No. 13 Wrestling advances seven into semifinals on first day of NCAA III Central Regional Championships

By Tim Glon

| NCAA III Central Regional Championships site |

CLEVELAND The No. 13-ranked Ohio Northern wrestling team advanced seven wrestlers into the semifinals of their respective weight classes on the first day of the NCAA Division III Central Regional Championships at Case Western Reserve's Veale Center.

Top-seeded sophomore All-American Jacob Reed (Lancaster) leads the list with a pin and a major decision at 141 pounds.

Seniors Jordan Hardrick (Dayton/Wayne), Chase Sumner (Ada) and Logan Painter (Marysville/Early College) and sophomores Colin Mellott (Wapakoneta), Gavin Layman (Chesterton, Ind.) and Dylan Le (Powell/Dublin Scioto) are also in the semifinals with 2-0 records and have clinched a top-6 finish in their respective weight classes.

Hardrick is the No. 2 seed at 165, Sumner is the No. 2 seed at 149 and Layman is the No. 2 seed at 184.

Mellott (125), Le (125) and Painter (285) are all No. 4 seeds.

The top three placers will advance to the NCAA III Championships March 10-11 at Roanoke, Va.

Two other Polar Bears are still alive for a third place finish and a trip to the NCAAs.

Sophomores Ben DePrest (Louisville, Ky./Saint Xavier) and Teagan Hendricks (Jamestown/Greenview)  are in the consolation bracket with 2-1 records at 197 and 157, respectively.

They have clinched top-8 finishes and will need three victories without another defeat on Saturday's final day to advance to the NCAA Championships.

Ohio Northern leads the team standings in the 20-team tournament with 92.5 points. No. 4-ranked Baldwin Wallace and No. 11 Wabash (Ind.) are tied for second with 88.5 points and No. 16 John Carroll is fourth with 84.5 points.