ST. LOUIS, Mo. – North Dakota State Junior Trent Sprenkle and sophomore Steven Monk both picked up first round wins at the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Thursday, March 15.
At 125 pounds, Sprenkle got off to a strong start, pinning George Mason’s Vince Rodriguez in two minutes 23 seconds. Sprenkle scored an early takedown and then flipped Rodriguez to notch the win by fall. Sprenkle will wrestle No. 1 seed Matt McDonough of Iowa in the second round. McDonough pinned Eastern Michigan’s Jared Germaine in 3:24 in his opening bout.
At 157 pounds, No. 12 seed Monk emerged a 1-0 winner after a tough bout with Central Michigan’s Donnie Corby. Monk scored the match’s only point on an escape 28 seconds into the second period. Monk will take on No. 5 seed Ganbayar Sanjaa of American next. Sanjaa won a close 6-4 overtime decision over Ohio State’s Josh Demas.
Mac Stoll dropped a 13-6 decision to No. 9 seed Austin Trotman of Appalachian State in the first round at 184 pounds. Trotman jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first period. Stoll battled back with two escapes and a takedown in the second to make it 9-6, but Trotman scored four answered in the third to clinch the win. Stoll will take on West Virginia’s Matt Ryan in the first round in the consolation bracket.
Session II begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. Central. Live video is available on ESPN3.com and live statistics are available on GoBison.com.