KANSAS CITY, MO (EYT/D9) — Two former District 9 wrestlers–Lehigh’s Nathan Taylor (Brookville) and NC State’s Ed Scott (DuBois)–showcased their skills on the national stage at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri on March 21-23.
(Pictured above: NC State’s Ed Scott.)
Unfortunately, both fell just short of All-American status, the pair losing in the blood round and failing to place.
Taylor, listed as a junior, entered his second NCAA tournament as the EIWA champion at 285-pounds, having pinned Bucknell’s Dorian Crosby (1:27) in the conference finals.
He made his conference championship debut a year ago, earning runner-up status.
The weight’s fifth seed in Kansas City, Talor opened with two wins, first downing Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly, the 25th seed, 11-4, and then decisioning Oklahoma State’s Konner Doucet, the 12th seed, 6-1.
Taylor lost a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals, losing 4-1 in sudden victory to fourth-seeded Cohlton Shultz of Arizona State.
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The Lehigh grapplers’ tournament ended in his first bout on the consolation side of the bracket, Taylor once again falling in overtime, coming up short against Campbell’s Taye Ghadiali, the 7th seed, 8-5.
He finished the 2023-2024 campaign 27-7 Taylor was something of a late bloomer in high school, going 1-4 as a freshman (2017-2018) and 17-12 as a sophomore (2018-2019).
Things really started clicking for him as a junior (2019-2020), when, competing at 220-pounds, he posted a 38-7 record, won district and regionals and placed fourth at states. For 2020-2021, Taylor slotted in at heavyweight, amassing a 31-1 record and securing the top step of the district, regional, and state podiums.
He had a scholastic record at Brookville of 87-24.
Scott, a junior, started this year’s postseason with his second consecutive ACC championship, decisioning North Carolina’s Sonny Santiago, 8-2, to claim the 157-pound title.
At the NCAA tournament, Scott, the fourth seed, bonus-pointed his way through the opening two contests–starting with a tech of 29th seed Legend Lamar of Cal Poly, 16-3 (6:04) and then majoring
Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus, the 13th seed, 19-8.
A familiar ACC opponent awaited Scott in the quarterfinals, Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech. Scott beat Andonian two weeks prior, 14-5, in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Andonian flipped the script at the NCAAs, however, beating the Wolfpack grappler 13-7. Scott’s tournament ended in his next bout, MAC champion and seventh seed Peyten Keller of Ohio pinning him early in the first period (1:03).
He posted a 25-9 mark for 2023-2024.
This was Scott’s third consecutive appearance at the NCAA tournament. Last year he was an All- American by virtue of his fifth-place finish.
Scott was one of District 9’s greats, compiling a career mark of 151-6 at DuBois (2016-2020). A four-time district and regional champion, he went 79-0 his last two seasons enroute to going back-to-back in Hershey. He placed third at states as a freshman, but did not medal his sophomore season. His 105 career pins are a district record. NCAA Division II
Johnsonburg product Cole Casilio, a redshirt-sophomore at Gannon, qualified for his second consecutive NCAA championships after a runner-up finish at the Super Regional 1 tournament.
Whereas Casilio won a match at last year’s NCAAs, he went 0-and-2 in Wichita, Kan. (March 15-16). Casilio, an All-PSAC second-teamer a year ago, finished the 2023-2024 season with 23-13 record.
At Johnsonburg (2017-2021), Casilio was a district champion his junior and senior seasons, using those titles as a springboard to Hershey. As a junior, he was regional runner-up. He won the regional tournament his senior season and placed seventh at the PIAA championship. Casilio had a scholastic mark of 115-24.
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