CLEVELAND -- Former Blair teammates Joey McKenna of Ohio State and Princeton's Matt Kolodzik sat a few feet apart in an interview area at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland Saturday.
The former Blair teammates were discussing their respective third-place finishes in the country. McKenna defeated Missouri's Jayden Eirman, avenging a blood-round loss last year, 7-2, at 141 pounds.
He then gave way on the mat to Kolodzik, who used a late takedown to defeat North Carolina's Troy Heilmann, a former South Plainfield three-time state finalist, 3-2, at 149 pounds.
"That was exciting," said Kolodzik, a sophomore who finished seventh a year ago. "Joe's a great drill partner. He was a great teammate. I was pumped to see him win.
"He gave me a little pat on the back when I went out there. I'm happy for him and for the entire Ohio State team. I'm happy for everybody out there because placing here is a big deal."
Kolodzik said he planned to prepare for the World Team Trials in a few months, hoping for a matchup with Penn State's Zain Retherford - who was competing in the 149 NCAA final Saturday night - then get ready to take the next step in his Princeton career.
"You can sense everybody at Princeton is committed to a goal and there's no doubt in my mind we're going to reach that goal," said Kolodzik. "Coach (Chris) Ayres has put this program together. (I'm) third this year, next year first and we'll have a couple more All-Americans. I can't wait."
McKenna took third two years ago while a true freshman at Stanford, defeating South Plainfield and Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault. He transferred to Ohio State this offseason.
"As a freshman it was a little more exciting, but I was pumped this year too after losing in the blood round last eyar, but right now I'm just hoping for the best in the team title," said McKenna.
McKenna lost his semifinal to Wyoming's Bryce Meredith, 1-0, similar to two years ago when he fell to Meredith in the semifinal, 5-3. McKenna took neutral in the third period Saturday but couldn't secure a winning takedown.
"I thought my best chance I was on my feet, I was confident in my takedown abilities," said McKenna. "I had to move on and concentrate on the next best thing."
Like Kolodzik, he's looking forward to his next college season.
"These guys are my brothers, coming in as a new junior is different, but I was welcomed in and it was heartfelt and warming," said McKenna. "I was just trying to find my place in the room. I'm going to take a leadership role next year."
Another former Blair wrestler, Lehigh's Jordan Kutler, placed sixth at 174 pounds.
Virginia Tech's David McFadden (DePaul) took fifth at 165 pounds, his second All-American appearance in two trips to nationals.
Northwestern redshirt freshman Sebastian Rivera (Christian Brothers) took sixth in the loaded 125-pound weight class. Rivera lost his last two matches to former national champions, Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State and Lehigh's Darian Cruz.
Fourth-place finisher Ethan Lizak of Minnesota and West Virginia's eighth-place finisher Zeke Moisey were past finalists.
Rutgers' Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield) placed sixth at 133 pounds. He was a high school teammate of Heilmann's.
Blll Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find and like the NJ.com High School Wrestling page on Facebook.