MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Blugolds.com) - The NCAA Division III Regional Wrestling Tournament was hosted by Augsburg College today. UW-Eau Claire sent eight wrestlers to the meet and two of them came away with trips to the national tournament.
Complete Results
Mat Rieckhoff (Sr.-Wausau, Wis./D.C. Everest) and Justin Karkula (So.-Oshkosh, Wis./West) both had third place finishes in their respective weight classes, propelling them to nationals.
After a first round bye, Rieckhoff (184) lost by a 21-18 decision to UW-Oshkosh's Kory Kleinhans. A bye in the third round gave him enough time to rest as he came back to win 13-10 in each in of the next three matches.
Karkula, wrestling at 285, followed very closely in Rieckhoff's footsteps. A first round bye gave way to a second round lost by a 27-13 decision. His third round was another by and in true Blugold fashion, Karkula wrestled the next three matches to victories, all scored at 20-12.
Other Blugolds with notable days include Nathaniel Behnke (Jr.-Bruce, Wis.) and Matthew Laugen (So.-Fergus Falls, Minn./Kennedy).
Wrestling at 141, Behnke's losses came in the semi-final and 3rd place matches but he managed two big wins on the day. A quarterfinal match against Marcus Hamer of Augsburg College ended with Behnke picking up a win 12-5 by decision. His next win would come in the consolation semis where he took down Pacific University's (Oregon) Shawn Speer by fall 12-5. Behnke would end with a fourth place finish.
Laugen, in the 174 weight class, went home with a fifth place finish. In the quarterfinal, Laugen was brought down by an 18-4 decision. He picked up two wins in the next two rounds, both 17-15. After a loss in the consolation semi-final, Laugen came back once again to win by another 17-15 decision over Trenton Larson of UW-Platteville.
Rieckhoff and Karkula will compete at the national tournament March 13-14 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.
-MRW-
