Flannery, a three-time All-American, finishes in third place at the NCAA Championships
3/16/2024 3:37:00 PM | Wrestling
PARK CITY, Kan. - Devin Flannery in a hard fought day, undoubtedly claimed the third place podium finish. Wrestling in three matches today, he earned his highest finish at the NCAA Championships in his career as he placed fifth in 2023 and seventh in 2022.
In the consolation bracket, Flannery's first opponent was Thierno Diallo from Frostburg State. Capitalizing early, Flannery got ahead early with a takedown in 59 seconds to go up 3–0. The referees then said with second left in the first period that Diallo had a reversal, leading to head coach Jerry Boland throwing the challenge brick. The call was overturned as Diallo did not have a successful reversal. With the score remaining 3-0 going into the second period, Flannery ended up winning by injury default.
In his second round of the day, he faced Jeremiah Echvarria from Gannon. Flannery saw Echvarria in the regular season as he won 8–3 by decision. In this match up, Flannery did not let up in any period as he had three takedowns, a near fall for four points, and an escape to win by major decision, 15–1.
Heading into his last match as a Marauder, there was a rematch between Flannery and Reece Barnhardt from UMary. The two met yesterday in the quarter final match as Barnhardt took the 9–3 decision win. Determined to finish third, Flannery came out blazing in the first period with a quick seven points from a takedown and near fall. The lead was too far extended for Barnhardt to comeback from, as he finished fourth. Flannery, with a dominant performance, won 9–4 to crown him the third place finisher as he went 5–1 at the NCAA Championships.
A decorated Marauder, as he finishes his career with an overall 95–23 record, Flannery led the Marauders this season in wins with a 29. Flannery is one of three Marauders who have been recognized as an All-American three times in their career.
THOUGHTS FROM JERRY BOLAND:
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Thoughts on Flannery's performance: "Devin came here with one plan and he wanted to win this thing. I think on a different day he does win this thing, it was a tough give as the kid from UMary beat him yesterday, but Dev beat him today. Other than today's match, Devin was clearly on a mission and in the zone. "
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Devin's resilience to come back and win third place: "when you lose a match and your goal is out of reach, he came back with the right mindset and knew the next best thing was third. He took it one match at a time and did not look past his opponents. I always say the toughest guy in the tournament takes third and he was the toughest guy today."
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What impact has he left on the program: "I think the guys on the team see what he does on and off the mat. How seriously he takes his training, not just in the room but with his diet, sleep, and life-style. He just does all the right things off the mat and it just shows you get results if you do it that way. "
Players Mentioned
