PARK CITY, Kan. – After day one of mat action at the 2022 NAIA National Championships, Mountaineer Men's Wrestling sits 12th as a team with 31.0 points and two grapplers have solidified their status as All-Americans advancing to day two.
Moving on to the second day for Eastern Oregon are grapplers
Kyle Knudtson at 184 pounds and
Noel Orozco at 285 pounds. The duo are both undefeated after day on at 3-0, respectively, and still in the hunt for a National Championship.
Also competing on day one for the Mounties were four other athletes in
Zach Mauras (133 lbs.),
Jaxon Morlan (141 lbs.),
Keegan Mulhill (174lbs.), and
Jay Smith (197 lbs.). All four wrestlers suffered two losses on the first day to have their 2021-22 seasons come to a close.
For Knudtson, he entered the National Championships seeded No. 3. He had three different types of victories as he secured his spot in the semifinals of the championship bracket. He started with an 11-3 major decision over Karim Shakur of Missouri Valley College. In round two, he took down Thomas Cup of Lincoln with an 8-4 decision. Knudtson punched his ticket to the semifinals in style, pinning No. 6 Blake Rypel of Southeastern in 3:47 to finish 3-0 on the day.
Orozco was tabbed as the No. 5 seed in the heavyweight division and had two of his three wins come over ranked foes. He got things going with a 4-0 shutout decision over Brooks Baker of Missouri Valley College. His second round bout was a close fight as he held off No. 12 Carlos Figueroa of Lindsey Wilson by one point, 2-1. Like Knudtson, Orozco earned his spot in the semifinals in style. He pinned No. 4 Aaron Johnson of Cumberland in 5:50 to finish 3-0.
Morlan nearly made it to day two at 141 pounds as he went 3-2. He fell in his opening bout by a close score of 9-6,but bounced back winning his next three matches. He started his run with a 15-7 major decision in the first round of the consolation bracket. He then posted a 5-0 decision in round two to make the afternoon session. His third and final win was a 15-10 decision in round three. In round four, Morlan's run came to a close as he dropped a 12-4 major decision in round four of the consolation bracket.
Mulhill posted a 2-2 record at 174 pounds on the day with both wins being the exact same score. He started with an 11-1 major decision to advance. In round two, he fell in a tight battle by a score of 3-1. In round two of the consolation bracket, Mulhill scored another 11-1 major decision. He then fell by way of a 13-6 decision to finish at .500.
Smith was 1-2 at 197 pounds, while Mauras was 0-2 on the day at 133 pounds. Smith's lone win was a 9-1 major decision. He secured the win in round two of the consolation bracket after getting a bye. His two losses were by way of fall and decision, respectively. For Mauras he fell via pin in his first match and then dropped a hard fought 7-3 decision in the second match.
Day two action of the National Championships will once again begin at 8 a.m.PT. Should Knudtson or Orozco advance to the championship bout, they will have some rest before competing against 5 p.m. PT.
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