From NYU Athletics
Evan Drill and Raymond Jazikoff of the New York University wrestling team each recorded wins in Friday evening's consolation "blood round" at the 2018 NCAA Division III wrestling championships and can now proudly boast that they are All-Americans. The two-day championship event is being held at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland, OH.
Both Drill and Jazikoff were defeated in their quarterfinal bouts earlier in the evening, but the grapplers bounced back to win a match that automatically places them among the top eight of their weight class.
"It was an up-and-down day for us today, but Evan and Raymond got big wins when we needed it most," said Senior Assistant Head Coach Corey Luce.
Drill first fell 16-11 to seventh-seeded Sean Peacock of SUNY Brockport in a wild match, before coming back to defeat Dylan Van Sickell of Stevens Instiute of Technology 10-8.
Against Peacock, the match was scoreless after one period and Peacock went ahead 14-0 after the second. Drill battled all the way back to 16-11 and appeared to have a chance at pinning his opponent, but the clock ran out. The sophomore, 149-pounder's match against Van Sickell was a back-and-forth affair as Drill took an early lead, but needed to come from behind in the third period to earn the win and his first-career All-America honor.
Jazikoff, the six seed at 157 pounds, was first defeated 9-4 by third-seeded Zach Wilhelm of Stevens. The senior captain then took the mat again and was victorious against Johns Hopkins University's Dominic Reyes, winning the bout via a 9-1 major decision. Like Drill, the All-America honor is the first of Jazikoff's career.
This marks the second-consecutive season, and third in the last four, that NYU has produced multiple All-Americans.
"We've come a long way as a program," added Luce. "Eight All-Americans in the last four seasons is impressive. We're excited to keep working and do even better in the future."
Sean Lyons, who entered the evening with a 1-1 record at the Championships, dropped his only match of the night to Zach Nash of Baldwin Wallace University. Lyons led 4-0 after two periods, but was defeated by fall in the third. The sophomore finished the season with an impressive 16-3 record.
"Evan and Raymond have a chance to wrestle all the way back for third place tomorrow," concluded Luce. "I expect them to remain focused and pick up more wins tomorrow morning."