ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Corey Ulmer only began his postseason journey Sunday as he finished first at the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 tournament. Ulmer and Jacob Bennett qualified nationally for the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons by finishing in the top four in St. Cloud, Minn.
Corey Ulmer, Jacob Bennett and Trent Sovde finished in the top six of their respective weight classes for the Dragons. No. 1 ranked Ulmer and Bennett will be moving on to the NCAA DII Nationals on March 9 and 10.
Ulmer went 4-0 while giving up only two points on the day. Round one matched Ulmer up with Jacob Papke of Wisconsin-Parkside. Ulmer dominated the opening match as he held Papke scoreless to win, 11-0. The quarterfinal match between Ulmer and Brandon Oshiro of Mayville University ended in similar fashion. A 12-2 victory gave Ulmer his second straight major decision win. As the tournament moved on to the semifinal round, the matches became more difficult. A 3-0 decision over Cody Lensing of Augustana sent Ulmer to the finals match. The finals match came down to Ulmer and Joshua Kieffer of Indianapolis. Only two points separated first and second place as Ulmer took the top spot in the tournament.
An opening loss was the only casualty on the day for Bennett as he followed with four wins. The loss came to the hands of Tel Todd of Minnesota State University, Mankato. Todd handed Bennett a 5-1 decision loss which sparked Bennett to a strong rebound. Bennett began his momentous run in extra time against Josh Howk of St. Cloud State. Overtime provided Bennett with a 3-2 decision. Round three gave Bennett a 12-1 major decision over Casey Field of Southwest Minnesota State. The consolation semifinal gave Bennett an injury default win, over the wrestler who handed him his only loss. Bennett faced Bryce Givens of Indianapolis and converted a 3-2 decision into a third place finish in the 157 weight class.
Sovde went 2-3 in the 174 class and began the day with a 8-2 decision win over Donnie Bowden of Northern State. Wade Gobin of Upper Iowa gave Sovde his first loss of the day but Sovde followed with a 11-4 decision win over Dustin Parrish of Indianapolis. Carl Serck of Augustana and Brendan Eichmann of Minnesota State University, Mankato gave Sovde his other two losses and solidify his sixth place position.
Connor MacGregor and Eric Lehmann also recorded wins for the Dragons on the day. MacGregor captured an opening match win for his only win. Lehmann won two matches but ultimately fell in the third round of the consolation bracket to end his day.
The NCAA Division II Nationals will host Ulmer and Bennett. The two Dragons will take part in nationals action in Pueblo, Colo. on March 9 and 10.