LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY WRESTLING PAGE
Seven wrestlers from No. 7-ranked Ashland University have punched their ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championships that will take place in Birmingham, Ala., on March 10-11.
Redshirt senior Michael Labry (133 pounds) and redshirt juniors Jordan Murphy (184) and Luke Cramer (197) were all crowned Super Region II champions on Saturday (Feb. 25), as they went undefeated at the two-day tournament.
Labry, the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 133, won his championship match 3-2 over King's Dustin Kirk. Murphy was a 12-3 major-decision winner of Mikey Thomas of North Carolina-Pembroke in his title match, while Cramer won his championship match 7-3 over Limestone's Matthew Rudy.
Sophomores Chandler Minnard (141) and Deaken McCoy (285) placed fourth in their brackets, and so did redshirt senior Brent Fickel (149) and redshirt freshman Bret Romanzak (165).
This is the most Ashland wrestlers that have gone to nationals in one season since head coach Josh Hutchens took over prior to 2013-14. Six wrestlers advanced to nationals in each of Hutchens' first three seasons.
As a team, the Eagles finished in second place with a score of 102.5, one point behind first-place Indianapolis. Ashland came into the super regional as its top-ranked team by D2Wrestle.com.
AU
WR/KK