DETROIT – With an equal score at one point Will Levan and Jaret Jacques headed for a sudden victory.
No 157-pound wrestler was able to score in the first two minutes of overtime, sending the first-round match to a tie-break.
Levan started at the top, riding for 25 seconds before the 25th Missouri sowing number escaped. This meant that Levan, who is now at the bottom to start the second tie-break, had to run away in 25 seconds or less to win or save the match. Twenty-four seconds passed, and Levan was unable to break free before the wrestlers went off the field. Restarting in the center of the mat, Levan had one last chance.
And when there was one second left on the watch, he used it to the fullest.
The junior with the red T-shirt under the eighth seed ran away, sending the fight into another round of sudden victory, in which he scored his first takedown of the day to secure victory in a tough fight.
“I saw it was one second and thought,‘ I have to do this, there’s time on the clock, I can do it, I can’t count myself now, ’” Levan said. “It’s the NCAA, anything can happen.”
The last phrase very perfectly summed up Luan’s night. With two overtime wins in the thriller, a combination of mental resilience and Luen’s superior conditioning allowed him to succeed in the difficult situations he faced on Thursday.
In the second list of matches, Levan won another overtime victory against 9 Iowa seeders Caleb Young. After the first period without points, the fight continued with the rabbit, when the number of the third period was zero. Nine seconds after the sudden victory, Levan scored a goal to win the match and reach the quarterfinals.
Levan was not in an unfamiliar position in his two matches on Thursday; he has gone into overtime three times in the last two months. He has won two of his three previous fights, illustrating his ability to cope with the pressures that come along with sudden wins and tie-break situations.
“I have a lot of (overtime) matches, I’m ready for that,” Levan said. “I’m definitely ready.”
Training – both physical and mental – is key to facilitating Levan’s success in overtime. Intense training and conditioning often allow Levan to outrun and outperform opponents in the later stages of matches when opponents are often unprepared and unable to keep up.
“We’re a tough team,” senior heavyweight Mason Paris said. “We like a tough fight, we are thriving in these moments. This is what we practice throughout the year, this is the culture around our team … If these matches are close, we will come out on top. ”
Likewise, mental training is a critical component of Wolverine’s pre-match ritual, especially for large tournaments such as the NCAA Championship. The team includes a sports psychologist who helps wrestlers stay mentally strong in stressful situations, reinforcing positive conversations with themselves.
“I’ve been in a lot of high-pressure situations in my wrestling career, so it’s just another step, another piece of my path,” Levan said. “It’s the NCAA, yes, but if I stay mentally strong, it’s not a problem to figure it out in these games.”
Tough matches – although they provide an opportunity to demonstrate Wolverine’s mental and physical resilience – are not ideal for tournaments, especially when Michigan is fighting for bonus points to stay in a competitive position.
However, the most important thing for Wolverines is to find a way to win, no matter the circumstances. That’s exactly what Levan did on Thursday, and that’s exactly what he hopes to do by the end of his tournament campaign.