LA CROSSE, Wisc. – Nick Sacco etched his name permanently into TCNJ wrestling lore on Saturday night, pulling out a thrilling 2-1 victory over Wisconsin-La Crosse's Noah Leisgang to claim the 165-pound NCAA championship.
 
Sacco avenged a loss to Leisgang in last year's third-place bout to become the Lions' first NCAA champion since Ryan Budzek in 2019. He is the 24^th individual champion that the college has produced, and the first ever at 165 pounds.
 
In addition to Sacco's historic moment, Mike Conklin placed seventh at 149 pounds and Peter Wersinger took eighth at heavyweight, giving the Lions a trio of All-Americans.
 
TCNJ placed 9^th in the team standings with 37.0 points, its highest finished since taking 8^th in 2019.
 
NICK SACCO (165)

• Sacco fell behind 1-0 early in the second period after an escape by Coe's Will Esmoil in the semifinals, but almost immediately took his adversary to the mat for a critical takedown and a 3-1 lead, plus more than a minute of riding time by the end of the second
• Starting the third on bottom, he escaped to make it 4-1. Esmoil got a point back on a stalling penalty, but Sacco saw out the remaining seconds for a 4-2 win and a spot in the title bout against Leisgang, who upset top-seeded Matt Lackman, 4-1, in the other semifinal
• After a scoreless first period, Sacco rode out the entire second to give himself a major advantage. He was buoyed by the partisan Wartburg and Augsburg crowds – both were competing with La Crosse for the team title – with chants of "Let's Go Sacco!"
• Starting the third on bottom, Sacco escaped after 28 seconds, and after that it was all about managing the clock. He eluded a near takedown by Leisgang with about 15 seconds left, managing to get his hips around as his foe attempted to circle
• Sacco was called for stalling with 1 second left, but the penalty only momentarily delayed his glory

MIKE CONKLIN (149)

• Conklin got off to a fast start against Loras' Eric Kinkaid, but his early takedown went for naught as Kinkaid escaped and returned the favor, adding four near-fall points for an 8-3 lead after one. Conklin was unable to get any closer, eventually dropping a 10-5 decision to fall into the seventh-place match
• Conklin spotted RIT's Mike Glynn a 3-0 lead in the seventh-place match but turned the tables in the second period, starting on bottom and notching a reversal and takedown to gain control before seeing out a scoreless third period for a 6-3 decision

PETER WERSINGER (285)

• Wersinger was pinned in the first period by No. 1 seed Carl DiGiorgio of Coast Guard, then fell by a 9-0 major decision to Luther's Walter West to settle for eighth

NOTES

• Sacco was already a first-time All-American before adding a national title to his trophy case
• Conklin is now a two-time All-American after placing eighth as a freshman in 2022
• Wersinger returned to TCNJ for a fifth year and made the most of it, qualifying for NCAAs for the second time and becoming an All-American for the first time