Ohio State in second place
Medal-round action will begin at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, while the finals will get underway at 7 p.m. ET. ESPNU will broadcast live coverage of the medal rounds and ESPN/ESPN360.com will air the finals live.
Jaggers, a sixth-seeded redshirt-junior, defeated the second-seeded wrestler and 2007 NCAA third-place finisher Charles Griffin of Hofstra, 11-9, to earn a spot in the final at 141 pounds against No. 1 seed Chad Mendes of Cal Poly Saturday night.
It was a hard-fought decision for Jaggers, a 2007 All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier. The Northfield, Ohio, native owned a 7-3 lead heading into the second period, but Griffin continued to attempt a rally, cutting Jaggers' lead to one (10-9) in the third period. However, Jaggers would not be denied, scoring an escape with 24 seconds left to go up, 11-9. As the seconds ticked off the clock, Jaggers held on for the victory.
"During this tournament I have been able to execute my finishes," Jaggers said. "I know what I can do and everyone in our wrestling room knows what I can do. It's the outsiders who don't know what you can do until you show them in a tournament like this.
"I was joking with Tom (Ryan), asking him whose corner he was in for this match. Was he with me or Griffin? He is going to go in the record book as one of the greatest coaches of all time. I mean he took this team from 45th to 10th in one year. Lou Rosselli is the coach I work with everyday and he has changed my life in the sport of wrestling."
Pucillo, a redshirt-sophom*ore, was the second Buckeye to earn a trip to the 2008 finals. The second-seeded Pucillo posted a dramatic 2-1 decision over Missouri's sixth-seed Raymond Jordan in a second tiebreaker. After a scoreless first period, Pucillo took a 1-0 lead in the second period after scoring an escape early in the stanza. Jordan countered with an escape of his own with 1:26 left in the third period to tie the score and send the match into overtime. With no scoring in sudden victory, both wrestlers were headed into the first of two 30 second tiebreakers. Pucillo took the down position in the initial round and recorded an escape with 27 seconds left on the clock. Up 2-1, Pucillo managed to keep Jordan in his grips to earn his first trip to the finals. Pucillo will face 2007 NCAA runner-up and No. 1-seed Jake Varner of Iowa State.
Bergman, a senior heavyweight, made it three Buckeyes in the finals after he beat third-seed Ed Prendergast of Navy, 5-4. With the score knotted at 2 apiece after the first period, Bergman took a 5-3 lead in the second period on an escape and takedown. Prendergast would keep fighting, recording an escape with 1:21 left in the match, but the Oak Harbor, Ohio, native was able to hold on for his first appearance on the stage at the national championships. Bergman and Northwestern's Dustin Fox will square off in a rematch of the Big Ten championships final from two weeks ago. Fox is the No. 1-seed in the tournament.
At 149 pounds, Palmer, 2007 All-American, posted an impressive 11-3 major decision over Brandon Carter of Central Michigan in his opening match of session four to earn his second-career All-America laurel. Last season, as a freshman, the Columbia Station, Ohio, native finished fourth. Palmer was stopped short of chance to continue his progress towards the third-place matchup when he dropped a 6-2 decision to fifth-seed Josh Churella of Michigan. Palmer will now vie for seventh-place Saturday morning against Minnesota's No. 2-seed Dustin Schlatter.
Redshirt-sophom*ore Reece Humphrey's bid to become an All-American ended Friday night when he dropped a 9-6 decision to No. 7-seed Mike Grey of Cornell. Down 2-0 after the first period, Humphrey tied the score at 2-all when he scored a takedown with 39 seconds left in the second period. However, Grey notched an escape with just 16 second left in the period to go up by one. In the final period, Humphrey again evened the score at 4-4, but Grey scored a pair of takedowns and compiled a riding time of 2:27 to take control and earn the win.
