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St. Cloud State pushes three into semifinals to extend lead at Div. II Nationals, with Wheeling Jesuit in second

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by JD Rader, USA Wrestling

Brett Velasquez of St. Cloud State advances to NCAA Div. II finals at 125 pounds and becomes a four-time All-American. Photo courtesy of SCSUHUSKIES_WR Twitter.


CLEVELAND, Ohio - After completing the quarterfinals and two backside rounds, St. Cloud State remains in the lead after the first day at the NCAA Div. II National Championships. After going into session two with a ½ point lead, the Huskies increased their lead to 6.5 points.


In second place with 50 points is Wheeling Jesuit. McKendree sits in third 48 points and Notre Dame and Pitt.-Johnstown round out the top five with 46.5 and 39.5 points respectively.


Keeping all six wrestlers alive, and punching four into the semifinals, Wheeling Jesuit had an outstanding second session. The Cardinals started off hot with two semifinalists in 125-pounder Cole Laya and 133-pounder Tyler Warner, and they finished off just as strong with a technical fall from heavyweight Terrance Fanning at heavyweight.


Despite losing two top five seeds in Travis Swanson at 141 lbs. and Chance Helmick at 184 lbs., St. Cloud State still holds the lead. That’s what happens when you qualify nine wrestlers. In the semifinals for the Huskies will be Brett Velasquez at 125 lbs., Kolton Eischens at 174 lbs., and Vince Dietz at 197 lbs.


Going 3-1 in the quarterfinals and 4-1 on the backside, McKendree only trails Wheeling Jesuit by two points at the end of day one. The Bearcats will have semifinalists in Isaiah Kemper (149), Nate Smelling (157), and Michael Pixley (174).


In a 2 vs. 3 seed semifinal at 125 lbs., Josh Portillo of Nebraska-Kearney will take on Brett Velasquez of St. Cloud State. This is turning into one of the top rivalries in DII wrestling. Portillo holds a 2-1 advantage over Velasquez, including a NCAA quarterfinal victory last year, but Velasquez won the most recent match at this year’s National Duals.


With two big upsets occurring at 133 lbs., unseeded Hunter Bray of Notre Dame will be taking on No. 7 seed Wesley Dawkins of Nebraska-Kearney in the bottom 133 lbs. semifinal. After losing to Dawkins in the quarterfinals, second seed D’andre Brumfield of Colorado State-Pueblo lost 7-6 to Jordan Gurrola of San Francisco State in the bloodround.


After upsetting the No. 6 in round one, unseeded Danny Swan of Lindenwood kept the momentum rolling and upset No. 3 Joey Alessandro of Pitt.-Johnstown. He’ll take on seventh seeded Jose Rodriguez of Notre Dame, who upset Joseph Calderone of LIU Post 8-5 in the quarterfinals.


Top 149-pounder Chris Eddins of Pitt-Johnstown has looked good winning by fall in round one and 3-1 in round two. Third seeded Trey Grine of Tiffin has looked solid as well winning 15-6 in round one and by fall in round two.


Seeds have especially not been safe at 157 lbs. Matt Malcom of Nebraska-Kearney is the only top four seed in the semifinals. Third seed Cortez Arredondo was eliminated in the first round of consolation.


Two unseeded wrestlers won their quarterfinal bouts at 165 lbs. as Devin Austin of Pitt.-Johnstown defeated Brock Benitz of Upper Iowa 5-0 and Koery Windham defeated Calvin Ochs of Nebraska-Kearney 2-1.


Seeds have almost stayed true at 174 lbs. In the quarterfinals, top seeded Brandon Supernaw of Western Colorado State won 9-5, second-seeded Kolton Eischens of St. Cloud State won 6-4, third-seeded Connor Craig of Wheeling Jesuit won 7-3, and fifth-seeded Nick Foster of McKendree won 3-2.


The 184 lbs. weight class almost played out as seeded. The only quarter final upset came in a big match, however, when Tony Vezzetti of Notre Dame defeated Chance Helmick of St. Cloud State 10-5. Helmick then lost to Justin Pichedwatana of San Francisco State 3-2 in the blood round.


Two unseeded wrestlers won their quarterfinal bouts at 197 lbs. Clayton Wahlstrom of Augstana defeated Ryan Vasbinder of McKendree 6-5 and Colton Dull of Millersville defeated Nick Weldon of Newberry 8-4. Second seeded Levi Nievauer of Pitt-Johnstown was defeated in the first round of consolation matches, a big blow to Pitt.-Johnstown’s team title hopes.


Heavyweight is setting up to be a rematch of last year’s NCAA finals as Terrance Fanning of Wheeling Jesuit won by technical fall and Kameron Teacher won 11-5 in their quarterfinals matches.


Wrestling will pick back up tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET with semifinals and placing matches.

NCAA DIV. II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Cleveland, Ohio



Semifinal pairings



125 pounds

Carlos Jacquez (Lindenwood (Mo)) vs. Cole Laya (Wheeling Jesuit)

Josh Portillo (Neb.-Kearney) vs. Brett Velasquez (St. Cloud St.)


133 pounds

Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) vs. Tate Barnhardt (Mary)

Hunter Bray (Notre Dame (OH)) vs. Wesley Dawkins (Neb.-Kearney)


141 pounds

Brandon Ball (Fort Hays St.) vs. Isaiah Royal (Newberry)

Danny Swan (Lindenwood (Mo)) vs. Jose Rodriguez (Notre Dame (OH))


149 pounds

Chris Eddins Jr. (Pitt.-Johnstown) vs. Isaiah Kemper (McKendree)

Trey Grine (Tiffin) vs. Kameron Frame (Newman)


157 pounds

Matt Malcom (Neb.-Kearney) vs. Nate Smalling (McKendree)

Colin Ayers (Augustana (SD) vs. James Wimer (Findlay)


165 pounds

Shane Ruhnke (Millersville) vs. Devin Austin (Pitt.-Johnstown)

Koery Windham (Adams St.) vs. Rodney Shepard (UNC Pembroke)


174 pounds

Brandon Supernaw (Western Colo.) vs. Nick Foster (McKendree)

Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) vs. Kolton Eischens (St. Cloud St.)


184 pounds

Jeff Reimel (Kutztown) vs. Michael Pixley (McKendree)

Tony Vezzetti (Notre Dame (OH)) vs. Heath Gray (Central Okla.)


197 pounds

Vince Dietz (St. Cloud St.) vs. Clayton Wahlstrom (Augustana (SD))

Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) vs. Colton Dull (Millersville)


285 pounds

Terrance Fanning (Wheeling Jesuit) vs. Jarrod Hinrichs (Neb.-Kearney)

Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) vs. Kameron Teacher (Notre Dame (OH))


Quarterfinal results



125 pounds

Carlos Jacquez (Lindenwood (Mo)) won by decision over Brendan Howard (Pitt.-Johnstown) (Dec 10-6)

Cole Laya (Wheeling Jesuit) won by decision over Nick Daggett (UNC Pembroke) (Dec 5-3)

Josh Portillo (Neb.-Kearney) won by decision over Cole Jones (MSU Moorhead) (Dec 14-9)

Brett Velasquez (St. Cloud St.) won by decision over Tyler Kreith (Maryville (MO)) (Dec 8-1)


133 pounds

Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) won by decision over Sha`Mun Smith (Limestone) (Dec 6-2)

Tate Barnhardt (Mary) won by decision over Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood (Mo)) (Dec 8-2)

Hunter Bray (Notre Dame (OH)) won by decision over Justin Folley (Upper Iowa) (Dec 4-3)

Wesley Dawkins (Neb.-Kearney) won by decision over D`andre Brumfield (Colorado St.-Pueblo) (Dec 6-1)


141 pounds

Brandon Ball (Fort Hays St.) won by decision over Jared Donahue (Wheeling Jesuit) (Dec 3-0)

Isaiah Royal (Newberry) won in sudden victory - 2 over Travis Swanson (St. Cloud St.) (SV-2 8-6)

Danny Swan (Lindenwood (Mo)) won by decision over Joey Alessandro (Pitt.-Johnstown) (Dec 10-6)

Jose Rodriguez (Notre Dame (OH)) won by decision over Joseph Calderone (LIU Post) (Dec 8-5)


149 pounds

Chris Eddins Jr. (Pitt.-Johnstown) won by decision over Gavin Londoff (Lindenwood (Mo)) (Dec 3-1)

Isaiah Kemper (McKendree) won by decision over Kyle Rathman (Minnesota St.) (Dec 2-1)

Trey Grine (Tiffin) won by fall over Josh Wimer (Findlay) (Fall 1:56)

Kameron Frame (Newman) won in tie breaker - 2 over James Pleski (St. Cloud St.) (TB-2 3-2)


157 pounds

Matt Malcom (Neb.-Kearney) won by tech fall over Kevin Almond (Emmanuel (GA)) (TF-1.5 7:00 (17-2))

Nate Smalling (McKendree) won by decision over Jake Barzowski (St. Cloud St.) (Dec 7-4)

Colin Ayers (Augustana (SD)) won by decision over Skyler Lykins (Colo. Sch. of Mines) (Dec 12-9)

James Wimer (Findlay) won by decision over Tyler Mies (Newman) (Dec 9-5)


165 pounds

Shane Ruhnke (Millersville) won by fall over Anthony Dailey (Notre Dame (OH)) (Fall 1:02)

Devin Austin (Pitt.-Johnstown) won by decision over Brock Benitz (Upper Iowa) (Dec 5-0)

Koery Windham (Adams St.) won by decision over Calvin Ochs (Neb.-Kearney) (Dec 2-1)

Rodney Shepard (UNC Pembroke) won by decision over Jason Buhr (Colorado Mesa) (Dec 10-5)


174 pounds

Brandon Supernaw (Western Colo.) won by decision over Robert Gambrell (Colo. Sch. of Mines) (Dec 16-9)

Nick Foster (McKendree) won by decision over TC Warner (Kutztown) (Dec 3-2)

Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) won by decision over Michael Raccioppi (East Stroudsburg) (Dec 7-3)

Kolton Eischens (St. Cloud St.) won by decision over Cornell Beachem (Notre Dame (OH)) (Dec 6-4)


184 pounds

Jeff Reimel (Kutztown) won by decision over Griffin Osing (Southwest Minn. St.) (Dec 4-1)

Michael Pixley (McKendree) won by fall over Konnor Schmidt (Western Colo.) (Fall 3:38)

Tony Vezzetti (Notre Dame (OH)) won by decision over Chance Helmick (St. Cloud St.) (Dec 10-5)

Heath Gray (Central Okla.) won by decision over Tarrence Williams (Colorado St.-Pueblo) (Dec 7-5)


197 pounds

Vince Dietz (St. Cloud St.) won by fall over Nick Baumler (Upper Iowa) (Fall 6:56)

Clayton Wahlstrom (Augustana (SD)) won by decision over Ryan Vasbinder (McKendree) (Dec 4-1)

Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) won by fall over Dylan McBride (Western Colo.) (Fall 5:20)

Colton Dull (Millersville) won by decision over Nick Weldon (Newberry) (Dec 8-4)


285 pounds

Terrance Fanning (Wheeling Jesuit) won by tech fall over Patton Gossett (Newberry) (TF-1.5 5:00 (18-2))

Jarrod Hinrichs (Neb.-Kearney) won in sudden victory - 1 over Tristen Weirich (Ashland) (SV-1 5-3)

Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) won by decision over Courvoisier Morrow (Lindenwood (Mo)) (Dec 8-2)

Kameron Teacher (Notre Dame (OH)) won by decision over Greg Wilson (Central Okla.) (Dec 11-5)

Team Standings

1 St. Cloud St. 56.5

2 Wheeling Jesuit 50.0

3 McKendree 48.0

4 Notre Dame (OH) 46.5

5 Pitt.-Johnstown 39.5

6 Neb.-Kearney 37.5

7 Newberry 31.0

8 Lindenwood (Mo) 27.0

9 Kutztown 24.5

10 Tiffin 23.0

11 Millersville 22.0

12 Maryville (MO) 20.0

13 Limestone 17.0

14 Central Okla. 16.5

15 Augustana (SD) 16.0

16 Mary 15.0

17 Western Colo. 14.0

18 Adams St. 13.5

18 Findlay 13.5

18 San Fran. St. 13.5

18 Upper Iowa 13.5

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