CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Colorado Mesa wrestling team had two student athletes competing at the NCAA National Championships on Friday at the Wolstein Center. Both wrestlers won matches on the day but the Mavericks will come away with one All-American as
Eduardo Penha moved onto day two with a guaranteed top eight finish.
To become an All-American, wrestlers must reach the podium which means a top-8 finish in their respective weight. Most years that also meant that you needed to win two matches any way you look at it but the expanded field to 18 wrestlers per weight this year meant wrestlers may have to win three matches.
The Las Vegas, Nev. native's day started off rather ominous as for just the third time this season, he suffered a loss. Lindenwood's Danny Swan pinned Penha just before the second period in his opening round match, something that hadn't happened to the senior this year.
The sixth-seeded Penha rebounded with a win over East Stroudsburg's Dylan Nace 7-4 in the first round of consolation's in the weight. Penha led 2-0 after the first period but was able to take a 7-1 lead after the second period. Nace cut into the lead with an escape and a takedown in the third period.
In the All-American match, Penha defeated St. Cloud State's Travis Swanson 8-4 to secure a spot on the podium. The St. Cloud State transfer, Penha, led 6-1 after the first period after a six-point move nearly saw the senior earn the victory by pin. Swanson battled back in the latter periods to cut into the lead but it was too little too late.
Senior
Jason Buhr won his opening round match at 165 pounds, defeating McKendree's Dan Fillipek 14-10. The La Jara, Colo. native nearly earned the win by pin in the first period but the seventh-seeded Fillipek was saved by the bell. The McKendree wrestler cut into the lead late but Buhr secured a late takedown to ice the match.
The senior dropped his NCAA quarterfinal match to second-seeded Rodney Shepherd of UNC Pembroke 10-5 to drop down into the consolation second round. Buhr was then pinned by Devin Fitzpatrick of St. Cloud State in the waning minutes of the first round to bow out of the tournament.
Eduardo Penha will continue his quest for a third-place finish tomorrow at 9am mountain. He will face Jared Donahue of Wheeling Jesuit in his first bout of the day with a two match minimum guaranteed for all wrestlers.
