ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon wrestling team is third after the first day of competition at the NCAA Division II Super Regional One Wrestling Tournament with a total of eight wrestlers still in contention for a bid to the Division II National Championships, hosted by the University of Nebraska at Kearney March 11-12.
A total of eight Gannon wrestlers remain after the first day of competition, with five reaching the semifinals of the championship bracket. Of the five to reach the semifinals, four recorded a win by pinfall on the day.
In the 141-pound division, No. 2 #A.J. Milanak# (Apollo, Pa. / Kiski Area) defeated Simon Rice of Shippensburg for the second time this season, pinning him at the 6:12 mark of the bout. It was Milanak's only bout on the day, after having a bye in the first round. The redshirt senior will face No. 6 seed Jack Bachman of Pitt-Johnstown tomorrow.
Ethan Swope (Luthersburg, Pa. / DuBois Area), the second seed in the tournament, earned two wins on the day to advance to the championship semifinals in the 149-pound class. Swope earned a 7-1 decision over Dalton Harper before pinning Christopher Robins of Ohio Valley just 2:57 into the bout. Swope will battle No. 3 seed Brendon Parker-Risk tomorrow to advance to the championship match.
At 165 pounds, No. 3 seed Zack McKendree (Vandergrift, Pa. / Kiski Area) earned a win by pinfall in his opening match, taking just 48 seconds to take down Brian Onofrio from Anderson University. McKendree then followed up the win with a 4-3 decision over Jarrod Shaw of West Liberty. The win places McKendree 10th on the all-time single seasons wins list (31) at Gannon and ties him with Todd Proper for the most career wins in Gannon history (107). The redshirt senior will need to avenge an earlier season loss to advance to the championship bout as No. 2 seed Ronald Tetreault of American International defeated McKendree earlier this season.
No. 1 seed Tony Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) advanced to the semifinals in the 174-pound class after a first-round bye and an 11-4 decision over Zach Hogentogler from Shippensburg. Petrella faces Jeff Jacobs of East Stroudsburg, who entered the tournament with a 16-8 record, in the semifinals.
After a first-round bye, Chris Boyd (Chase City, Va. / Randolph Henry) earned an upset win over Bredan McKeown, pinning him in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Boyd is the fifth seed in the tournament while McKeown was the fourth seed. Boyd takes on top-seeded Bryant Blanton tomorrow, who is also the top-ranked wrestler in the nation.
Jose Matos (Williamstown, N.J. / St. Augustine College Preparatory School), John Fleming (Bethel Park, Pa. / Lakeview) and Sam Brehm (Wexford, Pa. / Pine-Richland) all advanced to the quarterfinals of the wrestle-back bracket after suffering losses earlier in the day. Matos will face sixth-seeded Dave Fogle of Pitt-Johnstown, Fleming will take on seventh seeded Jordan Toledo of East Stroudsburg and Brehm will go against Patrik Foxworth of North Carolina-Pembroke, who is unseeded.
For updated brackets after the first day of competition at the NCAA Division II Super Regional One Tournament, please click here.
