Virginia senior Louie Hayes dropped an 11-3 major decision to Chris Cannon of Northwestern in the 133 class at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, meaning he finished the season eighth in the nation.
Hayes’ run at the championships made him the 17th UVA wrestler to earn All-America honors in program history.
Hayes advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time in his career before falling to second-seeded Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State in a 4-1 decision that sent him to the consolation bracket. He also advanced to the quarterfinals as a redshirt freshman in 2018.
In his first two matches, he defeated No. 23 seed Boo Dryden of Minnesota by decision and upset seventh-seeded Lucas Byrd of Illinois in the sudden victory period.
“Louie has set an example for what our guys should be,” Virginia coach Steve Garland said. “He is in the master’s program in the Comm school, is a great student and one of the hardest workers you will ever find. He is coachable, mentally tough and competes as hard as he can. I can’t say enough good things about him and I am thankful I got to coach him.”
Louie Hayes at the 2021 NCAA Championships
- R1: Hayes dec. No. 23 seed Boo Dryden (Minnesota), 5-2
- R2: Hayes dec. No. 7 seed Lucas Byrd (Illinois), 6-4 (sv-1)
- QF: No. 2 seed Roman Bravo-Young dec. Hayes, 4-1
- Conso. R3: Hayes pinned No. 19 seed Chance Rich (Cal State Bakersfield), 2:10
- Conso. R4: No. 9 seed Michael McGee (Arizona State) dec. Hayes, 8-4
- 7th Place Match No. 8 seed Chris Cannon (Northwestern) major dec. Hayes, 11-3
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