DETROIT, Mich. – The Cleveland State wrestling trio of Marcus Robinson, Riley Smucker, and Ben Smith opened competition at the 2022 NCAA Championships on Thursday. Robinson will be the lone Viking competing on Friday as he will look to battle back in the consolation bracket.
No. 21 Robinson, making his second appearance at the NCAA Championship opened with a 7-5 victory No. 12 Mike VanBrill of Rutgers. The victory was the first for Robinson in the championships and avenged his loss to VanBrill from the beginning of the season.
Robinson trailed 2-1 after the first period and was behind 3-1 in the second before tying the match with a reversal. In the third, he again found himself down one but came up with a takedown and two near-fall points with 12 seconds remaining to win, 7-5.
In the second round, Robinson suffered a 6-2 setback against No. 5 Kyle Parco of Arizona State, dropping Robinson into the consolation bracket.
No. 24 Smucker made his debut at the championship and fell in his first match against No. 9 Peyton Hall of West Virginia, 10-5. In the consolation bracket, Smucker fell to No. 25 Brevin Cassela of Binghamton, 7-0, eliminating him from the championship.
No. 29 Smith, making his second appearance at the NCAA Championship started with an 8-3 setback against No. 4 Patrick Brucki of Michigan. In the consolation bracket, Smith fell to No. 20 Jacob Koser of Navy, 12-0, eliminating him from the championship.
No. 21 Marcus Robinson – 149 Pounds
Champ. Round One: No. 21 Robinson (CSU) DEC No. 12 Mike VanBrill (RU), 7-5
Champ. Round Two: No. 5 Kyle Parco (ASU) DEC No. 21 Robinson (CSU), 6-2
Coins. Round 2: No. 27 Cory Crooks (ORST)
No. 24 Riley Smucker – 165 Pounds
Champ. Round One: No. 9 Peyton Hall (WVU) DEC No. 24 Smucker (CSU), 10-5
Cons. Round One: No. 25 Brevin Cassella (BU) DEC No. 24 Smucker (CSU), 7-0
No. 29 Ben Smith – 197 Pounds
Round One: No. 4 Patrick Brucki (UM) DEC No. 29 Smith (CSU), 8-3
Cons. Round One: No. 20 Jacob Koser (Navy) MD No. 29 Smith (CSU), 12-0