Results

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Elmhurst College wrestling team placed third at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and the Bluejays qualified four individuals for the NCAA Championships.

Elmhurst totaled 108.5 points to place third. The tournament hosts, Augsburg College, finished in first place with 172.5 points. St. John's University edged Elmhurst for second with 110.5 points.

Joe Rau, Dalton Bullard, Ryan Earley and Brian Brooks all automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships while Jake Denhof was selected as an alternate qualifier.

Rau continued his impressive season by winning the individual title at 184 ponds. Rau breezed to the title with four straight victories, including three by pin. Rau opened the tournament by pinning Jesse Gjefle of Maranatha Baptist Bible in 1:09. In the quarterfinals, Rau pinned Augustana's Seth Whan in 2:19. He advanced to the finals by pinning Concordia College's Christian Harrison in 1:32. Rau closed out the tournament by shutting out fifth-ranked Mitchell Hagen of Saint John's 7-0.

Bullard posted a 4-1 record while placing third at 133 pounds and qualifying for nationals. Bullard pinned Pacific's Eric Harder  in 1:12 in his opening match. He defeated Augustana's Steven Poffenberger 9-2 in the quarterfinals before falling 7-5 to fifth-ranked Daron Hohbein of Concordia in the semifinals. Bullard bounced back back from the loss by blanking Chicago's Williams Long 8-0 to reach the third-place match. Bullard shut out MSOE's Austin Binish 3-0 in the third-place match.

Earley finished with a 3-1 mark at 149 pounds, placing third in the process. After receiving a first-round bye, Earley scored a win over Concordia-Wisconsin's Greg Sanders after Sanders was forced to withdraw by an injury. Earley was pinned in 3:59 by top-ranked Tony Valek of Augsburg in the semifinals. Early blanked Saint John's Ryan Arne 6-0 in the consolation semifinals and then took third by defeating Concordia College's Kyle LeDuc 6-3 to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships.

Brooks turned in a 4-1 performance at 285 pounds while taking third place. Brooks won all four of his matches by pin. He opened by pinning St. Olaf's James Noneman in 2:15. In the quarterfinals, Brooks pinned Augustana's John Seaman in 3:18. Brooks dropped his semifinal math to Concordia College's Tom Bouressa 4-0. Brooks made short work of his opponents in the consolation round. He pinned MSOE's Austin Karls in 18 seconds in the consolation semifinals and took third by pinning Seaman in 39 seconds.

Denhof took fourth place at 141 pounds and was tabbed as alternate for the NCAA Championships. The NCAA will announce its full field on Monday (February 27). Denhof posted a 4-2 mark at the tournament. He received a forfeit victory over Augustana's Greg Gogonas in the opening round and then scored a 13-5 major victory over Chicago's Francisco Acosta in the quarterfinals. Denhof was pinned by North Central's Andrew Zobac in 1:40 in the semifinals. In the consolation round, Denhof defeated Pacific's Ryan Baxter 8-1 before being pinned by St. Olaf's Ryan Timmerman in 4:20 on the third-place match.

Mike Grice placed fourth at 157 pounds after finishing with a 3-2 record. Grice fell 6-1 to North Central's Joby Bodi in the first round. After receiving a bye in the consolation round. Grice toppled Wheaton's William Byrd 9-4. He toppled Augsburg's David Tessiatore 11-6 and then avenged his earlier loss to to Bodi with a 2-1 victory in the consolation semifinals. In the third place match, Grice was pinned by St. Olaf's Jacob Bohler in 2:38 in the third-place match.

Danny Vargas placed sixth at 197 pounds. Vargas opened with a 12-1 major decision over Concordia College's Seth Kikelly before falling 5-1 in the quarterfinals to Wheaton's Darren Faber. In the consolation round, Vargas toppled MSOE's Marcus Rokosh 18-2 and then stopped Augustana's Hunter Feraco 10-5. Vargas lost in the consolation semifinals 7-3 to Concordia's Nathan Schmitz. Vargas dropped the fifth-place match 8-4 to Chicago's Mario Palmisano.

Danny Balderas (2-2 at 174 pounds), Mark Johnson (2-2 at 125 pounds), Mike Ryan (0-2 at 165 pounds) also competed for the Bluejays.

The NCAA Championships will be held at La Crosse, Wis. on March 9-10.