Johnson, Shade into Semis; Four Others Earn All-American Status on Day One of NCAA Championships
NCAA Championships - Day One Results
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UNC Pembroke’s Blaze Shade and Limestone College’s DeAndre Johnson’ both reached the semifinals to highlight Day One at the 2017 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships on Friday.
In total, six wrestlers from the ECAC Division II Wrestling League secured All-American status and advanced to Day Two of the championships, held as part of the Division II National Championships Festival in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition to Johnson and Shade, the King University tandem of Bryce Killian and Dustin Kirk progressed to the second day of competition, as did Newberry College’s Trung Duong and Limestone’s Matt Rudy. Any wrestler who finishes in the top eight of their weight class earns all-American recognition.
Shade cruised in his opening match of the day, and then punched his ticket to Saturday's semifinal round by toughing out a 3-2 decision in the evening session.
The senior came within a gnat's eyelash of posting a major decision in his opening match of the day with Pitt-Johnstown's John Blankenship, but settled for an 8-1 decision nonetheless. He then used a second-period takedown to key a 3-2 decision over fourth-ranked Nolan Kistler of California Baptist in the quarterfinal round. Shade will take on third-ranked Adam Cooling (36-2) from Minnesota State in Saturday's semifinals.
Johnson started off the day with a dominating win over the University of Central Oklahoma's Bryan Dutton. Johnson took control with a takedown off of a good defensive move that gave him the lead en route to a 9-3 decision. He was then pitted against the top-ranked wrestler at 157 in Pitt-Johnstown's Cody Law. After a cagey match, Johnson got a quick takedown in the first overtime period to pick up the 12-10 sudden-victory decision. Johnson can now finish no lower than sixth in the tournament.
Rudy controlled the momentum of his opening bout for the entire seven minutes to notch the 5-3 decision. He then dropped a close match in his second matchup of the day, losing 8-6 in the waning seconds. That loss sent him to the wrestleback side of the bracket where he matched up against Augustana's Ben Goodwin. An early takedown in the match swung things in Rudy's favor and he tallied the 6-1 decision. He can now finish no lower than eighth in the tournament.
Kirk got off to a great start at 133 pounds, defeating eighth-ranked Martin Ramirez of Adams State University on an 8-0 major decision to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Kirk fell to second ranked Blake Bosch of Minnesota State University Moorehead 5-3. He then bounced back in the consolation bracket, defeating fourth-ranked Paul Garcia of Colorado State-Pueblo 3-2.
Killian, who is ranked fourth at 141 pounds got off to a great start as well, taking a 13-5 major decision over St. Cloud State University's Jarred Oftedahl to reach the quarterfinals. However, in the quarterfinals he fell to Colorado Mesa's Daniel Salazar 5-3, dropping Killian to the consolation bracket. Killian came back with an 8-2 decision over Ashland University's Chandler Minnard to advance to Saturday's consolation quarterfinals.
Duong began the day against Allen Diltz of Seton Hill University. Diltz was able to get the match’s first takedown and pin Duong for a win by fall in 2:37. Undeterred, Duong rebounded to triumph in his next two bouts in the consolation bracket. He faced 10th-ranked Joshua Lindsey of Central Oklahoma and cruised to an eventual 14-7 decision to advance to face Upper Iowa’s Maleek Williams.
Duong and Williams battled through a high-scoring first period that left the Newberry senior ahead 7-3. Another takedown upped the lead to six points before Duong again coasted to a win, this time an 11-3 major decision, to secure All-American status for the second-consecutive year.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow @ECACDIIWrestling on Twitter for the latest scores, news and updates from the ECAC DII Wrestling League. Stay updated on the latest news, championships and more by connecting with the ECAC on
Facebook (ECACSports),
Twitter (@ECACSports) and
Instagram (@ECACSports).
ABOUT THE ECAC
In the 77 years since its inception, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nation's largest Conference. The ECAC has grown considerably from its charter membership of 58, boasting hundreds of member schools in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri. For more information, visit
www.ecacsports.com.