St. Olaf Oles

Timmerman, Waples qualify for NCAA’s with runner-up finishes at regional

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – St. Olaf’s Ryan Timmerman (141) and Joey Waples (165) each finished as the runner up in their respective weight class on Saturday at the Great Lakes Regional to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.

St. Olaf finished sixth in the 15-team regional.

Timmerman reached the championship bout with a technical fall in the first round, a pin in the second and a 7-5 decision over top-seeded Andrew Zobac of North Central in the semifinals. Timmerman lost a 9-3 decision to Saint John’s Chris Sandy, the second seed, in the finale.

Waples won three straight two-point decisions to reach the championship match at 165. He beat the bracket’s sixth and seventh seeds in the the quarterfinals and the semifinals before losing a 5-0 bout to SJU’s Matt Baarson, the top seed at 165.

The Oles’ Joe Schlueter finished fourth at 197 after picking going 4-2. He won his first match before losing in the quarters and running off three straight victories in the consolation bracket.

At 157, the Oles Justin Skillings finished fifth. Skillings reached the winner’s bracket semifinal, where he lost to top-seeded and eventual champion Orlando Ponce from Augsburg. He won his fifth-place match with a 3-1 decision.

184-pounder Andrew Ruud finished sixth in his bracket. After winning by fall in the first round, he lost to fourth seed Josef Rau of Elmhurst. Rudd battled back with two pins before dropping his final two.