InterMat Staff

125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado), 15-2 Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State) dec. Jay Schwarm (Northern Iowa), 8-2 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec. Matt Schmitt (West Virginia), 6-1 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming) dec. Austin Gomez (Iowa State), 6-3 141: Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) dec. Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado), 8-3 Dominick Demas (Oklahoma) dec. Ian Parker (Iowa State), 8-4 149: Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec. Khristian Olivas (Fresno State), 7-2 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State), 8-2 157: Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) dec. Luke Weber (North Dakota State), 13-8 Chase Straw (Iowa State) dec. Jacob Wright (Fresno State), 4-0 165: Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State) dec. Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), 3-2 Demetrirus Romero (Utah Valley) dec. Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa), 3-2 174: Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Hayden Hastings (Wyoming), 18-5 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) dec. Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 3-1 184: Sam Colbray (Iowa State) dec. Tate Samuelson (Wyoming), 5-2 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) dec. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 6-3 197: Willie Miklus (Iowa State) dec. Josh Hokit (Fresno State), 6-0 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), 13-0 285: A.J. Nevills (Fresno State) dec. Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State), 3-2 Derek White (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley), 10-1

Lehigh claimed its second straight EIWA title (Photo/Richard Warnke) VESTAL, N.Y. -- Powered by a total team effort, the Lehigh wrestling team battled through a competitive team race to claim its second straight EIWA championship Saturday at Binghamton's Events Center. The Mountain Hawks trailed Cornell by 20 points at one point during Saturday's morning session but came back to win their second straight team title and league-best 36th overall. Led by three individual champions: freshman Josh Humphreys (157), junior Jordan Kutler (174) and sophomore Jordan Wood (285), Lehigh scored 153 points to top the Big Red by 14. Nine wrestlers placed in the two-day tournament, with all nine finishing in the top six. The Mountain Hawks went 6-3 in Saturday's final session and locked up the title when Cornell failed to get a fall in the 184 finals. In all, Lehigh qualified eight wrestlers for the upcoming NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh. "I'm proud of our team," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "They competed really hard and that's all I could really ask of them. We have a lot of great competitors on our team and they came out on top. We just wanted to wrestle well, and we did." Humphreys helped turn the tide in Lehigh's favor Saturday on the way to becoming Lehigh's first true freshman EIWA Champion since Randy Cruz in 2013. Cornell placed three in the finals at the first three weight classes, while Lehigh dropped its first two semifinals as the Big Red led by 20 after the 149 semifinals. Humphreys locked up Lehigh's first finals berth using a strong start and strong top work to beat Princeton's Quincy Monday 13-8. Wrestling in Lehigh's first finals bout of the final session, Humphreys looked to avenge a loss by fall to Bucknell's Zach Hartman, and did just that with a pair of first period takedowns and a four-point near fall where he nearly stuck the Bison freshman for a fall. Reversals in the second and third periods gave Humphreys a 12-6 decision and Lehigh its first champion of the tournament. "Josh wrestled a really tough opponent in Hartman so that was a really good win for him," Santoro said. "The three freshmen in that weight class (Humphreys, Hartman, Monday) are going to have great careers. It will be exciting to watch those guys moving forward. Josh competes really hard. He's good in all positions, and he's dangerous." Humphreys received the Sheridan Trophy after the finals for the most falls in the championship bracket in the fastest time, racking up two falls on Friday in 3:50. Following an 8-1 decision over Navy's Spencer Carey in the semifinals, Kutler claimed his second straight EIWA title with a 3-1 decision over Cornell's Brandon Womack. A late second period takedown was the difference for Kutler, who helped Lehigh inch closer to clinching the team title. Wood had to do the least to win his second straight title. After beating Ben Sullivan 6-2 in the semifinals, Wood received a win by medical forfeit over Brown's Ian Butterbrodt in the heavyweight final. Senior Ryan Preisch was Lehigh's fourth finalist, earning a spot in the finals by rallying for a 5-3 win over Binghamton's Lou DePrez in the semifinals at 184. Preisch trailed 3-2 in the third before scoring a takedown and then riding out to win. Preisch met Cornell's Max Dean in a rematch of last year's final, won by Preisch by fall, but Dean turned the tables, using a strong ride, a stalling point and an escape to win 3-0. Ultimately, Dean's inability to secure a pin clinched the team title for the Brown and White. "Cornell did a good job game-planning for those two head-to-head finals matches," Santoro said. "It gives us something to work on when we get back. We need to open up a little more on both guys parts, so we'll work on that over the next two weeks." Preisch did earn the Fletcher Award, given to the wrestler who scores the most team points at the EIWA Tournament in his career. Preisch scored 74.5 points placing 3-2-1-2 in four tournaments. He becomes the sixth wrestler to win all three major tournament awards (Fletcher, Sheridan and Coaches' Trophy for Outstanding Wrestler), having won the latter two last year. The previous five to accomplish the trifecta were Lehigh's Mark Lieberman, Gene Mills from Syracuse, Harvard's Jesse Jantzen and Kyle Dake and Gabe Dean from Cornell. Sophomore Brandon Paetzell bounced back from a semifinal loss to American's Josh Terao to claim third place at 133. Paetzell rallied for a 5-2 win over Penn's Doug Zapf and then topped Zack Trampe of Binghamton 7-1 in the third place match. Senior Gordon Wolf won three matches on Saturday to wrestle back for third at 165, highlighted by a first period fall against Princeton's Leonard Merkin. A 1-0 win over Army's P.J. Ogunsanya vaulted senior Cortlandt Schuyler into the third place match at 149. Schuyler ran into top seed Matt Kolodzik of Princeton, who posted a 13-3 major decision. Consolation semifinal victories for Paetzell, Wolf and Schuyler clinched NCAA Tournament berths for all three. Lehigh's eighth NCAA qualifier is sophomore Jake Jakobsen who wrestled back from a quarterfinal loss to take fifth at 197. Jakobsen rode out the third period to defeat Army's Rocco Caywood 2-0 in the consolation quarterfinals to punch his ticket and capped his tournament with a 4-2 win over Army's Drew Phipps. At 141, junior Ryan Pomrinca clinched top six by scoring a takedown in the second sudden victory period to beat Princeton's Marshall Keller 4-2, but then dropped his next two matches to finish in sixth place. "Any time you win this tournament, it has to be a total team effort," Santoro said. "It's not just a few stars. Everybody won matches. Eight guys are going to nationals right now. It was a great team effort. "If you asked me in December if we could do this when we were 0-7…" Santoro continued. "The guys got better. We never focused on a win after that. It kind of put things in perspective for everybody, and everybody got better. That was the key." Lehigh's eight automatic qualifiers will now move on to the NCAA Championships, March 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. At-large qualifiers will be announced Tuesday, while the seeds and brackets will be unveiled Wednesday. The 2018-19 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. Top Five Team Scores 1. Lehigh 153 2. Cornell 139 3. Princeton 122.5 4. Army 106.5 5. Navy 92.5

125: 1st: Patrick Glory (Princeton) dec. Vito Arujau (Cornell), 10-8 3rd: Gage Curry (American) dec. Carmen Ferrante (Penn), 2-1 TB2 5th: Joe Manchio (Columbia) dec. Trey Chalifoux (Army), 9-6 7th: Audey Ashkar (Binghamton) dec. Antonio Mininno (Drexel), 3-2 133: 1st: Chas Tucker (Cornell) dec. Josh Terao (American), 9-4 3rd: Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) dec. Zack Trampe (Binghamton), 7-1 5th: Lane Peters (Army) dec. Doug Zapf (Penn), 7-5 SV 7th: Casey Cobb (Navy) dec. Hunter Kosco (Brown), 8-5 141: 1st: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. Nicholas Gil (Navy), 8-2 3rd: Anthony Sparacio (Binghamton) dec. Corey Shie (Army), 8-4 5th: Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall) dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh), 9-8 TB2 7th: Jack Mutchnik (American) dec. Marshall Keller (Princeton), 6-3 149: 1st: Anthony Artalona (Penn) dec. Jared Prince (Navy), 3-1 SV 3rd: Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) maj. dec. Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh), 13-3 5th: Michael Sprague (American) dec. P.J. Ogunsanya (Army), 5-4 TB2 7th: Patrick Quinlan (Franklin & Marshall) dec. Brock Wilson (Harvard), 8-5 157: 1st: Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Zach Hartman (Bucknell), 12-6 3rd: Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec. Lucas Weiland (Army), 6-4 5th: Christian LaBrie (Brown) by forfeit over Dan Reed (Columbia) 7th: Kizhan Clarke (American) dec. Quentin Hovis (Navy), 5-3 165: 1st: Tanner Skidgel (Navy) dec. Cael McCormick (Army), 4-0 3rd: Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) dec. Ebed Jarrell (Drexel), 13-11 5th: Leonard Merkin (Princeton) pinned Jonathan Viruet (Brown), 1:30 7th: Laurence Kosoy (Columbia) maj. dec. Andrew Berreyesa (Cornell), 12-1 174: 1st: Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Brandon Womack (Cornell), 3-1 3rd: Vincent DePrez (Binghamton) dec. Spencer Carey (Navy), 7-3 5th: Ben Harvey (Army) dec. Travis Stefanik (Princeton), 5-1 7th: Ricky Stamm (Hofstra) dec. Max Elling (Columbia), 6-1 184: 1st: Max Dean (Cornell) dec. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), 3-0 3rd: Louie DePrez (Binghamton) dec. Brian Harvey (Army), 6-1 5th: C.J. LaFragola (Brown) dec. Noah Stewar (Army), 3-2 7th: Kevin Parker (Princeton) pinned Brian Bonino (Columbia), 0:43 197: 1st: Patrick Brucki (Princeton) dec. Ben Honis (Cornell), 8-6 3rd: Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) dec. Josh Roetman (Navy), 3-0 5th: John Jakobsen (Lehigh) dec. Drew Phipps (Bucknell), 4-2 7th: Rocco Caywood (Army) dec. Tucker Ziegler (Brown), 6-2 SV1 285: 1st: Jordan Wood (Lehigh) by medical forfeit over Ian Butterbrodt (Brown) 3rd: Joey Goodhart (Drexel) dec. Antonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall), 4-2 5th: Joe Doyle (Binghamton) pinned Ben Sullivan (Army), 6:54 7th: Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) dec. Daniel Herman (Columbia), 4-0

Missouri won its eighth straight conference title (Photo/Missouri Athletics) NORFOLK, Va. -- No. 5 Mizzou Wrestling claimed its eighth straight conference tournament title after winning the Mid-American Conference Championship with 180.0 team points Saturday afternoon at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Mizzou claimed six conference titles as all six wrestlers who advanced to the finals won their championships bouts. All 10 Mizzou wrestlers finished fourth or better, with nine of 10 taking at least third. Mizzou also broke its own championship record with 180.0 team points, topping the mark set by last year's team (177.0). Mizzou's six individual MAC champions are: RS senior John Erneste - 133 - Third Career Title RS junior Jaydin Eierman - 141 - Third Career Title Freshman Brock Mauller - 149 - First Career Title Freshman Jarrett Jacques - 157 - First Career Title RS senior Daniel Lewis - 174 - Fourth Career Title RS junior Dylan Wisman - 184 First Career Title All six earn automatic spots to the NCAA Championships. After two pins and a technical fall, Eierman was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. He won his third MAC title Saturday. Lewis became just the eighth wrestler to earn four MAC Championships and first to do so since J'den Cox did so. Erneste and Eierman each earned their third MAC titles. Team Scores Missouri - 180.0 Buffalo - 113.5 Old Dominion - 113.0 Central Michigan - 110.5 Ohio - 99.5 Northern Illinois - 98.0 SIU Edwardsville - 68.5 Kent State - 64.0 Notes Mizzou claimed its seventh straight MAC Tournament title and its eighth straight conference title dating back to its final year in the Big 12. Mizzou racked up 180.0 total team points, the best in MAC Tournament history. Mizzou won six individual titles Saturday with all six of those wrestlers clinching a spot at the NCAA Championships. Mizzou also clinched spots to the NCAA Tournament at 125 and heavyweight based on the league's allocations. Mizzou will need wild cards at 165 and 197 in order to send all 10 to the NCAA Championships. Freshman Dack Punke picked up his first pin of the season in his first consolation match, pinning Shakur Laney of Ohio in 3:13 to advance to the third-place bout. He finished fourth on Saturday and earned his first berth to the NCAA Tournament. RS senior John Erneste claimed his third MAC Championship Saturday. RS junior Jaydin Eierman became a three-time MAC Champion as well. RS senior Daniel Lewis extended his personal win streak to 16 bouts, earning 10 pins during that stretch. With his 11-2 major decision Saturday in the finals, becomes just the eighth four-time MAC champion in league history and first since Mizzou's J'den Cox did so in 2017. Freshman Brock Mauller, with his title win, now has 29 wins in his true freshman campaign, the most for a Mizzou freshman grappler since J'den Cox had 38 in 2013-14. Mauller's only two losses of the season have come to the same wrestler.

125: Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) pinned Edward Flores (CSU Bakersfield), 3:43 Ryan Millhof (Arizona State) pinned Gabe Townsell (Stanford) SV 133: Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Devan Turner (Oregon State), 5-0 Mason Pengilly (Stanford) dec. Josiah Kline (Arizona State), 2-1 141: Grant Willits (Oregon State) dec. Cory Crooks (Arizona State), 3-2 Brandon Kier (Stanford) dec. Carlos Herrera (CSU Bakersfield), 3-2 149: Requir Van Der Merwe (Stanford) dec. Josh Reyes (Oregon State), 7-4 Joshua Maruca (Arizona State) dec. Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield), 10-5 157: Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State) tech. fall Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly), 18-3 6:25 Hunter Willits (Oregon State) dec. Paul Fox (Stanford), 6-1 165: Joshua Shields (Arizona State) maj. dec. Jared Hill (Stanford), 14-4 Jacob Thalin (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Aaron Olmos (Oregon State), 3-2 174: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) tech. fall Colt Doyle (Oregon State), 18-3 4:50 Bryan Battisto (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Rico Stormer (Stanford), 4-3 184: Judah Duhm (Stanford) dec. Dom Ducharme (CSU Bakersfield), 6-4 SV Bob Coleman (Oregon State) dec. Jacen Petersen (Arizona State), 9-7 197: Nathan Traxler (Stanford) pinned Mark Penyacsek (CSU Bakersfield), 0:37 Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) maj. dec. Jamarcus Grant (Oregon State), 13-0 285: Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) pinned Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly), 1:29 Haydn Maley (Stanford) dec. Jarrod Snyder (CSU Bakersfield), 3-2

125: Luke Werner (Lock Haven) tech. fall Talha Farooq (George Mason), 17-2 5:07 Willy Girard (Bloomsburg) pinned Jonathan Tropea (Rider), 6:54 133: D.J. Fehlman (Lock Haven) dec. Seth Koleno (Clarion), 14-7 Anthony Cefolo (Rider) pinned Shawn Orem (Bloomsburg), 1:42 141: Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) maj. dec. Sam Matzek (Cleveland State), 11-1 Carmine Ciotti (Edinboro) dec. Travis Layton (Rider), 1-0 149: Tejon Anthony (George Mason) dec. Brock Port (Lock Haven), 5-2 Evan Fidelibus (Rider) dec. Avery Shay (Clarion), 4-2 157: Kolby Ho (George Mason) dec. Nico O'dor (Cleveland State), 3-2 Alex Klucker (Lock Haven) dec. Gino Fluri (Rider), 4-1 165: Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) pinned Evan Delong (Clarion), 5:45 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) maj. dec. Colston Diblasi (George Mason), 14-6 174: Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) dec. Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven), 4-3 Dean Sherry (Rider) dec. Taylor Cahill (Clarion), 9-3 184: Corey Hazel (Lock Haven) dec. Zach Ancewicz (Edinboro), 7-2 Mike Fagg-Daves (Rider) dec. Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg), 6-3 197: Ethan Laird (Rider) dec. Kyle Murphy (Bloomsburg), 4-0 Eli Spencer (George Mason) dec. Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro), 2-1 TB2 2854: Matt Voss (George Mason) maj. dec. Ryan Cloud (Rider), 14-1 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) dec. Jon Spaulding (Edinboro), 1-0

125: 1st: Michael McGee (Old Dominion) dec. Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), 5-2 3rd: Bryce West (Northern Illinois) dec. Dack Punke (Missouri), 4-2 5th: Kyle Akins (Buffalo) pinned Shakur Laney (Ohio), 5:41 8th: Jacob Ferri (Kent State) maj. dec. Gage Datlovsky (SIU Edwardsville), 19-7 133: 1st: John Erneste (Missouri) dec. Derek Spann (Buffalo), 6-2 3rd: Tim Rooney (Kent State) dec. Mario Guillen (Ohio), 4-2 SV2 5th: Alijah Jeffery (Northern Illinois) dec. Deven Perez (Central Michigan), 9-2 7th: Trevon Majette (Old Dominion) maj. dec. Austin Macias (SIU Edwardsville), 14-2 141: 1st: Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) pinned Bryan Lantry (Buffalo), 3:27 3rd: Cameron Kelly (Ohio) maj. dec. Andrew Marten (Central Michigan), 13-2 True 4th: Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) dec. Andrew Marten (Central Michigan), 3-0 5th: Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) pinned Cory Simpson (Kent State), 2:50 8th: Drew West (Northern Illinois) pinned Lucas Bernal (SIU Edwardsville), 1:23 149: 1st: Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. Kevin Budock (Old Dominion), 6-2 3rd: Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) maj. dec. Alec Hagan (Ohio), 17-7 5th: McCoy Kent (Northern Illinois) dec. Tyshawn Williams (SIU Edwardsville), 2-1 7th: Jason Estevez (Buffalo) dec. Kody Komara (Kent State), 6-4 157: 1st: Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) dec. Larry Early (Old Dominion), 3-1 3rd: Logan Parks (Central Michigan) dec. Justin Ruffin (SIU Edwardsville), 9-4 5th: Alex Smythe (Buffalo) dec. Zac Carson (Ohio), 8-6 7th: Mason Kauffman (Northern Illinois) maj. dec. Richard Jackson (Kent State), 12-2 165: 1st: Troy Keller (Buffalo) dec. Colt Yinger (Ohio), 7-4 3rd: Connor Flynn (Missouri) maj. dec. Nate Higgins (SIU Edwardsville), 15-2 5th: Shane Jones (Old Dominion) dec. Isaac Bast (Kent State), 6-5 7th: Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois) tech. fall Bret Fedewa (Central Michigan), 16-1 174: 1st: Daniel Lewis (Missouri) maj. dec. Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois), 11-2 3rd: Luke Drugac (Old Dominion) dec. Jake Lanning (Buffalo), 5-2 5th: Collin Lieber (Central Michigan) dec. Logan Stanley (Ohio), 5-0 7th: Kade Byland (Kent State) dec. Kevin Gschwendtner (SIU Edwardsville), 7-5 184: 1st: Dylan Wisman (Missouri) dec. Andrew McNally (Kent State), 9-4 True 2nd: Andrew McNally (Kent State) pinned Jordan Atienza (Central Michigan), 4:27 3rd: Jordan Atienza (Central Michigan) dec. Will Feldkamp (Northern Illinois), 14-7 5th: Hunter Yeargan (Ohio) by medical forfeit over Antonio Agee (Old Dominion) 7th: Sergio Villalobos (SIU Edwardsville) dec. Logan Rill (Buffalo), 4-1 197: 1st: Brett Perry (Buffalo) dec. Timothy Young (Old Dominion), 6-3 3rd: Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) dec. Max Ihry (Northern Illinois), 3-2 5th: Derek Hillman (Ohio) pinned Christian DuLaney (SIU Edwardsville), 7:42 7th: Landon Pelham (Central Michigan) pinned Shane Mast (Kent State), 3:47 285: 1st: Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) dec. Colton McKiernan (SIU Edwardsville), 12-7 3rd: Zach Elam (Missouri) dec. Jake Gunning (Buffalo), 3-0 True 4th: Zack Parker (Ohio) dec. Jake Gunning (Buffalo), 6-4 5th: Zack Parker (Ohio) pinned Caleb Gossett (Northern Illinois), 6:55 8th: William Hilliard (Old Dominion) pinned Spencer Berthold (Kent State), 1:02

125: Jack Mueller (Virginia) maj. dec. Joseph Heilmann (North Carolina), 13-3 Sean Fausz (NC State) maj. dec. Joey Prata (Virginia Tech), 10-1 133: Mickey Phillipi (Pittsburgh) dec. Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), 2-1 TB1 Tariq Wilson (NC State) dec. Gary Wayne Harding (North Carolina), 7-4 141: Jamel Morris (NC State) dec. Josh Finesilver (Duke), 14-11 Mitch Moore (Virginia Tech) dec. AC Headlee (North Carolina), 6-3 149: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech), 4-0 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) dec. Justin Oliver (NC State), 4-2 157: Hayden Hidlay (NC State) tech fall Jake Keating (Virginia), 17-0 3:12 Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) dec. BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech), 4-3 TB2 165: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) dec. Zach Finesilver (Duke), 14-7 Thomas Bullard (NC State) dec. Cam Coy (Virginia), 7-1 174: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Devin Kane (North Carolina), 9-1 Matt Finesilver (Duke) dec. Daniel Bullard (NC State), 4-1 184: Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) dec. Chip Ness (North Carolina), 8-1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) dec. Nick Reenan (NC State), 10-3 197: Jay Aiello (Virginia) dec. Alec Schenk (Duke), 7-5 Malik McDonald (NC State) dec. Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech), 3-2 285: Cory Daniel (North Carolina) dec. Deonte Wilson (NC State), 10-3 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) dec. Billy Miller (Virginia Tech), 10-9

Mark Hall is one of eight semifinalists for Penn State (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- No. 1 Penn State (14-0, 9-0 B1G) had an impressive morning in Minnesota, roaring in the opening session of the 2019 Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad sits in first place after the opening session of the two-day event at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena. All rankings listed are InterMat as of Feb. 26. The Nittany Lions moved eight wrestlers through to Saturday night's semifinals. All eight have also secured bids to the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh on March 21-23. One Lion is still alive, with a bit more work to do to earn a trip to nationals and can still finish as high as third, and one Lion ended his season during the opening session. Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) made his first ever appearance at the Big Ten Championship at 125. Schnupp took on fifth seed and 12th-ranked Travis Piotrowski of Illinois in his first match and dropped a 17-0 technical fall. He then took on Rutgers' Shane Metzler in his first consolation bout and lost a 6-1 decision. The loss ends Schnupp's tournament and his season. The Lion sophomore posted a 6-16 record this year, including picking up his first Big Ten dual meet victory. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 12 nationally at 133 and the fourth seed, made his Big Ten tournament debut against Nebraska's Jevon Parrish. Bravo-Young took an early 6-2 lead with three first period takedowns, added three more in the second and rolled to an 18-5 major with 2:26 in riding time. Bravo-Young then met No. 7 Luke Pletcher of Ohio State in the quarterfinals. Bravo-Young drew first blood and led 2-1 after the opening period. Pletcher answered with a takedown and two back points to lead 6-3 after two periods. The Buckeye added another takedown in the third and posted the hard-fought 8-5 win, sending Bravo-Young into consolation action in session two. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141 and the second seed at the tournament, had a first round bye. He met No. 16 Max Murin of Iowa in the quarterfinals and opened up an early lead with two first period takedowns. Murin cut the lead to 4-3 with an escape in the second period, but Lee got an escape, a penalty point and a takedown in the third to roll to the 8-3 victory. The win advances Lee to the semifinals in session two and punches his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 13 nationally at 149 and the sixth seed, took on Purdue's Parker Filius in his Big Ten tournament debut. Berge notched two first period takedowns to open up an early lead, picked up another two points in the second period and poured it on in the third to roll to a 12-3 major with 1:43 in riding time. Berge took on No. 9 Pat Lugo of Iowa in the quarterfinals. Berge battled the third seed through a scoreless first period and then took a lead with an escape to start the second and Lugo escaped to start the third, tying the match at 1-1 with less than 1:40 to wrestle. The duo wrestled through one sudden victory period and both escaped in the first tiebreaker. With just :33 left in the second sudden victory minute, Berge deftly slid around Lugo for a takedown and posted the thrilling 4-2 (sv2) win, moving in to the semifinals and earning a trip to the NCAA Championships as a redshirt freshman. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157 and the top seed, had a first round bye. Nolf met No. 12 Eric Barone of Illinois in the quarterfinals and opened up an early lead with three takedowns and then locked up a cradle on the third. Nolf settled in and picked up the fall at the 2:13 mark to move into the semifinals in session two and secure his ticket to the NCAA tournament in Pittsburgh. Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165 and the top, had a first round bye. Joseph took on Joey Gunther of Illinois in the quarterfinals and opened up a big lead early with five takedowns in the first period. The Lion junior picked up an escape to start the second and tacked on two more takedowns to lead by ten after two. Joseph added four near fall points and a final takedown to post the dominating 21-6 tech fall at the 5:59 mark, moving in to the semis and punching his ticket to the NCAA tournament. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174 and the top seed, had a first round bye. Hall faced off against Drew Hughes off Michigan State in the quarterfinals and opened up a big early lead with two quick first period takedowns. Hall then locked Hughes up at the shoulders, took him took the mat and quickly pinned him at the 2:38 mark. Halls dazzling move moves him into the semifinals and punches his ticket to the NCAA tournament. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 184 and the second seed, had a first round bye. He met No. 20 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State in the quarterfinals and took a big early lead with a takedown and four back points. He dominated the first period on top, keeping Caffey down for the bulk of the period to collect over 2:00 of riding time after one period. Rasheed added a takedown in the second, chose top to start the third and quickly locked up a cradle to pin Caffey at the 5:17 mark. Rasheed's win moves him into the semifinals and earns him a trip to the NCAA tournament. Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197 and the top seed, drew a first round bye. He took on Michigan State's Brad Wilton in the quarterfinals and blew the match open early. Nickal notched two takedowns, picking up four near fall on the second. After a reset out of bounds, the Lion spent the rest of the period working on top and had nearly 3:00 of riding time and a seven-point lead after one period. Nickal picked up two more takedowns and two back points in the second and then finished bout early in the third with two more takedowns. Nickal posted the 19-4 tech fall at the 5:34 mark, moves into the semifinals, and earns a trip to NCAAs. Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 3 at 285 and the second seed, met Purdue's Jacob Aven in the opening round of his first Big Ten tournament. He picked up three first period takedowns, one in the second and then a final one in the third period. The Lion added 2:25 in riding time and posted the 12-4 major. He took on No. 13 David Jensen of Nebraska in the quarterfinals and opened up an early lead with a first period takedown. He picked up an escape and a takedown in the second and then added a final takedown and 3:48 in riding to roll to an 8-4 win. The victory moves Cassar through to the semifinals and earns him a trip to his first NCAA Championship tournament. Penn State went 3-1 with three majors in its four first-round bouts, 8-1 in the quarterfinals and 0-1 in consolation action to post an 11-3 record on the day. The Nittany Lions tallied 12 bonus points off three majors, two tech falls and three pins. Penn State has won five Big Ten Championships (tournament) under Sanderson and six Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) titles, including this year's dual crown. The Nittany Lions have had 25 individuals win a total of 43 Big Ten individual titles. Action resumes tonight with session two, including the Big Ten semifinals, at 7 p.m. Eastern / 6 p.m. Central (local). The tournament concludes on Sunday with consolation action starting at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 p.m. Central (local) and the championship finals at 4 p.m. Eastern / 3 p.m. Central (local). The Finals will air live on the Big Ten Network and the entire tournament, every mat, will stream live on BTN2go/BTN-Plus ($). Team Standings: 1. Penn State 77 2. Minnesota 54 3. Ohio State 53.5 4. Michigan 45 4. Nebraska 45 6. Iowa 41 7. Wisconsin 31.5 8. Rutgers 23.5 9. Northwestern 20 10. Michigan State 17 11. Purdue 16.5 12. Illinois 16 13. Indiana 9 14. Maryland 1.5

125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Mitch Brown (Utah Valley), 17-2 5:59 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) dec. Alex Mackall (Iowa State), 6-0 Jay Schwarm (Northern Iowa) pinned Cole Verner (Wyoming), 4:14 Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State) dec. Christian Moody (Oklahoma), 3-1 SV 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec. Gary Joint (Fresno State), 7-3 Matt Schmitt (West Virginia) dec. Cam Sykora (North Dakota State), 9-6 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming) tech. fall Anthony Madrigal (Oklahoma), 16-1 5:54 Austin Gomez (Iowa State) maj. dec. Jack Skudlarczyk (Northern Iowa), 15-4 141: Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado) dec. Chris DeLoza (Fresno State), 4-3 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) by medical forfeit over Matt Findlay (Utah Valley) Dominick Demas (Oklahoma) dec. Sam Turner (Wyoming), 3-2 Ian Parker (Iowa State) maj. dec. Sawyer Degan (North Dakota State), 12-4 149: Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec. Jaden Van maanen (North Dakota State), 9-8 Khristian Olivas (Fresno State) dec. Christian Monserrat (West Virginia), 4-2 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) dec. Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma), 11-10 Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State) dec. Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa), 5-4 157: Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) dec. Colten Carlson (South Dakota State), 5-1 Luke Weber (North Dakota State) maj. dec. Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), 10-1 Chase Straw (Iowa State) dec. Dewey Krueger (Wyoming), 9-5 Jacob Wright (Fresno State) dec. Alex Mossing (Air Force), 5-2 165: Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) dec. Logan Schumacher (Iowa State), 7-2 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State) pinned Nick Kiussis (West Virginia), 4:49 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) dec. Isaiah Hokit (Fresno State), 9-3 Demetrirus Romero (Utah Valley) dec. Joe Smith (Oklahoma State), 12-8 SV 174: Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) pinned Dominic Kincaid (Fresno State), 2:59 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) dec. Marcus Coleman (Iowa State), 9-3 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) maj. dec. Lorenzo De la riva (North Dakota State), 17-5 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) dec. Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma), 14-12 SV 184: Sam Colbray (Iowa State) dec. Kayne Maccallum (Oklahoma), 11-5 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) dec. Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State), 5-2 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) dec. Will Sumner (Utah Valley), 7-6 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) maj. dec. Zach Carlson (South Dakota State), 11-3 197: Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) dec. Cale Davidson (Wyoming), 3-0 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) dec. Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley), 13-8 Josh Hokit (Fresno State) dec. Noah Adams (West Virginia), 9-7 Willie Miklus (Iowa State) tech. fall Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 15-0 3:19 285: Derek White (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Kayne Hutchinson (Air Force), 12-3 Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) dec. Brian Andrews (Wyoming), 4-1 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) dec. Carter Isley (Northern Iowa), 2-0 A.J. Nevills (Fresno State) dec. Brandon Ngati (West Virginia), 4-2

125: Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) tech. fall Devin Schroder (Purdue), 20-4 6:23 RayVon Foley (Michigan State) dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 7-3 Sean Russell (Minnesota) maj. dec. Drew Mattin (Michigan), 10-1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pinned Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 1:37 133: Stevan Micic (Michigan) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 9-4 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Roman Bravo-Young (PSU), 8-5 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 9-2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. Ben Thornton (Purdue), 9-3 141: Chad Red (Nebraska) dec. Michael Carr (Illinois), 8-4 Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 2-1 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) maj. dec. Mitchell McKee (Minnesota), 8-0 Nick Lee (PSU) dec. Max Murin (Iowa), 8-3 149: Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. Malik Amine (Michigan), 6-3 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) dec. Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 7-5 Brady Berge (PSU) dec. Pat Lugo (Iowa), 4-2 SV2 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) pinned Shayne Oster (Northwestern), 1:32 157: Jason Nolf (PSU) pinned Eric Barone (Illinois), 2:14 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa), 3-2 Steve Bleise (Minnesota) dec. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 7-5 TB1 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 11-5 165: Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) tech. fall Joey Gunther (Illinois), 21-6 5:59 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Isaiah White (Nebraska), 8-6 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) dec. Bryce Martin (Indiana), 6-1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Te'Shawn Campbell (Ohio State), 6-3 174: Mark Hall (PSU) pinned Drew Hughes (Michigan State), 2:39 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) pinned Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 7:22 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) dec. Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 5-1 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 6-1 184: Myles Martin (Ohio State) tech. fall Max Lyon (Purdue), 25-10 Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 3-2 Tyler Venz (Nebraska) maj. dec. Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 14-0 Shakur Rasheed (PSU) pinned Cameron Caffey (Michigan State), 5:21 197: Bo Nickal (PSU) tech. fall Brad Wilton (Michigan State), 19-4 5:34 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. Christian Brunner (Purdue), 3-2 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. Beau Breske (Wisconsin), 10-4 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) maj. dec. Dylan Anderson (Minnesota), 12-4 285: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec. Sam Stoll (Iowa), 5-3 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) dec. Chase Singletary (Ohio State), 3-1 Conan Jennings (Northwestern) dec. Mason Parris (Michigan), 9-7 Anthony Cassar (PSU) dec. David Jensen (Nebraska), 8-4

125: Jay Albis (JWU) dec. Cameron Timok (Central), 11-4 Mike Tortorice (UW-Whitewater) dec. Victor Gliva (Augsburg), 5-3 SV 133: Jordin James (Mount Union) dec. Yoseph Borai (Stevens, 8-1 Ben Vosters (UW-Stevens Point) dec. Charles Nash (Baldwin Wallace), 7-6 141: David Flynn (Augsburg) dec. Clint Lembeck (Loras), 4-2 Chris Williams (Millikin) dec. Ben Brisman (Ithaca), 7-3 149: Gregory Warner (York) dec. Brett Kaliner (Stevens), 10-7 Ryan Budzek (TCNJ) dec. Alex Wilson (Augsburg), 8-1 157: Antwon Pugh (Mount Union) dec. Cross Cannone (Wartburg), 6-5 Ryan Epps (Augsburg) dec. Bradan Birt (Millikin), 6-4 165: Lucas Jeske (Augsburg) dec. Kyle Hatch (Wabash), 9-7 SV Dempsey King (RIT) pinned Nicholas Bonomo (UW-Whitewater), 1:45 174: Darden Schurg (Wabash) dec. Daniel Kilroy (TCNJ), 11-6 Jairod James (Mount Union) dec. Kyle Briggs (Wartburg), 5-4 184: John Boyle (Western New England) dec. Dylan Roth (Heidelberg), 6-3 Jake Ashcraft (Ithaca) dec. Khamri Thomas (JWU), 2-1 197: Keajion Jennings (Millikin) pinned Riley Kauzlaric (UW-Whitewater), 0:34 Lance Benick (Augsburg) dec. Guy Patron (Loras), 5-1 285: Garrett Wesneski (Lycoming) dec. Bowen Wileman (Wartburg), 4-3 Adarios Jones (Augustana) maj. dec. Drew Kasper (Otterbein), 14-2

125: Carlos Jacquez (Lindenwood) dec. Cole Laya (Wheeling Jesuit), 4-1 Josh Portillo (Nebraska Kearney) dec. Brett Velasquez (St. Cloud State), 5-3 133: Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) dec. Tate Barnhardt (Mary), 4-2 Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska Kearney) dec. Hunter Bray (Notre Dame), 3-1 SV 141: Isaiah Royal (Newberry) dec. Brandon Ball (Fort Hays State), 6-4 Jose Rodriguez (Notre Dame) maj. dec. Danny Swan (Lindenwood), 13-4 149: Chris Eddins (Pitt Johnstown) dec. Isaiah Kemper (McKendree), 7-4 Trey Grine (Tiffin) pinned Kameron Frame (Newman), 0:45 157: Matt Malcom (Nebraska Kearney) tech. fall Nate Smalling (McKendree), 16-0 Colin Ayers (Augustana) dec. James Wimer (Findlay), 7-5 TB1 165: Shane Ruhnke (Millersville) pinned Devin Austin (Pitt Johnstown), 2:52 Rodney Shepard (UNC Pembroke) dec. Koery Windham (Adams State), 3-1 SV 174: Nick Foster (McKendree) dec. Brandon Supernaw (Western Colo.), 4-3 TB1 Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) dec. Kolton Eischens (St. Cloud State), 9-2 184: Michael Pixley (McKendree) by disqualification over Jeff Reimel (Kutztown) Tony Vezzetti (Notre Dame) dec. Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma), 3-2 197: Vince Dietz (St. Cloud State) dec. Clayton Wahlstrom (Augustana), 4-3 Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) pinned Colton Dull (Millersville), 2:39 285: Jarrod Hinrichs (Nebraska Kearney) dec. Terrance Fanning (Wheeling Jesuit), 9-7 SV Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) dec. Kameron Teacher (Notre Dame), 7-6

125: Vito Arujau (Cornell) maj. dec. Trey Chalifoux (Army), 13-1 Patrick Glory (Princeton) dec. Carmen Ferrante (Penn), 9-4 133: Chas Tucker (Cornell) dec. Lane Peters (Army), 6-3 Josh Terao (American) maj. dec. Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh), 14-3 141: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) maj. dec. Anthony Sparacio (Binghamton), 14-2 Nicholas Gil (Navy) dec. Corey Shie (Army), 4-1 149: Jared Prince (Navy) dec. Matt Kolodzik (Princeton), 5-4 Anthony Artalona (Penn) dec. Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh), 6-3 157: Zach Hartman (Lehigh) dec. Lucas Weiland (Army), 4-0 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Quincy Monday (Princeton), 13-8 165: Cael McCormick (Navy) dec. Ebed Jarrell (Drexel), 11-8 Tanner Skidgel (Navy) pinned Lenny Merkin (Princeton), 6:33 174: Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Spencer Carey (Navy), 8-1 Brandon Womack (Cornell) dec. Travis Stefanik (Princeton), 7-2 184: Max Dean (Cornell) dec. C.J. LaFragola (Brown), 8-4 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Louie DePrez (Binghamton), 5-3 197: Patrick Brucki (Princeton) maj. dec. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel), 11-3 Ben Honis (Cornell) dec. Drew Phipps (Bucknell), 13-7 285: Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Ben Sullivan (Army), 6-2 Ian Butterbrodt (Brown) dec. Antonio Pelusi (F&M), 8-3 TB2

Follow the action from the eight NCAA Division I conference tournaments taking place this weekend. Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 - Sunday, March 10 Venue: Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minn.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates | Pick 'Em Contest Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 - Sunday, March 10 Venue: BOK Center (Tulsa, Okla.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, March 10 Venue: Holmes Convention Center (Boone, N.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Friday, March 8 - Saturday, March 9 Venue: Binghamton Events Center (Binghamton, N.Y.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Friday, March 8 - Saturday, March 9 Venue: Ted Constant Center (Norfolk, Va.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: Cassell Coliseum (Blacksburg, Va.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: Wells Fargo Arena (Tempe, Ariz.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: EagleBank Arena (Fairfax, Va.)

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

Lance Benick scores nearfall points (Photo/Don Stoner, Augsburg University) ROANOKE, Va. -- Claiming seven All-Americans, including six in national title contention, the Augsburg University wrestling team took a commanding lead at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday at the Berglund Center. Augsburg leads with 71.5 points, outpacing second-place Loras (Iowa) by 29 points. THE BASICS TOP 10 TEAM SCORES AFTER FRIDAY'S ACTION: 1. Augsburg (Minn.) 71.5; 2. Loras (Iowa) 42.5; 3. Wartburg (Iowa) 36.5; 4. Ithaca (N.Y.) 34.0; 5t. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 33.5; 5t. Mount Union (Ohio) 33.5; 7. Wisconsin-Whitewater 33.0; 8. Wabash (Ind.) 30.0; 9. Millikin (Ill.) 26.0; 10. College of New Jersey 25.0. LOCATION: Berglund Center, Roanoke, Va. HOW IT HAPPENED • Twelve-time Division III national champion Augsburg dominated in its first day of competition at the national tournament, winning 15 of 20 matches with six pins and four major decisions. With 71.5 points, the Auggies hold a 29-point lead over second-place Loras (Iowa), which has 42.5 points. Defending national champion Wartburg (Iowa) has 36.5 points, and six teams are within four points of each other for fourth place. • It marks the 13th time that Augsburg has recorded seven or more All-Americans in its NCAA national tournament history, and the first time since its last national title in 2015. • Defending 165-pound national champion Lucas Jeske (JR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) extended his winning streak to 29 straight matches with two convincing wins on the day, including a 1:02 pin of Austin Whitney of Ithaca (N.Y.) in the quarterfinals, to earn his third All-America honor. Jeske converted an impressive throw into his fifth pin of the season and 35th of his career. With a 10-2 major decision over Sam Gross of John Carroll (Ohio) earlier in the day, Jeske is now 19-0 this season and 84-9 in his career. • David Flynn (JR, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)) claimed his second All-America honor at 141 pounds with a pin and decision, improving to 26-5 on the season and 99-30 in his collegiate career (71-16 at Augsburg). After claiming a 3:41 pin of Jordan Napier of Manchester (Ind.) in his opening match, No. 8-seed Flynn broke a 4-4 tie with the top seed, Troy Stanich of Stevens Tech (N.Y.), with an escape with 1:03 left in his quarterfinal match, then after an video challenge overturned a takedown with 35 seconds left, he scored a takedown with 10 seconds left to score a 7-4 win to advance to Saturday's semifinals. • Ryan Epps (JR, Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls HS), the defending national champion at 157, improved to 36-3 on the season with two victories -- a 5-1 decision over JT Beirne of The College of New Jersey in his opener and a 2-0 win over Keone Derain of Elmhurst (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. Claiming an escape in the second period, Epps was able to ride Derain for the entire third period to pick up the riding time bonus point. Epps, the No. 2 seed in the field at 157, is now 110-11 in his career and earned his second career All-America honor. • At 197, No. 3 seed Lance Benick (SO, Scandia, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) scored two wins by major decision to earn his first career All-America honor. After a 14-4 win over Gage Gladysz of Thiel (Pa.) in his opener, he used a strong third period to claim his second win over Michael DiNardo of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) of the season, a 14-2 quarterfinal triumph. Leading 5-1 after a pair of second-period takedowns, Benick countered a DiNardo throw attempt with one of his own, putting DiNardo to his back for a takedown and four-point near-fall. Another takedown and 1:08 riding time gave Benick the convincing win, as he improved to 27-3 on the season. • Victor Gliva (JR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS), seeded No. 3 at 125 pounds, needed overtime to gain his second All-America honor, but made the most of the extra session, scoring a takedown with 34 seconds left and converting it into a four-point near-fall for a 7-1 quarterfinal victory over Peter Del Gallo of Southern Maine. Combined with a 1:14 pin of Samuel Braswell of Averett (Va.) in his opener, Gliva is now 27-5 on the season and 88-20 in his career, as a three-time national tournament qualifier. • At 149, Alex Wilson (SR, Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis HS) earned his second career All-America honor with a 4-3 victory over Sean Sax of Westminster (Mo.) in the quarterfinals. He claimed two takedowns in the first period, then held on in the third period after Sax scored a two-point near-fall in the final minute. Combined with a 6-3 win over Luke Hernandez of Mount Union (Ohio) in his opener, Wilson is now 36-5 on the season and 129-36 in his career. • Tanner Vassar (JR, Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake HS) rallied for his second All-America honor in the 174-pound wrestlebacks. After a 10-4 win over Jacob Krakow of Loras (Iowa) in his opener, Vassar dropped an 8-4 decision to defending national champion Jairod James of Mount Union (Ohio) in the quarterfinals. But Vassar bounced back with a strong 9-1 major decision over Jordan Juliano of Centenary (N.J.), converting three takedowns and 2:32 of riding time to improve to 24-7 on the season and 91-27 in his career. • Senior Sam Bennyhoff (SR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) saw his collegiate career end in the evening session with a pair of losses. After a 5:34 pin of Russell Benson of Delaware Valley (Pa.) in his opening match, Bennyhoff fell victim to a second-period takedown and four-point near-fall combination by Ben Vosters of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the quarterfinals, as Vosters eventually turned a 6-1 deficit into a 13-6 victory. In the wrestlebacks, Bennyhoff stayed close with Levin Englman of Ferrum (Va.), but could not overcome a third-period reversal and takedown in a 9-7 loss. Last year's national runner-up at 133 and a four-time national tournament qualifier, Bennyhoff finished his senior season at 25-6 this season and his career at 118-28. • Solomon Nielsen (SO, Luverne, Minn./Luverne HS) scored two dramatic pins in the opening round, but dropped two matches in the evening session to end his season at 28-9 in his first national tournament appearance. He suffered a 9-3 defeat at the hands of top-seed Dylan Roth of Heidelberg (Ohio) in the quarterfinals, then was eliminated with a 7-5 wrestleback loss to Kyle Peisker of Chicago (Ill.). Nielsen trailed 4-0 in the second period and mounted a late comeback with two takedowns in the final 1:24, but could not overcome 2:52 of riding time by Peisker. Nielsen scored a 6:29 pin of Tevin Bailey of Dubuque (Iowa) in a pigtail match, and a 6:50 pin of Jake Paulson of Penn State-Behrend (Pa.) in his first-round match earlier in the day. UP NEXT • Action will resume on Saturday (3/9) at 10 a.m. (Central time) with championship semifinals, consolation action and matches for third, fifth and seventh places. National championship matches will begin at 6 p.m. (Central time).

Garret Vos celebrates after a win (Photo/SCSU Athletics) The St. Cloud State University wrestling team finished the first day of action at the 2019 NCAA Division II championships with a number one ranking. The Huskies posted 56.5 team points, while Wheeling Jesuit is in second place with 50.0 points, McKendree is third with 48.0 and Notre Dame (OH) is fourth at 46.5. The NCAA Division II championships will wrap up with day two of competition on Saturday, March 9 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The Huskies currently have three wrestlers who are still alive in the championship bracket with Brett Velasquez at 125-pounds, Kolton Eischens at 174-pounds and Vince Dietz at 197-pounds. SCSU also has four wrestlers alive in the consolation round bracket including Garrett Vos at 133-pounds, James Pleski at 149-pounds, Jake Barzowksi at 157-pounds and Devin FitzPatrick at 165-pounds. Two Huskies were eliminated from competition on the first day - Travis Swanson at 141-pounds and Chance Helmick at 184-pounds. At 125-pounds, Brett Velasquez scored two victories to improve his season record to 22-3. The wins helped him earn All-America status for the fourth consecutive season and he will be looking to return to the top spot on the podium after winning an NCAA DII national title in 2016 for the Huskies. Velasquez will meet up with Josh Portillo of UN-Kearney in the semi's. See below for the complete results of all the SCSU matches. At 133-pounds, Garrett Vos battled back with two wins in the consolation rounds after falling in the quarterfinals. This marks the first time that Vos has earned All-America status as a Husky. At 141-pounds, Travis Swanson scored an 8-6 win in first round over Jonathan Miller of UNC-Pembroke before losing his next two matches. He finished his senior year at SCSU with a 25-6 record. At 149-pounds, James Pleski put in plenty of overtime in his first day of action at the NCAA tourney. He scored an OT victory in his first round match and followed that with a 3-2 tie breaker loss in the quarterfinals. To cap his day, Pleski stayed alive in the consolation bracket with a 5-3 sudden victory decision over Kaleb Warner of UNC-Pembroke. This marks Pleski's third All-America award during his career at SCSU. At 157-pounds, Jake Barzowski gained All-America status for the first time with a 2-1 record on day one. He won his first round match with a fall and then added a 7-6 win in the consolation bracket over George McGuire of Gannon. At 165-pounds, Devin FitzPatrick was another first time All-American for the Huskies with a 2-1 record on day one. He ended his first day with a convincing pin fall against Jason Buhr of Colorado Mesa at 2:05. Kolton Eischens moved into the NCAA semi's at 174-pounds with a pair of wins for the Huskies on day one. This also allowed him to gain All-America status for the second consecutive season at SCSU. He is slated to meet Connor Craig of Wheeling Jesuit on Mar. 9 in the semi's. At 184-pounds, Chance Helmick went 2-2 on the day with a win in the pig tail bracket to start the day followed by another victory in the first round matches. He was eliminated after a loss in the quarterfinals and one in the wrestlebacks. He ends his year with a 16-2 record. In action at 197-pounds, Dietz advanced to the semifinals with a pair of wins. In the first round, Dietz gained a 10-2 major decision of Khalil Gipson of Adams State and finished the day with extra points on a pin at 6:56 over Nick Baumler of Upper Iowa. This marks Dietz' second All-America award as a Husky and he will face Clayton Wahlstrom of Augustana in the semi's on March 9. Action will begin at the NCAA DII championships at 9:00 a.m. CT on March 9.

VESTAL, N.Y. -- A tight four-team race has emerged at the 115th EIWA Championships, which kicked off Friday at Binghamton's Events Center. The Mountain Hawks rode a bonus-point filled first round to the early lead and placed six wrestlers into the semifinals to take a three-point lead into day two. Lehigh has 85 points with nine of its 10 entrants still alive, while Princeton and Cornell are tied for second with 82. Army West Point is not far behind with 78 points. "This is exactly what we thought would happen," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We knew it could be a three or four team race. The scores aren't going to matter until tomorrow night anyway, but we need to take care of business on our own tomorrow. The falls were really important because we didn't get a lot of bonus points this year," Santoro continued. "Maybe it was a product of our schedule. It was good to get them today. We obviously needed them in this race. Tomorrow, we just need to find ways to win and push through and get as many guys to the NCAA Tournament as possible." Two Mountain Hawks secured automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships, freshman Josh Humphreys (157) and senior Ryan Preisch (184). Lehigh went 9-1 in Friday morning's championship round of 16 and racked up 15 bonus points behind six falls, one win by disqualification and one major decision. Humphreys has come out strong in his first tournament with two pins in two matches. He needed just 59 seconds to pin Chris Mauriello of Hofstra with a half nelson in round one, and then decked Penn's Joe Oliva in 2:51 in the quarterfinals. Next up for Humphreys will be Princeton freshman Quincy Monday, who Humphreys edged 5-4 in the dual meet between Lehigh and Princeton in late November. Preisch also posted a pair of bonus wins on day one to qualify for the semifinals and punch his fourth consecutive trip to NCAAs. He opened with a first period pin of Penn's Robert Ng and then took care of sixth-seeded Tanner Harvey of American in a 16-5 major decision. He will face No. 2 seed Lou DePrez of Binghamton in the semifinals. At 133, sophomore Brandon Paetzell got things going for the Mountain Hawks in both sessions, picking up two wins by major decision, over Bucknell's Geo Barzona and Columbia's Matt Kazimir, to reach the semifinals in his first tournament. He will face No. 2 seed Josh Terao of American, looking to avenge a loss by decision to the Eagle in January. Senior Cortlandt Schuyler started Lehigh's pin parade, using a headlock to earn a 54 second fall over Bucknell's Matthew Kolonia in round one. He broke open a tight, high-scoring match with Drexel's Parker Kropman with an early six-point move in the third period to win 16-10. He will face Penn's No. 2 seed Anthony Artalona in the semifinals, looking to avenge an overtime loss two weeks ago. Both of Lehigh's top-seeded wrestlers, Jordan Kutler at 174, and Jordan Wood at 285, also made the semifinals at their respective weight classes. Kutler won his first match when Sacred Heart's Anthony Falbo was disqualified after five stalling calls. He then moved into the semifinals with a 9-4 decision over Hofstra's Ricky Stamm. He will next face Navy's Spencer Carey. Wood began his day with a first period pin of Bucknell's Brandon Stokes and then won a 13-2 major decision over Binghamton's Joe Doyle. He will face Army's Ben Sullivan in the semifinals. Three other Mountain Hawks rebounded from quarterfinal losses to stay alive heading into day two. All three wrestlers are guaranteed a top eight finish. Junior Ryan Pomrinca dropped an 11-minute heartbreaker against Army's Corey Shie in the quarters, with 25 seconds of riding time the difference in a 3-3, tb2, riding time victory for the Black Knight. Pomrinca came back to win a major decision over Bucknell's Noah Levett to advance to day two. He will face Princeton's Marshall Keller in the consolation quarterfinals. Senior Gordon Wolf gave Lehigh a first period pin in his first match, but dropped a 16-13 final to Army's Cael McCormick in the quarterfinals. Wolf battled back to beat Penn's Evan DeLuise 7-3 to earn a date with Cornell's Andrew Berreyesa Saturday morning. Sophomore Jake Jakobsen also began his day with a pin, then dropped a 5-1 final to Cornell's Ben Honis in the only bout matching a Mountain Hawk against a Big Red wrestler. Jakobsen earned a win by injury default in his second round consolation match and will now face Army's No. 3 seed Rocco Caywood Saturday with the winner earning automatic NCAA qualification. The only Lehigh wrestler eliminated on day one was freshman Luke Resnick, who went 1-2 at 125. Resnick rode out the third period and scored four near fall points to rally past Harvard's Nolan Hellickson in the first round consolations, but dropped two matches on late third period takedowns. Resnick finishes his freshman campaign at 4-17. "It's a typical tournament with a lot of good things, but some bad ones," Santoro said. "It's like a wedding and a funeral. One minute you're excited. One minute you're down. Tomorrow's a really big day. The team scores are really close. It's going to be a battle and we're going to have to wrestle really well tomorrow. We don't get these matches back so we have to make the most of them." The 115th EIWA Championships conclude Saturday from Events Center. Session three, featuring the championship semifinals and two rounds of consolations, begins at 10 a.m. while the final session with bouts for first, third and fifth place will begin at 3 p.m. Video for the entire tournament is available on FloWrestling.org while Lehigh will offer audio of the finals session on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 and LVFoxSports.com. The 2018-19 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. Top 6 teams: 1. Lehigh 85 2. Cornell 82 2. Princeton 82 4. Army 78 5. Navy 54 6. Binghamton 45.5

NORFOLK, Va. -- Fifth-ranked Mizzou Wrestling is in first place at the Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships after sending six of 10 wrestlers to the finals after day one of competition Friday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion. Mizzou has 127.5 total team points, well ahead of second-place Buffalo (94.5). Advancing to tomorrow's finals are: RS senior John Erneste - 133 RS junior Jaydin Eierman - 141 Freshman Brock Mauller - 149 Freshman Jarrett Jacques - 157 RS senior Daniel Lewis - 174 RS junior Dylan Wisman - 184 "Those six wrestled really well," head coach Brian Smith said. "They did what they had to in order to get some wins, and got bonus points in a bunch of them. Dyaln Wisman didn't get flustered in a match where he was down and had some close calls, and battled back to dominate a match. Daniel (Lewis) did Daniel things. John (Erneste) not only found a way to win, but got a pin in the third period. We lost some tough, tough semifinal matches at the buzzer - two of them in the final seconds of the third period. Frustrating. But we'll be back tomorrow." In the first session, Mizzou was dominant as it sent all 10 wrestlers to the semifinals with a perfect 10-0 mark in the first round. Of the 10 wins, seven came via a bonus-point wins with three pins, three technical falls and a major decision at heavyweight. Mizzou's seven No. 1 seeds combined for those six of the bonus point wins, including pins from John Erneste (133), Connor Flynn (165) and Daniel Lewis (174). The trio needed a combined 2:38 to register the three pins. In the semis, Mizzou won six of 10 bouts and will have a chance to win championships at 133, 141, 149, 157, 174 and 184 tomorrow. Mizzou was close to sending nine of 10 to the finals, but last-second third-period losses by Flynn (165), Wyatt Koelling (197) and an OT loss at heavyweight by freshman Zach Elam prohibited that from happening. The finals will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) on ESPN3. Mizzou will look to win its eighth consecutive conference tournament title, dating back to its final year in the Big 12. It would be Mizzou's seventh straight MAC title and of course its seventh overall, which would be fifth-most in league history. Notes: With 127.5 points on day one, Mizzou already has more team points than 64 of the previous 68 MAC champions. RS junior Connor Flynn picked up his first pin of the season in the quarterfinal round, needing just 41 seconds to pin Central Michigan's Bret Fedewa. RS senior John Erneste earned a pin in his opening-round bout, matching his career high for pins in a season with nine. He added another in the semis to reset his single season career-high total at 10. Mizzou sent all 10 wrestlers into the semifinals, going a perfect 10-0 in the opening round. As a team, Mizzou averaged 8.15 of a 9.0 possible team points per bout in the opening round. RS senior Daniel Lewis extended his personal win streak to 15 bouts, earning 10 pins during that stretch. Heading into tomorrow's finals, Lewis has a chance to become just the eighth four-time MAC Champion in league history and first since Mizzou's J'den Cox did so in 2017. Jaydin Eierman and John Erneste are both looking to become three-time MAC Champions Saturday after going 2-0 Friday. Mizzou has two true freshmen in the MAC finals - Brock Mauller (149) and Jarret Jacques (157). Freshman Brock Mauller advanced to the finals with a 7-1 semifinal win and went 2-0 on the day. He now has 27 wins in his true freshman campaign, the most for a Mizzou freshman grappler since J'den Cox had 38 in 2013-14. Mauller's only two losses of the season have come to the same wrestler.

125: Michael McGee (Old Dominion) dec. Dack Punke (Missouri), 7-1 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) dec. Bryce West (Northern Illinois), 6-2 133: John Erneste (Missouri) pinned Tim Rooney (Kent State), 5:56 Derek Spann (Buffalo) dec. Mario Guillen (Ohio), 6-4 141: Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) pinned Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion), 3:00 Bryan Lantry (Buffalo) dec. Cory Simpson (Kent State), 4-0 149: Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. Tyshawn Williams (SIU Edwardsville), 7-1 Kevin Budock (Old Dominion) dec. Alec Hagan (Ohio), 4-3 TB2 157: Larry Early (Old Dominion) dec. Logan Parks (Central Michigan), 3-1 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) dec. Alex Smythe (Buffalo), 10-3 165: Colt Yinger (Ohio) dec. Connor Flynn (Missouri), 5-4 Troy Keller (Buffalo) dec. Nate Higgins (SIU Edwardsville), 5-2 174: Daniel Lewis (Missouri) pinned Collin Lieber (Central Michigan), 3:00 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) maj. dec. Luke Drugac (Old Dominion), 12-4 184: Dylan Wisman (Missouri) pinned Jordan Atienza (Central Michigan), 6:07 Andrew McNally (Kent State) dec. Antonio Agee (Old Dominion), 5-3 197: Timothy Young (Old Dominion) dec. Wyatt Koelling (Missouri), 3-1 Brett Perry (Buffalo) dec. Christian DuLaney (SIU Edwardsville), 8-3 285: Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) pinned Caleb Gossett (Northern Illinois), 1:52 Colton McKiernan (SIU Edwardsville) pinned Zach Elam (Missouri), 7:30 SV