WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – No. 4-ranked Notre Dame (Ohio) and No. 6-ranked Mercyhurst (Pa.) were setting a stiff pace Friday night as the NCAA Division II Super Region One wrestling championships wrapped up its first day of action at West Liberty University's ASRC.
Only the slimmest of margins separated the two nationally-ranked powers in the team scoring. Mercyhurst grabbed the first-day lead, racking up 62.5 points to 62 points for the defending regional and national champion Falcons.
Both teams sent all 10 of their wrestlers through to Saturday's action with each team having 8 wrestlers still alive in the championship brackets of their respective weight classes. The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships, which will be held at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo. on March 13-14.
There were few surprises on the mats Friday as almost all of the top seeds advanced. Two No. 1 seeds, Corey Bush at 133 and Tyler Reinhart at 165 – both from Pitt-Johnstown – were upset in the quarterfinals but remained alive in the wrestle-backs. Blake Lucas, Ohio Valley's 285-pounder, was the only No. 2 seed to fall on Friday but is also still going in the consolation brackets.
The four returning national champions in the field - the Notre Dame trio of Jon Rivera (157), Joey Davis (174) and Garrett Lineberger (184) along with Kutztown heavyweight Ziad Haddad - all advanced to Saturday's championship semifinals.
Gannon was third in the team scoring with 41.5 points. No. 18-ranked Kutztown was fourth at 39 followed by a tightly-packed group which included Pitt-Johnstown (36), LIU-Post (34.5), Wheeling Jesuit (33.5), Seton Hill (32) and Shippensburg (29).
Kutztown still has eight wrestlers alive for Saturday's action with Gannon and Pitt-Johnstown bringing back six each.
The wrestlers return to the mats at 11 a.m. Saturday for the start of Session Two, which will run through 2 p.m. The ASRC will be cleared at the end of Session Two in compliance with NCAA Tournament guidelines with Session Three - the all-important championship and 3rd-4th Place matches - set for a 3 p.m. start.
Here’s a link to the brackets through Friday’s action:
Final Day One Brackets WRESTLINGNCAA Division ISuper Region One TournamentDay One ResultsTeam Scoring 1. Mercyhurst 62.5; 2. Notre Dame (OH) 62; 3. Gannon 41.5; 4. Kutztown 39; 5. Pitt-Johnstown 36.5; 6. LIU-Post 34.5; 7. Wheeling Jesuit 33.5; 8. Seton Hill 32; 9. Shippensburg 29; 10. East Stroudsburg 21.5; 11. Ohio Valley 15;
12. WEST LIBERTY 14.5; 13. Millersville 14; 14. Alderson-Broaddus 12; 15. American International 6
