OSU Wrestling: Nick Piccininni Upsets NCAA Champ Darian Cruz

Redshirt sophomore wrestler Nick Piccininni had quite the showing at the NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition dual at Princeton University over the weekend, taking down reigning 125-pound NCAA Champion Darian Cruz of Lehigh.

Piccininni won the match 8-4 after rebounding from an early 2-1 deficit he faced going into the second period. He took a firm grip of the match after scoring a four-point nearfall to take a 7-2 lead into the third period.

Cruz scored on a reversal after the starting the period on bottom, but Piccininni escaped and increased his lead to 8-4, which would go down as the final.

“It was a good first match,” Piccininni said. “We all have high expectations this season. I have a lot of work to do. I believe our team has a lot of work to do, and I know I have to get better. Today’s our first day of competition, we just have to keep on building.”

In the final match of the evening, another reigning NCAA champion, Penn State’s Mark Hall, also lost his 174-pound battle to Arizona State’s Zahid Valencia.

Piccininni went 27-8 overall as a redshirt freshman last season, won a Big 12 title, and finished fourth at the NCAA championships before claiming his first (of what could be several) All-America honors.