Jack becomes fifth state wrestler to earn All-American honors

North Carolina State’s Ryan Jack leaps onto Nebraska’s Brock Hardy during a consolation round match during Friday’s NCAA championship meet in Kansas City. More photos from the tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 22, 2024 — Since the NCAA wrestling tournament began in 1928, only four wrestlers from Connecticut have earned All-American status at the NCAA Division I championships.

Now, there is a fifth.

North Carolina State junior Ryan Jack joined an exclusive club of Connecticut collegiate wrestlers by earning All-American honors at Friday’s NCAA Division I championships at the TMobile Center here. Jack dominated Oregon State’s Cleveland Belton, 7-0, in the “blood round” to earn All-American honors for the first time in his career.

The last person to earn All-American honors from Connecticut was Ryan’s older brother, Kevin, who was a three-time All-American with the Wolfpack from 2015-18. Kevin Jack is now an assistant coach with NC State.

“It’s special to have two brothers achieve that status,” North Carolina State head coach Pat Popolizio said.

Two other wrestlers from Connecticut won matches but both fell two wins shy of All-American status. North Carolina State’s Jakob Camacho (125) and Stanford’s Nico Provo (125) each went 2-2 in the tournament. Camacho picked up his sixth career win at the NCAA tournament while Provo won his first matches in his second appearance.

After beating Belton in his fourth round consolation match, Jack (21-5) faced off with Nebraska’s Brock Hardy with a chance to move into the consolation semifinals. Jack had a 4-0 lead in the second period but Hardy escaped to cut the lead to three.

The two began scrambling and Hardy got a takedown and found his way to pinning Jack in 4:48. It was just the second time he has been pinned this season.

“He was wrestling good,” Popolizio said of Jack. “But that is (Hardy’s) style and he got caught up in his game. That was disappointing but I would rather our boys be on the downside attacking instead of not being in the position to win.”

Jack, in his third NCAA tournament, will wrestle for seventh place on Saturday against Vance Vombaur of Minnesota.

Penn State’s Beau Bartlett, right, controls North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil in Friday night’s semifinal bout at 141 pounds. Bartlett won the match. More photos from the tournament

Jack dropped a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals to No. 5 seed Anthony Echemendia, an Iowa State wrestler born in Cuba making his first-ever NCAA appearance.

Tied at 1-1 in the second period, Jack got a wizard in on Echemendia. The battle ensued. Who would get the leverage and get the crucial three points from a takedown?

Echemendia ended up with leverage and control and the takedown with 45 seconds left in the second period for a 4-1 lead. A Jack escape with six seconds left in the match cut the lead to 4-2.

In the third period, Echemendia escaped early to extend his lead to 5-2. But Jack couldn’t get close enough to get a match-tying takedown. Echemendia was called for stalling late in the period but it wasn’t enough as Jack lost.

“When I am wrestling, I am always thinking about takedowns,” Echemendia said. “I am not focused on winning or losing. Because the great one say it. If you focus on winning and losing you won’t wrestle well, so I am just thinking about how do I get the next takedown and get into the next position where I can score and I feel my persistence helped me get that takedown and win the match.”

The loss extended Connecticut’s drought of placing a wrestler in the national semifinals.

The last semifinalist from the Nutmeg State was North Carolina State’s Kevin Jack (Danbury), who made the semifinals at the 2015 NCAA championships at 141 pounds.

Stanford’s Nico Provo battles with Wyoming’s Jore Volk during Friday’s NCAA tournament in Kansas City. Volk won with a takedown in the final seconds. More photos from the tournament

Provo (20-8) had a dominating 13-4 win in his first match on Thursday before losing by technical to No. 3 seed Drake Ayala of Iowa in the second round. On Friday, Provo had three takedowns in the first period to build up a quick six-point lead (9-3) before eliminating Brendan McCrone of Ohio State, 12-6.

Against Volk (25-7), the Big 12 champion, Provo had a 3-1 lead in the second period thanks to a takedown. But Volk cut the lead to one with an escape with 26 seconds left in the period.

Provo extended his lead to two points, 4-2, early in the third period and had two chances to get a match-winning takedown. But Volk was a successful scrambler and was able to negate any takedown attempts.

In a scramble in the final seconds of the match, it was Volk who was awarded a takedown with one second left in regulation for a 5-4 victory.

“Last year coming here, I was like a deer in the headlights,” Provo said. “Now, it’s super cool. You’re on the mat and you’re shaking literally. You feel your feet are shaking under you. It’s an atmosphere like no other. That’s why it’s the national tournament.”

Because he wrestles at 125, there is thunderous music playing and dimmed lights before each session begins as the wrestlers await for ESPN to begin televising the event.

“For me, what helped me out there was just focusing on wrestling. At the end of the day, it’s just another wrestling tournament,” he said. But he acknowledged, “It’s the national championship tournament.”

While the end was bittersweet for Provo, he was able to take a wider look at his performance on the biggest stage in collegiate wrestling. “I felt really good. I had left no regrets, which is something, no matter the results, to be proud of,” he said.

“At this level, it is (decided) by inches and centimeters. That’s the name of the game,” he said.

Camacho (17-5) was making his third trip to the NCAA tournament. He went 1-1 on Thursday, losing in the second round. On Friday, he began his day with a dominating victory over Kysen Terukina of Iowa State. Camacho had a 7-2 lead in the third period when he pinned Terukina in 5:34.

His next match was tougher against Lehigh’s Luke Stanich, the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The bout was tied at 1-1 after Stanich escaped early in the third period. A takedown with 40 seconds remaining was enough for Stanich (22-4) to advance with a 4-1 decision.

North Carolina State’s Jakob Camacho picked up his sixth NCAA tournament win on Friday in Kansas City. More photos from the tournament

Camacho is now 6-6 in his career at the NCAA tournament.

Connecticut All-Americans at the NCAA Div. I championships