Omaha, Neb. -- Senior heavyweight
Brady Wilson assured himself a spot as the eighth four-time All-American in Minnesota State history and three other Mavericks also locked up All-American honors as Minnesota State concluded the first day of action at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Wilson won two matches to advance to the semifinals while
Andy Forstner,
Travis Elg and
Aaron Norgren are alive in the consolations and will fight for placings tomorrow. As a team, the Mavericks are in sixth place with a score of 26.
Junior
Andy Forstner (Madelia, Minn.) locked up All-American honors for the second straight season at 125 pounds with a 2-1 record on the day. He opened his second NCAA meet with a slim 3-2 loss to Thomas Edgmon of Fort Hays State, last season's 125 pound national runner-up. He rebounded with a 14-6 major decision in the consolation round over Brandon Davis of Ashland despite giving up two first-period takedowns and ended the day with a 7-2 win over Alex Johns of Indianapolis.
Senior
Travis Elg (Mountain Lake, Minn.) started his day in big fashion with a fall in 5:51 at 149 pounds. Down several points in the third period against Thomas Hepburn of Nebraska-Kearney, Elg threw a headlock to earn the fall and advance. He fell to Craig Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside, a fourth-place finisher last season, in the quarterfinals by a score of 18-5. He then locked up his second All-American honor with a dominating 8-4 win, including over four minutes of riding time, over Jeremy Espinoza of Findlay.
Senior
Justin Turek (New Prague, Minn.) dropped his first-round match 5-2 to Sean Byrnes of Newberry but bounced back for a wild 16-10 win over Bryce Givens of Indianapolis. In the second round of consolations, he traded escapes with Marcus Edgington of Augustana and took the conference foe into overtime tied 1-1. About halfway through the extra frame, he conceded a takedown to conclude his season with an 18-17 mark.
Sophomore
Tel Todd (Bozeman, Mont.) dropped two decisions and was eliminated from his first NCAA tournament. He dropped decision losses to Ryan Pankoke of Nebraska-Omaha and Jason Varilek of Belmont Abbey. He concludes the season with a 20-18 record.
Junior
Ben Becker (Fort Dodge, Iowa) also went 0-2 and was eliminated from competition. He dropped a 9-2 decision to Kamarudeen Usman of Nebraska-Kearney, followed by a decision loss to Anthony Petrella of Gannon. He finishes his junior campaign with a 20-17 mark.
Sophomore
Aaron Norgren (Good Thunder, Minn.) began his second NCAA appearance at 184 pounds with a 5-2 loss to Bryant Blanton of Newberry. He then earned a dominating 14-8 win over Lucas Haag of Wisconsin-Parkside, owner of a 43-9 record heading into the tournament. In the consolation second round, Norgren was leading Austin Boehm of Nebraska-Omaha 8-7 with over a minute of riding time advantage when Boehm was medically unable to continue in the third period. It was the first win for Norgren in three tries against Boehm this season and ensures him the first All-American honor in his young career.
Heavyweight
Brady Wilson (Faribault, Minn.) made two giant leaps toward his quest for a national championship with two wins in his final NCAA appearance. Now a four-time All-American, he pinned Patrick Carey of CSU-Pueblo in 4:36. He then racked up over three minutes of riding time en route to a 10-1 major decision win over Neil McGrath of Gannon. Now 31-4 on the season, Wilson will face Dustin Finn of Central Oklahoma in the semifinals tomorrow.
The third session of the tournament begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Sapp Fieldhouse on the campus of Nebraska-Omaha.
125 pounds - Andy Forstner
L, dec. Thomas Edgmon (Fort Hays State), 3-2
W, maj. dec. Brandon Davis (Ashland), 14-6
W, dec. Alex Johns (Indianapolis), 7-2
149 pounds - Travis Elg
W, fall Thomas Hepburn (Nebraska-Kearney), 5:51
L, maj. dec. Craig Becker (Wisconsin-Parkside), 18-5
W, dec. Jeremy Espinoza (Findlay), 8-4
157 pounds - Justin Turek
L, dec. Sean Byrnes (Newberry), 5-2
W, dec. Bryce Givens (Indianapolis), 16-10
L, dec. Marcus Edgington (Augustana), 3-1 SV
165 pounds - Tel Todd
L, dec. Ryan Pankoke (Nebraska-Omaha), 6-1
L, maj. dec. Jake Varilek (Belmont Abbey), 8-0
174 pounds - Ben Becker
L, dec. Kamarudeen Usman (Nebraska-Kearney), 9-2
L, dec. Anthony Petrella (Gannon), 16-9
184 pounds - Aaron Norgren
L, dec. Bryant Blanton (Newberry), 5-2
W, dec. Lucas Haag (Wisconsin-Parkside), 14-8
W, default Austin Boehm (Nebraska-Omaha)
Heavyweight - Brady Wilson
W, fall Patrick Carey (CSU-Pueblo), 4:36
W, maj. dec. Neil McGrath (Gannon), 10-1
Follow the action live at by clicking on the links below.
For live webcast:
http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=171693
For updated brackets:
http://omavs.com/documents/2010/3/12/200910WRNCAABrackets.pdf?id=1098