Photo by: Geoffrey Riccio/Northwestern Athletics
Chumbley Earns Quarterfinal Berth on Day One of NCAA Championships
3/21/2025 12:44:00 AM | Wrestling
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Trevor Chumbley tallied a pair of upset victories at 157 lbs to earn a place in the quarterfinals, and Maxx Mayfield (165 lbs) and Evan Bates (197 lbs) picked up a win each on day one of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia, Pa. The three wrestlers will all continue on tomorrow on day two of the national tournament at Wells Fargo Center.
Seeded No. 20 in his weight class, Chumbley opened his third career NCAA Championships appearance with an upset of No. 13 Jared Hill (Wyoming) by 2-0 decision in the first round. That victory earned him a meeting with fourth-seeded Rafael Hipolito (Virginia Tech) in the evening session on Thursday. After trading escapes during regulation, Chumbley and Hipolito remained knotted at one all the way to tiebreakers, where a penalty point and a ride-out secured the second upset victory of Chumbley's day. With two wins down, the graduate student is just one win away from securing All-American honors with what would be the first NCAA podium finish of his career.
At 165 lbs, Mayfield also started his day with an upset. The No. 18 seed himself, Mayfield secured a 7-6 decision over No. 15 Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) with a last-second takedown in the third period.
Following his defeat at the hands of No. 2 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) in the second round, Mayfield will face off with the 33 seed, Chandler Amaker (Central Michigan), in wrestlebacks tomorrow morning.
No. 16 Bates rounded out the trio of 'Cats to earn victories in their opening matchups, picking up a clutch decision against Stanford's Nick Stemmet in the morning session. Bates and Stemmet, who previously faced off in the third-place match at this season's Midlands Championships, traded shots to keep the match close all the way down to the wire. After Stemmet grabbed a 10-9 lead with a third-period reversal, Bates took the advantage back for good with a reversal of his own just nine seconds later. Riding time and a penalty point padded the margin to give Bates the 13-10 decision.
Bates dropped a close 4-1 loss to the top-seeded Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) in Session II, and will continue his NCAA Championships in wrestlebacks. He is set to open Friday morning against No. 18 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) in a rematch of the Midlands quarterfinal matchup - which Bechtold won narrowly by 7-5 decision.
In his first taste of NCAA Championships action, redshirt first-year Sam Cartella (149 lbs) gave No. 2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) all he could handle in the opening round. Cartella held the lead through the start of the second period before eventually being edged out by the reigning Big Ten Champion, 10-8. Cartella's tournament run concluded Thursday evening with another tight loss, this one to No. 18 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell).
Chumbley, Mayfield and Bates will all continue on in their respective brackets on Friday morning in Session III, which is set to begin at 11 a.m. CT. Session IV, featuring semifinal- and blood round bouts, will follow at 7 p.m. CT.
Seeded No. 20 in his weight class, Chumbley opened his third career NCAA Championships appearance with an upset of No. 13 Jared Hill (Wyoming) by 2-0 decision in the first round. That victory earned him a meeting with fourth-seeded Rafael Hipolito (Virginia Tech) in the evening session on Thursday. After trading escapes during regulation, Chumbley and Hipolito remained knotted at one all the way to tiebreakers, where a penalty point and a ride-out secured the second upset victory of Chumbley's day. With two wins down, the graduate student is just one win away from securing All-American honors with what would be the first NCAA podium finish of his career.
Made for the moment ??
— Northwestern Wrestling (@NUWrestle) March 21, 2025
Trevor Chumbley, we'll see you in the quarterfinals ??#GoCats | #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/0qf89f2Cm3
At 165 lbs, Mayfield also started his day with an upset. The No. 18 seed himself, Mayfield secured a 7-6 decision over No. 15 Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) with a last-second takedown in the third period.
19 seconds on the clock ?? 3-point takedown on the board@maxxmayfield5 came through in crunch time ??#GoCats | #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/T9WLPxqbCy
— Northwestern Wrestling (@NUWrestle) March 20, 2025
Following his defeat at the hands of No. 2 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) in the second round, Mayfield will face off with the 33 seed, Chandler Amaker (Central Michigan), in wrestlebacks tomorrow morning.
No. 16 Bates rounded out the trio of 'Cats to earn victories in their opening matchups, picking up a clutch decision against Stanford's Nick Stemmet in the morning session. Bates and Stemmet, who previously faced off in the third-place match at this season's Midlands Championships, traded shots to keep the match close all the way down to the wire. After Stemmet grabbed a 10-9 lead with a third-period reversal, Bates took the advantage back for good with a reversal of his own just nine seconds later. Riding time and a penalty point padded the margin to give Bates the 13-10 decision.
Big Bates W ??#GoCats | #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/gi0AvkX45w
— Northwestern Wrestling (@NUWrestle) March 20, 2025
Bates dropped a close 4-1 loss to the top-seeded Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) in Session II, and will continue his NCAA Championships in wrestlebacks. He is set to open Friday morning against No. 18 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) in a rematch of the Midlands quarterfinal matchup - which Bechtold won narrowly by 7-5 decision.
In his first taste of NCAA Championships action, redshirt first-year Sam Cartella (149 lbs) gave No. 2 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) all he could handle in the opening round. Cartella held the lead through the start of the second period before eventually being edged out by the reigning Big Ten Champion, 10-8. Cartella's tournament run concluded Thursday evening with another tight loss, this one to No. 18 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell).
Chumbley, Mayfield and Bates will all continue on in their respective brackets on Friday morning in Session III, which is set to begin at 11 a.m. CT. Session IV, featuring semifinal- and blood round bouts, will follow at 7 p.m. CT.
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