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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Elmhurst wrestling team turned five national qualifiers into five All-Americans at the conclusion of the first day of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.

As a team, the Bluejays currently sit in third place in the team standings with 39.5 points. Wartburg leads the team standings with 66 points while Wisconsin-Whitewater sits in second with 46. Wisconsin-La Crosse is in fourth place (32.5) while Ithaca rounds out the top five with 29 points.

"Finishing today with five All-Americans is pretty amazing," said Elmhurst head coach Steve Marianetti. "We have two guys who are in excellent position to reach the championship final and I'm very proud of the the three wrestlers who had to dig deep and win in the consolation bracket after suffering losses earlier in the day."

All five Bluejay grapplers are guaranteed top-eight finishes in their respective weight classes to secure all-America accolades. Joe Rau (184 pounds) and Mike Benefiel (197 pounds) have both advanced to the championship semifinals while Miguel Venecia (125 pounds), Dalton Bullard (133 pound) and Ryan Earley (141 pounds) are all competing in the consolation bracket. The five all-Americans marks an Elmhurst single-season record.

Rau, the top seed at 184 pounds, breezed into the semifinals with a pair of wins, earning the third All-America honor of his career.  He opened the day by toppling King's College's Shane Stark by a 17-2 technical fall. Rau raced out to a quick start, scoring a pair of takedowns and registering near fall points in the opening round, before cruising to the 15-point victory. In the quarterfinals, Rau made short work of Johnson & Wales' Colin Lenhardt, scoring a pin in just 1:29. Rau will face Elizabethtown's Julian Meaney in the semifinals.

Benefiel, seeded fourth at 197 pounds, posted a 3-0 record to reach the semifinals. He opened with a pin of Springfield's Jeremy Burns in 1:35 and then reached the quarterfinals by pinning Augsburg's Matthew Hechsel in 2:05. In the quarters, Benefiel  defeated UW-Whitewater's Shane Siefert 8-3. Benefiel scored a pair of takedowns and an escape to build up a 5-0 lead after two periods and cruised to the five-point win in the third. Benefiel will face Heidelburg's Andrew Lovins in the semifinals.

Bullard, seeded fourth at 133 pounds, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-4 victory over Concordia-Moorhead's Jacoby Bergeron in the opening round. Bullard scored a quick takedown and built up over two minutes of riding time in the first period. He went up 4-0 after the second period and scored a pair of escapes in the third period to earn the 7-4 win. Facing fifth-seeded Brandon Jones of New York University in the quarterfinals, Bullard suffered a 15-8 loss to slip into the consolation bracket. The match was even at five after the first period, but Jones used a reversal and near fall in the second period to open up an 11-6 lead after two periods and then pulled away for the win.

Bullard bounced back from the loss and earned the second All-America honor of his career by defeating Centenary's Zachory Huxford 8-1 in the consolation bracket. Bullard scored a takedown and reversal to lead 4-0 after two periods and then coasted to the 8-1 win. Bullard will face Springfield's Derek Adams in the consolation round.

Earley, seeded second at 141 pounds, toppled Augsburg's Tom Kuehn to move into the quarterfinals. Earley did all the work in the opening period, scoring a takedown 11 seconds into the match and then rolling Kuehn to the mat for three near fall points. In the quarterfinals, Earley built a 6-2 lead after one period against Wartburg's Thomas Mirocha, but Mirocha used an escape and takedown in the second period to close to within a point. In the third period, Earley scored a takedown but was then called for an illegal hold to make the score 8-6. Mirocha escaped to cut the deficit to just one point, and then went on top with a takedown with only 15 seconds remaining. The officials ruled that Earley was unable to score a reverse as the horn sounded. After a lengthy video review, Mirocha's arm was lifted with a 9-8 win.

Earley recovered from the loss to defeat Centenary's Cory Vernon 13-5. Earley scored a pair of takedowns and scored near fall points in the opening period to build a 6-1 lead. He added additional takedowns in the second and third periods to secure the major decision. Earley faces Williams' Ces Antista in the next round of the consolation bracket.

Venecia dropped his opening match at 125 pounds to fourth-seeded Gilberto Camacho of Wartburg. After a scoreless opening period, Camacho rode Venecia for the entire second period. Camacho used an escape and a takedown in the third period to score a 4-1 win over Venecia.

Venecia rattled off back-to-back wins in the consolation round to earn All-America distinction. Trailing 4-2 to fifth-seeded Sean Ambrocio of Concordia (Wis.), Venecia used an escape and a pair of takedowns, including one in the final 20 seconds to earn a 7-6 come-from-behind win. In the important elimination match, Venecia scored a 12-3 major victory over Heidelburg's Delain Schneider, controlling the match from the start and building an 8-2 lead after two periods. Venecia will take on Augsburg's Mike Fuenffinger in the next round of the consolation bracket.

The semifinals and consolation bracket will be held tomorrow morning (March 16) starting at 10:00 a.m.