NCAA Division II Midwest Super Regional Results
PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Shorter wrestling team will make its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Division II National Championship in March after four senior Hawks earned qualifying spots Saturday.
Competing in their first NCAA Division II Midwest Super Regional,
Andrew Ewers led the charge to the national event that will be held March 13-14 at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo., when he finished second in the 285-pound weight class, while teammates
Aldon Isenberg,
Colby Rinehart and
Terrence Smith qualified with third-place effort at the regional.
"It's a meat grinder. It's a tough tournament physically and mentally," said head coach
Josh Henson. "But we did well."
As a team, Shorter finished sixth in the 14-team field in which Newberry emerged as the top squad but because of the strong group of athletes, qualified just two athletes for the nationals.
Ewers advanced to the finals in his weight class when he won a 3-2 decision over Chris Giddens on host North Carolina-Pembroke. The title match proved to be a nail-biter as well as Ewers saw his showdown go into extra time before Garrett Grey of Tiffin won in sudden victory.
After falling in his opening round 133-pound match, Isenberg refused to give up as he rallied to win his next five consolation matches, the final one coming in the consolation finals when he clinched third place with a 4-3 decision over Joseph Her of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Rinehart suffered his first loss of the event in the 141-pound quarterfinals, but rebounded to reach the consolation finals and bring home third place with an 8-7 decision over Nick Boggs of Lake Erie.
"They had great tournaments," Henson said of Isenberg and Rinehart, who were unseeded when the event started.
And at 182,
Terrence Smith overcame a setback in the championship semifinals by handing Caleb Rivera of Limestone a 3-2 defeat to earn the third place.
Also securing points but just finishing out of the top four that ensured a national qualifying spot was
Wally Figaro, who earned a fifth place at 165 despite dislocating finger. Figaro will be an alternate to the national tournament and join the field if a spot opens up.
"If you've never been to a tournament like this," Henson said, "it's tough to understand what its like. But we have a lot of older guys who have been through tough situations and they knew to do."
