MINNEAPOLIS – The MSOE wrestling team competed at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional on Saturday, with the Raiders finishing 6^th with 74.5 team points.  Junior Gavin Graham punched his ticket to the National Championship after taking 3^rd place at 184.

RESULTS

MSOE RAIDERS – 6^th Place – 74.5 Points

HOW IT HAPPENED

• 125:  Sophomore Jesse Johnson took 6^th place, opening the tournament with two victories via pinfall on Friday, including a win over UW-Eau Claire in just 32 seconds.
• 141:  Max Sanderfoot took 8^th place to close out his career for the Red and White, as the senior started the tournament off with a hard-fought 9-3 decision win over UW-Oshkosh.  After coming up short in the quarterfinal match, Sanderfoot recorded the final win of his college career in the second round of the consolation bracket, scoring a win via fall in 3:57 over Lakeland University.
• 149:  Senior Connor Nagela would take 7^th place bouncing back after each loss at the regional tournament.  Nagela scored a 15-4 major decision in his first consolation bout, before closing his career with a pinfall win over Augustana College in the seventh place bout.
• 157:  The final MSOE senior to wrap up his career was Michael Smith, who took 7^th place after a 6-2 decision win in his final match.  Smith fell in his opening bout of the tournament, but dominated in the consolation bracket, scoring two fall wins over Oshkosh and Lakeland.
• 165:  Freshman Toren Vandenbush nearly punched his ticket to Rhode Island after racking up four wins across the two days of action.  Vandenbush fell in a heartbreaking 1-0 decision in the quarterfinal, but bounced back with three straight wins to get to the 3^rd place match.  Vandenbush would fall in heartbreaking fashion once more, this time in sudden victory against UW-Stevens Point as the freshman would finish 4^th.
• 174:  Jackson Hughes picked up another 7^th place finish for the Red and White, as the freshman scored three wins over the weekend, capping off his weekend with a 12-6 decision win over Augustana.
• 184:  Gavin Graham would have a weekend to remember, as the junior secured a spot at the NCAA DIII Championship with his 3^rd place finish.  After opening Friday with a fall win in just 2:52, Graham would stumble in the quarterfinal but bounced back with three consecutive decision wins to earn his spot in the 3^rd place match.  With his season on the line, Graham powered his way to a 7-2 decision win over Augustana, earning a ticket to Providence, Rhode Island to compete for the national title.

 
WHO'S ON DECK
Graham and the Raiders will head to Providence, Rhode Island for the NCAA DIII Championship, kicking-off on Friday, March 14^th at 11:00 A.M.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.