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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – East Stroudsburg University redshirt sophomore
Dylan Nace and senior
Joey Kratochvil each bowed out after two bouts in their first trips to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships on Friday.
Nace dropped both of his contests at 141 pounds via decision, while Kratochvil was forced into a medical forfeit in his consolation bout at 157 pounds after nearly upsetting No. 3 Ryan Strope from McKendree in the opening round.
Nace, ranked No. 9 at 141 in the final NWCA national rankings of the regular season, fell by a 7-1 decision to No. 11 Joshua Ailey from Central Oklahoma in the first round. The bout was scoreless until the closing seconds of the second period, when Ailey earned a four-point near fall to take the lead into the final two minute session. He upped that margin to 6-0 with a takedown 30 seconds in, and added a final point through his riding time advantage. Nace earned his lone point through a last-minute escape.
That set up a consolation round contest against Ashland's Chandler Minnard, whom Nace pinned in 6:45 during their regular season meeting on Dec. 4. This time, though, Minnard came out on top via a 9-5 decision. The two competitors traded takedowns in the opening four-plus minutes, leaving the bout knotted at 2-2.
A reversal and a two-point near fall put Minnard in command in the last minute of the second period. He increased his lead to 8-2 early in the third, and Nace could not get closer than 8-5 in the final minute. The Flemington, N.J., native ends his season with an overall record of 29-7, including 17 bonus point victories, and he will take a 55-16 lifetime mark into his redshirt junior season.
Kratochvil gave Strope, the Super Region III champion at 157 pounds, everything he could handle in the opening round, but Strope ultimately prevailed by a 5-4 (SV-1) decision in overtime. Kratochvil took a 2-0 lead on a takedown in the final five seconds of the first period. After Strope got on the board with an escape point, Kratochvil went up 4-1 on another takedown late in the second, and he took a 4-2 advantage into the final period.
Strope pulled within 4-3 on a stalling point with 55 seconds left, and he sent the bout to overtime through a 1:25 riding time advantage. In the first overtime period, Kratochvil suffered an injury on an attempted takedown. Though he attempted to continue wrestling, Strope quickly earned a decisive escape point when the bout resumed.
The injury forced Kratochvil into a medical forfeit of his consolation bout against No. 8 Greg Tooley from Fort Hays State. He concludes his ESU career with 41 lifetime victories, including 14 during his senior season.
Today's defeats conclude a 2016-17 season which saw ESU send multiple wrestlers to nationals for a sixth time in eight seasons since the program reclassified to Division II.
