MINNEAPOLIS – St. Olaf’s James Roach was second at 174 while Ryan Timmerman (141) and Jacob Bohler (157) each finished third at Saturday’s NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional as the trio earned a trip to the NCAA Championships.
St. Olaf finished fourth in the 15-team regional, the best finish for a St. Olaf team recent history.
Three other Oles made the final rounds, as Wesley Azariah was fifth at 125, Colin Jorgenson fourth at 174 and Andrew Ruud fourth at 184.
Roach advanced to the final with a technical fall in the first round a 9-4 victory over Danny Balderas of Elmhurst in the quarterfinals and a pin of Pacific’s Caleb Malychewski in the semifinals. Saint John’s Mathew Pfarr won a 10-5 decision in the title bout.
Bohler earned his pass to the NCAA’s with a pin in the third place match at 2:38 over Elmhurst’s Michael Grice. Bohler won four other matches on the day, including two pins. His only blemish was a 8-7 decision to the runner up in the class — SJU’s Chris Tervermer — in the quarterfinals.
Timmerman won his first match by fall at 4:10 in the quarterfinals. He then lost to eventual champion, Augsburg’s Will Keeter, in the semifinals before winning his final two via pins.
The NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships will run March 9-10 in La Crosse, Wis.