UNI's Trent Washington (141 lbs.), Trevor Kittleson (149 lbs.), Moza Fay (165 lbs.), Alex Dolly (184 lbs.), Andrew Anderson (197 lbs.) and Christian Brantley (285 lbs.) earned automatic berths to the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 19-21 in St. Louis, Mo. The Panthers crowned four champions and Kittleson was the Panthers' only second-place finisher to earn the nod to St. Louis and the Scottrade Center.
Finals
Redshirt freshman Trent Washington (Omaha, Neb.) earned his first trip to the NCAA Championships by winning the 141-pound title. Washington scored a takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second period to go along with a riding time point in a 5-3 win over Kenny Hashimoto (UNC).
Junior Tyson Reiner (Mitchell, S.D.) dropped the 157-pound title match to Justin Gaethje (UNC), 6-4. Reiner trailed 5-2 just into the third period and nearly completed the comeback as he tallied a takedown with 57 seconds left and the released Gaethje. Gaethje was hit with a stalling warning but Reiner could not secure the final takedown in the closing seconds.
Senior Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) captured his third straight West Regional title by winning the 165-pound title with a 19-8 major decision over Alex Rieder (Wyoming). Fay's two victories moved him into a tie for seventh place on the Panthers' all-time wins list with 115 career wins. Fay is tied with Gary Steffensmeier (1988-1992).
Senior Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.) earned his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships with a second-place finish at 184 pounds. Dolly lost a 6-2 decision to Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) in the 184-pound title match, but 184 pounds was a weight that the West Regional was awarded two automatic bids into the NCAA Championships.
Senior Andrew Anderson (Sioux City, Iowa) secured his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships by winning the 197-pound regional title. Anderson captured the crown with a 3-1 victory over Tyler Sorenson (SDSU).
Redshirt freshman Christian Brantley (Homewood, Ill.) won the heavyweight regional title with a 7-5 victory over Jason Stripling (SDSU). It is Brantley's first trip to the NCAA Championships. Brantley's win also secured the team title for the Panthers as UNI edged Wyoming, 94.0-92.5.
Following the finals matches, UNI's Trevor Kittleson wrestled for a berth into the NCAA Championships as he wrestled a true-second match against Ryan Adams (NDSU). Kittleson scored a 7-6 victory over Adams and will advance to the NCAA Championships at 149 pounds.
Consolation Finals
Redshirt freshman Cruse Aarhus had to settle for fourth place at 125 pounds following a 7-6 loss to No. 3-seeded Justin Solberg (NDSU). The difference in the match proved to be a riding time point for Solberg.
True freshman Steven Fitzgerald secured third-place honors at 133 pounds following a 10-7 victory over Derek Gillespie (Air Force). Fitzgerald scored the early takedown and added a two-point nearfall to take a 4-0 lead in the match. Gillespie gained a reversal to cut the margin in half midway through the first period. Fitzgerald took a 7-4 lead into the third period.
Sophomore Trevor Kittleson had to work overtime to get a shot at true second place when he tallied a 4-2 sudden victory over Chase Smith (Wyoming). The match was scoreless through two periods, but Kittleson did ride out Smith in the second period. Kittleson escaped with 1:34 left in the match to take a 1-0 lead. Then Kittleson appeared the win the match at the buzzer, but the referees huddled and determined Smith was to be credited with a takedown prior to the buzzer sounding. So Kittleson took matters into his own hands in the sudden victory period by notching a takedown for the victory.
No. 1-seeded Jarion Beets (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) finished his first regional tournament with a fourth-place finish in the 174-pound bracket. Beets fell to Scott Elliott (SDSU) in the third-place match, 6-5.
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