KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Lou DePrez's fifth and final appearance in the NCAA Wrestling Championships got off to a strong start as the graduate student won both of his matches Thursday at T-Mobile Center to advance to the quarterfinals.
 
This is the third-straight appearance in the round for DePrez, who previously made it in 2021 and 2022. He, along with Brevin Cassella and Cory Day, advanced to Friday's portion of the competition. Day's victory was the first of his career at nationals. As a team, Binghamton ended the first day tied for 37th  out of 68 teams with 3.5 points.
 
To get to the quarterfinals, DePrez, the No. 6 seed in the tournament at 197 lbs., defeated both Oklahoma State's Luke Surber and Minnesota's Garrett Joles. By winning both matches, DePrez has also reached 10 career wins at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The only other Binghamton wrestler to reach that many victories in the program's time in Division I is Donnie Vinson, who won 12 matches at nationals during his career.
 
Meanwhile, Jacob Nolan's collegiate career came to an end Thursday after he lost both of his matches. Nolan finishes his Binghamton career with four appearances at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, 84 wins, 14 major decisions, eight pins, and six technical falls. In his final season, he ended with an overall record of 23-9, 9-3 in duals, career highs in major decisions (7) and technical falls (4) and one pin.
 
Session One
Cassella was the first Bearcat to take the mat when he went up against No. 18 Connor Brady of Virginia Tech. This served as a rematch from the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships, where Brady eliminated Cassella in the first round of the consolation bracket 5-0. This time, Cassella flipped the script by getting a late takedown and shutting out Brady 5-0 to advance. It marked Cassella's second career victory at nationals.
 
Nolan went on the mat next to go against No. 13 Aaron Ayzerov of Columbia. Ayzerov, the 2024 EIWA champion, was able to defeat Nolan 10-0 to send him to the consolation bracket.
 
DePrez began his day by taking on No. 27 Luke Surber of Oklahoma State. The Hilton, N.Y., native picked up a takedown in the first period and was able to defend the lead from there on out. He would add three more points to his score, one via a penalty on Surber in the second period, one via an escape in the third period and one by acquiring enough riding time to win 6-0.
 
Lastly, Day faced off against No. 17 Grady Griess of Navy. These two wrestlers had already faced each other three times throughout the season, with Day winning every time. Two of those wins came by two points, and this latest match proved to be another close one. Both competitors would be tied at one after three periods and would go into overtime. In the extra period, Day went for Griess' leg, but Griess countered his move into a takedown of his own to win the match and advance.
 
Session Two
Standing between Cassella and the quarterfinals in the evening session was No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State. Cassella would go on to gain the advantage in riding time, but Mesenbrink, who won the Big Ten championship, built up too large of a lead and won the match 11-3.
 
Nolan would go against No. 29 Jha'Quan Anderson of Gardner-Webb in the first round of the consolation bracket. Nolan previously defeated Anderson 1-0 in the third place match of the Black Knight Invite back on Nov. 19. This time, Anderson jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the third period. Nolan made a furious comeback by picking up a point on an escape before taking down Anderson. But the comeback would fall short and Anderson would win to advance to the next round.
 
DePrez's next opponent was No. 22 Garrett Joles of Minnesota. Joles, who had beaten No. 11 Jaxon Smith of Maryland 6-5 in the opening round, was looking for another upset. DePrez would hold his own by getting another first period takedown before successfully defending his lead and securing a 5-1 win to move on to the quarterfinals.
 
As for Day, he looked to bounce back against No. 32 Nick Willham of Indiana. Day held a 3-2 lead late in the match, but Willham earned the riding time point to tie the match at three and send Day to overtime for the second time in as many matches. But Day responded by getting the takedown in the extra period to win 6-3 and advance.
 
NCAA Wrestling Championships Day One Results
Brevin Cassella
165 (First Round) | No. 15 Brevin Cassella (BU) def. No. 18 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) DEC 5-0
165 (Second Round) | No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) def. No. 15 Brevin Cassella (BU) MD 11-3
 
Jacob Nolan
184 (First Round) | No. 13 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) def. No. 20 Jacob Nolan (BU) MD 10-0
184 (Consolation Round One) | No. 29 Jha'Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) def. No. 20 Jacob Nolan (BU) DEC 9-6
 
Lou DePrez
197 (First Round) | No. 6 Lou DePrez (BU) def. No. 27 Luke Surber (Oklahoma State) DEC 6-0
197 (Second Round) | No. 6 Lou DePrez (BU) def. No. 22 Garrett Joles (Minnesota) DEC 5-1
 
Cory Day
285 (First Round) | No. 17 Grady Griess (Navy) def. No. 16 Cory Day (BU) DEC 4-1 SV-1
285 (Consolation Round One) | No. 16 Cory Day (BU) def. No. 32 Nick Willham (Indiana) DEC 6-3 SV-1
 
Up Next
DePrez, Day and Cassella will each return to the mat during session three, which begins at noon on Friday. DePrez will take on No. 3 Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State as he looks to not only secure his third All-American honors, but also punch his first career ticket to the semifinals. Cassella will go against No. 17 Tyler Lillard of Indiana in the second round of the consolation bracket. In that same round, Day will go against No. 15 Lewis Fernandes of Cornell.