NCAA Wrestling Tournament 2023: Ohio State's Kaleb Romero caps off career with 3rd place finish
Ohio State 184 pounder Kaleb Romero capped off his wrestling career with a 3-1 victory over NC State’s Trent Hidlay in sudden victory and finished in 3rd place.
It was the second straight year on the All-American podium for Romero after a sixth place finish in 2022. More importantly, he kept Ohio State in the team trophy race as the Buckeyes stood in third overall behind Penn State and Iowa and ahead of Cornell.
The top four teams are awarded at the end of the tournament. Watch to see Romero’s initial thoughts after the final match of his career.
Romero and Hidlay went toe-to-toe and were tied 1-1 after regulation. Neither wrestler gave an inch. In the overtime period, it was more of the same until the very end.
Romero backed up Hidlay and managed to get in on the legs. Romero drove through but no takedown was awarded for the Buckeye.
He wrapped up both legs and broke Hidlay down to a hip but the officials did not give him two points. The sequence was reviewed as Romero and Hidlay paced, awaiting the result.
Romero was grinning ear-to-ear when he saw the monitor out of the corner of his eye. Then, it was jubilation as he clapped up his corner and gave a big bear hug to head coach Tom Ryan.
Romero finished his Ohio State career 84-31 and was a two-time All-American at the NCAA Tournament.
More on the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships
The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships were held March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa (Okla). The tournament consists of 330 wrestlers in total across 10 weight classes. Each weight class features wrestlers seeded No. 1 through No. 33.
Over the course of the three-day tournament, wrestlers can achieve national champion status by going 5-0 in their bracket, through Saturday night’s finals. The top eight placewinners in each bracket are considered All-Americans.
Losing one match does not eliminate a wrestler from competition. The consolation bracket is designed to determine the remaining spots on the podium (third through eighth place).
Since there are 33 wrestlers in each weight, the competitors seeded No. 32 and 33 compete in a “pigtail bout” prior to the first round to determine who matches up against the No. 1 seed in Round 1.
Losing the pigtail drops the wrestler to the consolation bracket where there is still an opportunity to finish as high as third place in the weight class.
The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Tournament is set to take place in Kansas City (Mo.).