"It was an outstanding performance by our team to win the toughest Super Regional in the nation," head coach Mike Denney said. "We are proud of our team because it was a total team effort and qualified seven of our guys for the national tournament in two weeks at Chaifetz Arena. We are pleased to be able to win an NCAA Regional championship for Maryville University."
Zeb Wahle claimed Maryville's title at 174 as he posted an 8-2 decision in the semifinals, then recorded a 7-5 win in the title bout against Jacob Begin of Southwest Minnesota State.
Dakota Bauer recorded a 3-2 win in the 133 semifinals before he was downed in the finals by Nate Rodriguez of Ouachita Baptist and finished in second place. At 141, James Krischke dropped his semifinal match but won the consolation semifinals match. However, he was narrowly defeated by a 2-0 score in the third-place contest. In the "true fourth" match, Alphonso Vruno edged Krischke by a 4-3 count to advance to the national finals.
Keenan Hagerty recorded a fall at the 6:07 mark of his semifinal match to reach the 149 finals. Going against defending national champion Frank Cagnina of Central Missouri, Hagerty was outpointed by a 12-8 count to finish as runner-up.
At 157, Greg Hegarty lost by the slimmest of margins 1-0 in the semifinals but rebounded for a 10-6 sudden victory in the consolation semis. He continued his run with a 10-1 major over Josh Ballard of McKendree to win the third-place contest.
Dimitri Willis lost his 165 semifinal match 6-4 in sudden victory but rallied for a 4-3 win in the consolation semifinals. He was downed in the third-place contest and finished in fourth place and continued on to the national championship.
Nick Burghardt was shaded 1-0 in the 184 semifinals but recovered with a big 11-1 major in the consolation semis. He then posted an 8-5 victory over John McArdle of Lindenwood to take the third-place bout.
In the 197-weight class, Ryan Beltz romped in his semifinal contest by a 17-8 score over VJ Giulio of St. Cloud State but was toppled by Julian Smith of McKendree in the championship match.
Jaret Singh had his day end at 125 when he was edged 5-2 in the third round of the consolation round. In the heavyweights, Morgan Denson dropped his final match 5-1 in the consolation second round.
Reaching the national championship at Chaifetz Arena for the Saints are: Dakota Bauer (133), Keenan Hagerty (149), Greg Hegarty (157), Dimitri Willis (165), Zeb Wahle (174), Nick Burghardt (184), Ryan Beltz (197).
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