CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – The Lander wrestling finished the first day of the 2023 NCAA Div. II National Championships with six All-Americans and sitting 6.5 points back of first place as a team.
James Joplin, Elijah Lusk, Zeth Brower, David Hunsberger, Logan Hall and Juan Edmond-Holmes all earned All-American status.
Central Oklahoma leads all schools with 62.5 team points. Lander is in second with 56 while West Liberty is in third with 38.5.
JAMES JOPLIN (2-0)
James Joplin started his day with an 11-4 win by decision over Oscar Nellis of Minot State. Jopling got an escape and takedown in the second period before recording three takedowns in the third.
Joplin followed up his earlier win with a 16-7 win by decision over Brandon Mendoza of Tiffin. Joplin started off up 6-2 with three takedowns in the first period. He then added seven points in the second with an escape, take down and a four-point near fall.
Joplin becomes the second All-American in Lander wrestling history.
ELIJAH LUSK (2-1)
Elijah Lusk had to wait till the very end to earn his win as he defeated Ryan Wehner of Lake Erie 3-1. After getting the match tied at 1-1 with a stall point, Lusk got a late takedown to earn the 3-1 win by decision.
Lusk would then fall 9-6 in the quarterfinal round to Devin Flannery of Millersville.
Lusk then battled to a 16-5 major decision over Colin Metzgar of Colorado Mesa. Lusk would rattle off a pair of four-point near falls in the first period to go up 10-1 before padding his lead in the second and third periods.
Lusk becomes the fifth All-American in Lander wrestling history.
ZETH BROWER (2-0)
Zeth Brower earned bonus points for the Bearcats as he claimed an 11-3 major decision over Ray Rioux of Indianapolis. Brower began the match with a takedown in the first and added two more points in the second with a reversal. He'd then add two more takedowns and a reversal in the third while getting one more point from riding time.
Brower would win by bonus points once more as he took down Tate Murphy of Upper Iowa 11-0 to earn a major decision. Brower took a 6-0 edge in the first period after a takedown and a four-point near fall. He'd then get a reversal in the second period and another takedown in the third.
Brower is now a two-time All-American after becoming the first wrestler in program history to be named an All-American last season.
JACK TANGEN (0-2)
Jack Tangen fell 7-2 in his first match of the day to the No. 1 wrestler at 149, Jacob Ealy of Pittsburgh-Johnstown.
Tangen would conclude his stay at the National Championships with an 8-4 loss by decision to Jacob Simpson of West Liberty
GAGE BERNALL (2-2)
Gage Bernall wrestled Avery Shay of Shippensburg in the prelim round and fell by a 4-0 decision to begin the day.
He'd bounce back in his next match, beating Jack Haskin of Lake Erie in a 7-3 win by decision. Bernall got a takedown in the first period, but an escape in the first and second got things tied 2-2. Benrall would use a pair of takedowns and an escape in the third to take the lead.
Bernall kept the winning streak going as he took down Jace Fisher of Newman 4-2 in sudden victory. The two wrestlers would be tied after the third with Bernall getting a reversal and Fisher getting an escape. Bernall would get his takedown 1:02 into the first overtime period.
Bernall would end his time at the National Championships with a 10-5 loss by decision against Trent Mahoney of King.
DAVID HUNSBERGER (2-0)
David Hunsberger battled his way to an 11-6 win by decision against No. 9 Anthony Herrera of St. Cloud State. Down 4-3 in the second period, Hunsberger scored six points to take the lead after getting a stall point along with a takedown and a four-point near fall. Hunsberger would also get a pair of escapes in the third.
Hunsberger would waste no time in his next match, as he pinned Alex Cook of West Liberty in just 57 seconds.
Hunsberger becomes the third All-American in Lander wrestling history.
LOGAN HALL (2-0)
Logan Hall started his day with an 8-3 win by decision over Colter Bye of Upper Iowa. Hall took a 2-1 edge after the first period while adding a takedown in both the second and third periods.
Hall would scrap his way to a 3-2 win by decision over Reece Worachek of Wisconsin-Parkside. Tied 2-2 after the second period, Hall would get an escape and hold on to the narrow victory.
Hall becomes the fourth All-American in Lander wrestling history.
ANTHONY YACOVETTI (2-2)
Anthony Yacovetti started his day with a narrow 3-1 loss to Dakoda Rodger of Pittsburgh-Johnstown in sudden victory. Yacovetti would respond with a pin 1:50 into the match against Micha Clemson of Emmanuel.
Yacovetti would keep the winning going with another pin, this time against Jacob Kowalski of Findlay.
Yacovetti would however fall in the second round of the consolation bracket as he fell 8-2 to Cole Huss of Northern State.
JUAN EDMOND-HOLMES (2-1)
Juan Edmond-Holmes started his day with a 9-1 major decision over Taniela Feliciano-Takafua of Simon Fraser.
After allowing an escape in the second period, Edmond-Holmes would get an escape of his own in the third before adding on a takedown and a four-point near fall to earn the major decision.
Edmond-Holmes would fall in his next match to Shawn Streck, the No. 1 wrestler at 285, of Central Oklahoma 8-3.
Edmond-Holmes would rebound with a pin over John Meyers of Seton Hill 6:18 into the match.
Edmond-Holmes becomes the sixth All-American in Lander wrestling history.
Lander returns to action in the NCAA Div. II National Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, March 11 at 10 am CST.
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