MOORHEAD, Minn. – Adam Cooling placed first in the 174-pound weight class while Minnesota State qualified four wrestlers to the NCAA Division II National Championships.
Dylan Herman (Jr., 157 lbs.) was the first Maverick to qualify for the National Championships after finishing fourth Saturday. Herman met #4 Larry Bomstad (St. Cloud State) in the semifinals, dropping a 16-10 decision. After trailing early to #8 Greg Hegarty (Maryville), Herman registered a fall in 5:36 to advance to the third-place match. Herman had a rematch against Tyler Nation (Augustana) who he had pinned earlier in the tournament but could not duplicate the result, dropping an 11-2 major decision to Nation and finishing fourth.
#3 Adam Cooling (Sr., 174 lbs.) was 2-0 Saturday, claiming the regional championship at the 174-pound weight class. The returning All-American defeated Nick Foster (McKendree) by a 3-2 decision in the semifinals to secure a place in the finals. The final would place Cooling against #8 Clayton Jennissen (St. Cloud State) who he had met twice already this season. Cooling defeated Jennissen 3-1 to claim first place and return to the NCAA Championships for the second straight year.
Matthew Blome (Fr., 197 lbs.) qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing fourth Saturday. Blome took a 9-4 decision over Samuel Reeves (Truman) to advance in the consolation bracket. Blome then won a 5-2 decision over #8 Vince Dietz (St. Cloud State) to advance to the third-place match. There Blome lost a 7-6 decision against #7 Joe Gomez (Northern) in overtime to finish fourth. Blome will be the first Minnesota State freshman to wrestle at the National Championships since Student Assistant Coach Alphonso Vruno qualified in 2013.
Paul Selman (So., 133 lbs.) would finish in sixth place with a tournament record of 3-3, but would not advance to nationals. Louie Sanders (R-Fr., 141 lbs.), Daniel Close (So., 149 lbs.), and Chris Zimmer would see their seasons end after losses in the consolation bracket Saturday.
As a team, Minnesota State finished the tournament with 74 points, good for 5th place out of 15 teams.
2017 NCAA Division II Northern Regional Qualifier Results
The Mavericks will have another short break before traveling to compete in the NCAA Division II National Championships in Birmingham, Ala. March 10-11.
Visit The Guillotine College Tournament Time Page for brackets, results, and live video links.