Wrestling | 3/18/2021 9:22:00 PM

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Redshirt freshman Cole Rhone (Benton, Pa./Benton Area) of the Bloomsburg University wrestling team won his first-ever match on a national stage Thursday morning but lost his next two bouts as he saw his season come to an end at the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships on Thursday evening. Rhone concluded the COVID-shortened year with a 6-4 overall record.

Rhone, seeded 32nd at 133 pounds, had to wrestle a preliminary match on Thursday morning to get into the round of 32 and his first opponent at the Enterprise Center was Bryce West of Northern Illinois, who entered the tournament as the 33rd seed. It marked the first time that Rhone squared off against West in his collegiate career.

The redshirt freshman was unfazed by the big stage and scored a takedown just over a minute into the match to take a 2-0 lead. West countered 30 seconds later with a reversal and a two-point nearfall to jump in front by a 4-2 score. Just three seconds later, Rhone tied the match at 4-4 with a reversal and then scored four back points before riding West out for the remainder of the opening period. Leading 8-4 entering the second stanza, Rhone extended the lead to 10-4 with a quick takedown for the only points of the period as he rode out West again and clinched enough time to add a riding-time point at the end of the match.

The third period, however, saw West score a quick reversal and four back points to tie the match at 10-10 just 17 seconds into the final frame. But, Rhone was able to wiggle out and convert a reversal roughly 30 seconds later to re-take a 12-10 lead near the midway mark of the third. West nearly escaped several times but Rhone was able to stay on top for the remainder of the match. When the dust settled, Rhone had a 13-10 victory in his first-ever match at a national tournament setting.

The victory by Rhone was the first by a Bloomsburg wrestler at the national tournament since Josh Veltre, Mike Dessino, Rich Perry, Bryce Busler, and Justin Grant each won at least one match at the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships in Oklahoma City.

With the win, Rhone officially entered the bracket and had the unenviable task of going up against the top-seed at 133 pounds, Daton Fix from Oklahoma State. Fix, a member of the United States Senior World Team, did not compete for the Cowboys last season as he focused on training for the 2020 Olympic Games that were ultimately postponed a year due to the pandemic.

Rhone ultimately dropped a 16-3 major decision against Fix but gained invaluable experience and held his own for the full seven minutes in his match against one of the top wrestlers in the country at any weight class.

The loss dropped Rhone to the consolation bracket on Thursday evening where he would square off against Devan Turner from Oregon State - the #16 seed in the weight class.

Turner, a two-time PAC-12 Champion and three-time NCAA qualifier with the Beavers, jumped out quickly on Rhone with a takedown and two back points in the opening period. Turner extended the lead to 7-0 late in the second before Rhone scored his first point of the match with an escape just before the buzzer sounded to end the period. The Huskies' grappler chose top to start the third and Turner was penalized twice for stalling as Rhone tried to score back points. Rhone, however, couldn't get Turner flipped over and the Oregon State wrestler went on to earn a 10-2 major decision to end Rhone's run in the tournament.

Rhone earned a spot in the national tournament by virtue of his fourth-place finish at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships last month which ensured himself an automatic berth and marked the highest finish by a Bloomsburg wrestler in two seasons competing at the MAC Championships. It also gave the Huskies' wrestling program three straight seasons with at least one NCAA qualifier after going four years without a wrestler competing in the national tournament.

The NCAA Division I National Championships run through Saturday, March 20, when ten individual wrestlers and one team will be crowned.