JOSH STEWART | stewa038@rangers.uwp.edu
The Ranger wrestlers continued their great success this season, this time in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Nick Becker, James Lehman, Ronzel Darling, and Airk Furseth all advanced to the semifinals of the national qualifying tournament.
A show of strength
Becker had the easier road of the day compared to others as he only needed one win to advance after earning a first-round bye. Once his match started, Becker did not even need two minutes to finish off his opponent and he was onto the next round.
Darling, and Furseth both also put their skills to use and managed to defeat their opponents in rather quick fashion. Both wrestlers needed no more than three minutes to win their matchups.
Junior Heavyweight Matt Halverson started off doing well in his matchup, but managed to fall behind and just could not regain his momentum.
Position after day one
The Rangers overall team effort put them in a good spot after the first day of competition. The team put up 41 overall points and are in position to make a jump and move up in the standings. Ashland University (53.5 points) sits in first, while University of Indianapolis (51 points) and Lake Erie College follow them just ahead of UW-Parkside.
UW-Parkside has to bring their best effort if they want to advance to the NCAA Playoff Bracket. The top four wrestlers from each division will advance to the NCAA Playoff that takes place next month.
