Four Qualify For Nationals

The Plainsmen grapplers would travel to Rock Springs, WY for Rocky Mountain Regionals.  Throughout the season, the men have preparing themselves for this meet.  No matter how they wrestled in the season, they could still have a chance at making it to the national tournament.  There has been a few Plainsmen who have had a stellar year so far, and would have a solid chance at making it, but they would still need to perform.  With the stage set, the men were ready to wrestle.

In the 125 division, Collin Metzgar would represent for the Plainsmen.  The first match he would face an opponent from Western Wyoming, and would end up losing by a pin in the first period.  He would eventually finish in third, which was something that will help him in the end.

In the 133's, Paul Cooksey would wrestle and would lose in a major decision.  After a bye in the next match, he would eventually end up in third place and would end the tournament without moving on.

Sammy Eckhart, who has been phenomenal the entire year, would be seeded first in the 141 division.  His opening match would be a bye since he was seeded first.  In the second match, but first in which he would wrestle, Eckhart would win by a pin at the 6:37 mark.  Winning that would automatically qualify him for the national tournament.

Next up would be Ernie Quintana in the 149's.  His first matchup would be a loss as he would be pinned early in the first.  After that, he would finish in third, ending his season.

Deron Solomon, who has had his ups and downs this season, would be up for the 157's.  In Solomon's first match, he would win in a 6-2 decision, and then would wrestle for the championship.  In his next match, he would wrestle very well, but would eventually lose in a 6-1 decision.  That loss would place him in second, and would have the chance at getting an at large bid for nationals.

Justin Anderson, who made it last year as a freshman to nationals, would wrestle in the 165's.  His first match, he would have a tough opponent, but would wrestle very well and would win in a 3-2 decision.  Next in the match, Anderson would wrestle for the championship.  He would try, but only could only muster up one point and lose in a 10-1 major decision.  He too, since finishing in second, would have an at large bid to make it to nationals.

In the 174's Juan Gomez would try his hand at making it to nationals, and he would only have to win one match to do so.  Although he tried to make a few moves, he would eventually lose in an 11-0 major decision, which would finish his season.

In the 184's, Jose Rodriquez would try his hand at making it to nationals.  In his first match, he would lose in a 4-0 decision, which would place him in third, and finish his season as well.

Dylan Buschow would be the Plainsmen who would represent in the 197 division.  He too would only have to win one match in order to qualify for nationals.  In that match, he would try, but would lose by technical fall, and would complete his career as a Plainsmen.

Once the entire tournament was done, three Plainsmen would be given an at large bid to qualify them for the national tournament.  Collin Metzgar, Justin Anderson, and Deron Solomon would be given the bid and will head to the national tournament alongside Sammy Eckhart.

The national tournament will be held in Council Bluffs, IA and will be on February 23 & 24.  Good luck to the Plainsmen as they strive to win and be named a national champion.