by Kearney, Neb. – The 3rd-ranked Nebraska Kearney wrestling team has placed five in the semifinals to sit in second place after the first day of the 2015 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo.
The meet began this morning at Chaifetz Arena with Maryville University and the St. Louis Sports Commission serving as co-hosts.
UNK (44.5) is trailing only 4th-ranked St. Cloud State (47.0) with 2nd-ranked Maryville third (42.5) and 5th-ranked Mercyhurst of Pennsylvania fourth (40.0). Top-ranked and defending national champion Notre Dame College (Ohio) is a distant seventh with 26.5 points.
Reaching the final four of their respective weight classes are juniors Devin Aguirre (165 lbs.), Romero Cotton (197 lbs.) and Daniel DeShazer (133 lbs.), sophomore Destin McCauley (149 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Keith Surber (141 lbs.).
Juniors Chase White (157 lbs.) with Connor Bolling (125 lbs.) have both been eliminated but combined for three wins to help the cause. Overall, UNK went 6-1 in the first round and then posted a 5-1 mark in the quarters.
In round one, McCauley (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska) held off Notre Dame’s Andrew Bannister by a 3-2 score thanks to a first period takedown. A familiar face, Lindenwood’s Terrel Wilbourn, is up next. The 3rd-ranked Wilbourn beat McCauley, 11-5, during the regular season.
Ranked fifth at 157 lbs., White (Lincoln H.S.) was poised to advance by lost to 8th-Greg Hegarty of Maryville in the second sudden victory period, 4-2. A late video review did go in favor of White and allowed the match to go into OT where Hegarty managed a takedown.
White, ending at 15-9, came back to beat Shippensburg Michael Springer, 11-7, but was pinned at 6:50 by Mercyhurst’s Francis Mizia, who is No. 4 in the country.
Finally, Bolling (Central City) was just seconds away from reaching the 125 lbs. semifinals as he was upsetting 7th-ranked Josh Kieffer of Indianapolis, 2-1. He had already upset 5th-ranked Matt Turek of Gannon, 11-9.
However, Kieffer got a takedown and some near fall points in the closing seconds to win 6-2. Bolling, ending 33-14, then lost to Notre Dame’s Ivan McClay, 9-7, to be eliminated.
On Saturday, the third sessions runs from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. and will include all the consolation matches as well as thrid-seenth place. At 7:00 p.m., the 10 event finals will take place. Go to the meet website for more info.
