Chartiers Valley grad runner-up in NCAA wrestling
Tyler Wilps has his arm raised in victory after a semifinal bout of the 2015 NCAA wrestling championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Tyler Wilps, right, controls the leg of Penn State's Matt Brown during the NCAA Division I championship tournament.
Ten seconds separated Tyler Wilps from his bid for a national title as Matt Brown of Penn State was awarded two points, handing the Chartiers Valley High School product his only loss, 5-4, of the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships held in St. Louis, Mo.
It was a controversial and thrilling finish to the 174-pound finals as Brown, seeded second, took a 3-1 lead with a minute remaining in the third period following an escape and takedown. Wilps was able to escape from Brown’s grasp with 36 seconds remaining and he scored the go-ahead takedown with 22 seconds left for a 4-3 lead.
Needing to hold Brown for the remainder of the bout, Wilps was eventually called for stalling with three seconds left on the clock, bringing the score to 4-4. Brown then worked for an escape and Wilps appeared to lock his hands as the period ended. The non-call was challenged by Penn State and after a long review, the locked hands was awarded and Brown was given the point. Pitt then immediately challenged as to whether the penalty occurred before time expired and the officials confirmed that it did. Hence, Brown collected the 5-4 win and claimed the NCAA title.
“It is what it is,” said Pitt coach Jason Peters of the ruling. “It’s been interpreted differently all year and we fell subject to it. I’m disappointed for Tyler. I would have liked to see him have the opportunity to be a national champ.”
Wilps’ appearance in the finals was just the first for any Pitt wrestler since Keith Gavin captured a title at the same 174-pound weight class in 2008. Dating back to 1990, Wilps is one of just three wrestlers to compete in a national final. Gavin also placed second in 2007 and Carl Fronhoffer was a runner-up in 2003, also at 174 pounds.
“We’re thankful for what he’s done for Pitt wrestling and I really hoped he could have finished with a national championship,” said Peters. “Unfortunately he didn’t. Hats off to Brown for what he was able to do, and he has a national championship in his senior year.”
Surprisingly, the match between Wilps and Brown was just the first time wrestlers from Pitt and Penn State were paired with an individual title on the line.
Wilps had reached the championship match after defeating 12th-seed Kyle Crutchmer from Oklahoma State in the semifinals. Wilps scored a takedown 44 seconds into the sudden victory to secure the victory. It was the second time this year that Wilps and Crutchmer went head-to-head, having wrestled at the Southern Scuffle in January. Wilps also won that match in sudden victory, but only when Crutchmer withdrew due to injury.
The two were deadlocked at zero at the conclusion of first period. Wilps got on the scoreboard with an escape early in the second period, taking a 1-0 lead. The score remained that way until Crutchmer broke free from Wilps with 1:06 left in the third period to even the score, 1-1. Wilps’ winning takedown came with only 16 seconds remaining before a potential tiebreaker.
“He’s (Crutchmer) a tough wrestler, very defensive,” said Wilps. “I knew I was going to have to push the pace for the whole match. So I was just pushing it, pushing it, pushing it until I found that time that I could score. I took advantage of it. He got lazy on the edge, I got on a leg and had to keep him in to finish and got it.”
Focus keyed the semifinal win said Peters.
“I think the whole thing was good,” he said. “What Tyler did was stay focused. He kept to his game plan and was able to get the win.”
In the quarterfinals, Wilps scored a thrilling win, 3-2, against top-seed Robert Kokesh.
In the process, he locked up his second straight All-American status.
Wilps is the 76th All-American in school history and becomes just the 18th Pitt wrestler in program history to receive All-American accolades multiple times, joining a list of grapplers that includes older brother Matt Wilps.
It was the third time Wilps has gone head-to-head with Kokesh of Nebraska. Previously Wilps had lost to Kokesh at last year’s NCAA Championships 2-1 in a tiebreaker and in 2011, getting pinned.
Entering the match, Kokesh sported a 36-0 record – the best mark in all of Division I wrestling.
Prior to Wilps, the most recent All-America occurrence was Matt Wilps. Matt was an All-American in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013.
Wilps completes his stellar career at Pitt with an 87-31 four-year record. As a senior, Wilps went 19-4, with half of his losses to Brown. The other one came in a 6-5 setback at the Southern Scuffle in January.
“Tyler has a bright future and what he’s done for Pitt wrestling has been great. I’m thankful for him,” said Peters.
The 22-year-old son of Jeff and Lisa Wilps majored in finance and minored in chemistry at Pitt. He plans to attend medical school after graduation.