SIOUX FALLS, SD -
Jacob Strausbaugh put himself in the history books as the true freshman became the second University of Mary wrestler to win an NCAA Division II National Championship in the 133-pound weight class. Strasbaugh joins assistant wrestling coach
Reece Barnhardt, who also won a national championship at 133 pounds last year, as the only two NCAA champions in Marauder history.
The UMary wrestling team finished in 8
th place with 52 team points, the most points in program history, beating out last year's score of 51.
Lane Ewing earned a third-place finish at 165 pounds, and
Sean Solis took fourth at 141 pounds.
Jacob Strausbaugh opened with an emphatic victory in the semifinals, pinning Central Oklahoma's #3 Jason Henschel after 3:45 of action. The true freshman from Soldotna, AK, would earn glory when he defeated Lander's #5 James Joplin by a 5-3 decision. Strausbaugh trailed 3-1 going into the third period. He would get an early escape and then scored a takedown with 33 seconds left in the match. Strausbaugh would ride out Joplin for the rest of the period to become a national champion.
Lane Ewing took third place in the 165-pound weight class to earn All-American status for the first time in his career. Ewing started with an impressive 11-6 decision over Ashland's Nate Barrett. He would then advance to the third-place match after Tiffin's #1 Nolan Gessler medically forfeited. The sophomore from Gillette, WY, earned bronze when he defeated McKendree's Sam Richardson by a 5-1 decision.
Sean Solis placed fourth at 141 pounds to become a two-time All-American. Solis kicked things off with an exciting 10-9 decision over Glenville State's #8 Ethan Hardy. The Junior from Long Beach, CA, then avenged a loss from earlier in the season when he took down Nebraska Kearney's Joseph Airola by a 4-1 decision in sudden victory. Solis fell by a 6-4 decision to Minnesota State's Colton Hush in the third-place match.
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