Birmingham, Ala. – No. 10 Minnesota State sits in 15th-place after day-one of the NCAA Division II National Championship. MSU, which accumulated 23.5 points, advanced a pair of wrestlers to the second day of competition at the national championship. By doing so, freshman Alphonso Vruno and sophomore Cody Quinn solidified themselves as All-Americans.
Freshman Alphonso Vruno (133 lbs) used a late takedown in the third period to fuel a 7-5 sudden victory over Dylan D’urso (Mercyhurst). After dropping a 6-2 decision to No. 4 Daniel Deshazer (Nebraska-Kearney), Vruno bounced back by defeating Alex Johns (Indianapolis) to advance.
Sophomore Cody Quinn (165 lbs) made quick work of Dexter Carter (Ouachita Baptist) in his opening match, as the returning All-American recorded the pin at 1:40. After dropping a 4-2 decision in his second bout, Quinn solidified himself as an All-American with an 11-3 major decision over Mason True (Findlay) – Quinn’s second in as many years.
Junior David Demo opened his national championship with a 5-0 defeat of Kyle McCrite (Grand Canyon) – McCrite was the defending national champion at 125-lbs. Demo dropped his next two matches to Jeffrey Watson (Newberry) and Alex Johns (Indianapolis) 6-2 and 3-1, respectively.
After dropping an 8-3 decision to Zack Zelcs (Gannon), senior Aaron Norgren (184 lbs) defeated Mark Fiala (Nebraska-Kearney) 5-3. Norgren lost his final match to Nick Peterson (Colorado Mesa) 8-4.
David Demo – 125 lbs
Demo over Kyle McCrite (Grand Canyon) 5-0
Jeffrey Watson (Newberry) over Demo 6-2
Alex Johns (Indianapolis) over Demo 3-1
Alphonso Vruno – 133 lbs
Vruno over Dylan D’urso (Mercyhurst) SV 3-1
Daniel Deshazer (Nebraska-Kearney) over Vruno 3-2
Vruno over Martin Ramirez (Adams State) 7-1
Cody Quinn – 165 lbs
Quinn over Dexter Carter (Ouachita Baptist) fall 1:40
Isaiah Jimenez (San Francisco State) over Quinn 4-2
Quinn major over Mason True (Findlay) 11-3
Aaron Norgren – 184 lbs
Zack Zelcs (Gannon) over Norgren 8-3
Norgren over Mark Fiala (Nebraska-Kearney) 5-3
Nick Peterson (Colorado Mesa) over Norgren 8-4