CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA-- Trine wrestler Mack Green earned All-American honors by advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships Friday night at the US Cellular Center.
After dropping his first match of the night, Green (Buchanan, Mich./Buchanan) earned three straight wins while facing elimination to advance to the quarterfinals. The junior earned All-American honors for the first time in his Thunder career and in his first-career appearance in the national meet. Green is the only wrestler in the 285-lb division to lose his first match and still be alive in the tournament. He will face Cody Lovejoy of Ohio Northern in tomorrow's quarterfinals. Green could finish as high as third-place with three wins. Matches get underway at 10 a.m.
No. 3 seed Cody Kasprick of Concordia-Moorhead got the best of Green with a victory by 2-1 decision. The loss meant Green would be facing elimination in each of his matches the rest of the day, but the junior heavyweight responded in a big way.
It took overtime for Green to move on and stay alive in his next match, but he was able to earn the pin over SUNY-Cortland's Lance Moore at the 7:53 mark.
Green advanced to face unseeded Sean Brooks of Mount St. Joseph, who was coming off a victory over the no. 8 seed. Green was able to stave off elimination once again, this time with 4-1 win by decision.
Another victory by decision closed out Green's day and earned him a berth in the quarterfinals. He earned a 5-2 victory over Heidelberg's Nino Majoy.
Teammate Brandon Preston (Logansport, Ind./Logansport) closed out his season by going 1-2 in the 133-lb class at the National Championships. The junior dropped his first match to Marcus Lubner of Concordia (Wisc.).
Preston would not go quietly however, as he rallied to earn a 2-1 victory by decision over Heidelberg's Collin McDermitt- an opponent who had previously defeated Preston this season. His season would come to an end in the next match however, as Silas Murray of Rhose Island College got the best of Preston by 10-3 decision.
Preston wraps up his season with a 25-15 mark. He has earned back-to-back appearances in the National Championships in two different weight classes.