, eight technical falls and 12 major decisions as a two-time NCAA qualifier.
Parsons will face Purdue's 24th-ranked Alex Griffin in the second consolation round of 32 on Friday morning.

KEY MOMENT

Everett battled through a reversal in the first tie break period of the consolation pigtails against Campbell's Joshua Heil and earned a last-second take down to keep his career alive.

HOW IT HAPPENED
141 lbs.
#17 Logan Everett: 1-2
Round of 32: L, MD, 15-3 vs. 8-seed #9 Jaydin Eierman (#10 Missouri)
Cons. Pigtails: W, TB-1, 7-6 vs. Joshua Heil (Campbell)
Cons. Round of 32 #1: L, 9-3 vs. #28 Noah Forrider (Ohio)
157 lbs.
11-seed #12 Russ Parsons: 1-1
Round of 32: W, 8-1 vs. #31 Mike D'Angelo (Princeton)
Round of 16: L, 7-5 vs. #22 Paul Fox (#21 Stanford)
165 lbs.
#32 Andrew Mendel: 0-2
Round of 32: vs. L, 6-5 vs. 11-seed #11 Bryce Steiert (#14 Northern Iowa)
Cons. Round of 32 #1: L, 4-3 vs. #15 Luke Zilverburg (#19 South Dakota State)
184 lbs.
#21 Samson Imonode: 0-2
Round of 32: L, 4-3 vs. 13-seed #14 Bryce Carr (UT-Chattanooga)
Cons. Round of 32 #1: L, Fall, 3:49 vs. #22 Hunter Ritter (#16 Wisconsin)

COACHES CORNER

Head coach Kevin Ward – "We lost some matches where I felt like we left a little bit out there. There were a few instances when we were maybe trying to steal matches at the end instead of dictating from the start."
"I'm really proud of our seniors. Everett and Imonode both battled hard. Sometimes things don't go the way you want them to, but they can keep their heads up and be very proud of their careers."
"Russ is still alive in the tournament and has the opportunity to finish his career as an All-American. He wants it. He has to take it one match at a time and not take anything for granted. He has to show up tomorrow and be tough."

UP NEXT

Senior Russ Parsons will wrestle Purdue's Alex Griffin in the 157-pound consolation bracket on Friday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Session three is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, with the quarterfinals for each weight class.