Brackets
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Elmhurst College wrestling team qualified three grapplers for the national championships at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by Augsburg College.
The Bluejays placed third overall with 133.5 points. Concordia-Moorhead finished second with 142.0 points while Augsburg captured the team title with 224 points.
Top-ranked
Mark Corsello remained undefeated on the season by winning the championship at 285 pounds and securing his third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. The two-time All-American finished with a perfect 4-0 record. Corsello pinned Knox's James Wagner in 2:28 to open the day. He followed with a pin over Concordia's Travis Pagel in the quarterfinals and then pinned Chicago's Ryan Hatten in 3:21 in the semifinals. Corsello captured the individual title with a 4-1 victory over Lakeland's Adam Sutter in the finals.
Mark Corsello captured the individual title at 285 pounds.
Jake Oster will get a chance to defend his national title at 125 pounds after placing second at the regional. After receiving an opening round bye, Oster scored a pair of wins to advance to the championship match. He dropped a close-fought 8-7 decision to Augsburg's Joshua Roberts in the finals. Oster advanced to the semifinals by pinning St. John's Padrnos in 2:22. Oster advanced to the finals with a 9-6 victory over Augustana's George Gogonas in the semifinals.
Charlie Curran finished third at 149 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships as a wild card selection. Curran finished the day with a 4-1 record. He started the day with back-to-back victories to move to the semifinals. Curran lost a heartbreaking 11-9 decision to Concordia-Moorhead's Justin Berns in sudden victory. Curran rebounded from the loss to defeat Lakeland's Isaac Roberson 11-1. Curran defeated MSOE's Virgil Pope 8-3 in the third-place match.
Dan Hamilton finished third at 157 pounds after posting a 5-2 record. Hamilton pinned Knox's Casey Spencer in his opening match before falling to St. John's John Vaith in the quarterfinals. Hamilton rebounded from the loss to score four straight victories in the consolation bracket. After blanking Concordia-Moorhead's Kevin Fynboh 2-0 in the consolation semifinals, Hamilton toppled Vaith 12-6 in the third-place match. Hamilton fell to St. Olaf's Justin Skillings 6-4 in a true second match.
Joe Rau finished third at 197 pounds after totaling a 4-2 record. Rau pinned Augustana's Hunter Feraco in 2:08 to open the day. He followed with a 21-9 major victory over St. John's James Carlson before falling to Chicago's Troy Carlson in the semifinals by a 4-2 score. Rau rebounded from the loss to defeat North Central's Vinny Sapienza 6-2 in the consolation semifinals. Rau downed Concordia-Moorhead's Nathan Schmitz 7-5 in the third-place match.
Jake Denhof placed sixth at 133 pounds after posting a 2-3 record. Denhof started the day by pinning Concordia's Kurt Kemnitz in 1:20. He advanced to the semifinals with a 16-14 win over Concordia-Moorhead's Joe Leacox. Denhof was defeated 16-4 in the semifinals by North Central's Nathan Fitzenreider. After dropping a consolation match, Denhof placed sixth after falling to St. Olaf's Ryan Timmerman,
Ryan Earley added a sixth-place finish at 141 pounds after finishing the day with a 3-3 record. Earley pinned Maranatha's Doug Peterson in 2:08 to start the day. He fell to Augsburg's Jafari Vanier 8-3 in the quarterfinals. Earley rebounded from the loss to score back-to-back wins in the consolation round. Earley dropped a hard-fought 2-0 decision to Concordia-Moorhead's Ben Anderson in the consolation semifinals. He fell to Augustana's Alberto Quiros 3-2 in the fifth-place match.
Jack Lewis added a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds after having to injury default in the fifth-place match. Lewis finished the regional with a 3-3 mark. After splitting his opening matches, Lewis won consecutive matches in the consolation round. He defeated Wheaton's Paul Harvey by technical fall and then downed Pacific's Nathan Shay by technical fall in the consolation quarterfinals. He dropped a 10-3 decision to Concordia-Moorhead's Matt Jeska in the consolation semifinals.
The NCAA Division III Championships will be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 5-6.