The AU wrestling team will send No.10 125-pound sophomore David Terao, No.11 197-pound senior Daniel Mitchell and heavyweight senior Blake Herrin to the NCAA Tournament after the three qualified at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships March 8-9 in Philadelphia, Pa.
In total, four AU wrestlers reached the podium in the tournament.
Terao had a strong run to the finals of the 125-pound bracket. On Saturday, Terao opened the tournament with a 9-2 decision over Columbia’s Penn Gottfried before picking up the fall over Boston University’s Chris McGinley.
The following day, Terao picked up another fall in the semifinals against Jamie Franco of Hofstra University before losing a close 2-1 decision to Cornell’s Nahshon Garrett, giving Terao a second-place finish in the tournament.
At 197 pounds, Mitchell picked up a fall in the Round of 16 before dropping his quarterfinal match, placing him in the consolation bracket. Mitchell would go on to win his next three matches in the consolation bracket placing him in the third place bout where Mitchell would pick up a 15-1 major decision over Navy’s Paul Rands to claim third in the tournament.
Herrin would win both his Saturday bouts, including a fall over Alexander Henry of William and Mary in the Round of 16. Herrin dropped his semifinal match and then clinched his NCAA berth with a victory in the Consolation Semifinals before taking fourth place due a medical default.
AU’s final podium finish came from 133-pound sophomore Esteban Gomez-Rivera who started the tournament by upsetting the third seed, Navy’s Colton Rasche. After dropping a major decision in the semifinals, Gomez-Rivera picked up a Consolation Quarterfinals victory before dropping in the Consolation Semifinals. In the seventh place match, Gomez-Rivera beat Rasche again to claim seventh in the tournament.
In total, AU finished tied with Binghamton for seventh in the team standings while Cornell won the team title
Terao’s, Mitchell’s and Herrin’s season will conclude at the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla. March 20-22.
