It was a banner day for Tiffin University's men's wrestling squad, who finished a best-ever 2nd in Super Region III competition hosted by the University of Indianapolis.
Every Dragons grappler placed at the tourney, with Christopher Donathan (149 pounds) and Nicholas Mason (197) winning regional championships in their weight class.
Notre Dame won the Super Region III title with 127.5 points but the Dragons nearly took the crown, finishing right behind with 122 points. Ashland was third with 121.5 and Indianapolis was fourth with 115.5.
Trey Grine (157) and Bryan LaVearn (165) placed second, while Hayden Bronne (174) also punched his ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championships with a 3rd place finish. The top three finishers in each weight class earned a trip to nationals.
David Henson (285) just missed a come from behind trip to nationals, placing fourth after a tough 2-1 loss against West Liberty in the third place match.
Dylan Mansor (141) and Richard Screptock (184) placed 5th, while Raymond Adams III (125) and Rico Puente (133) finished 6th.
Mason, who had not wrestled in nearly two months due to injury, made an immediate impact upon his return, posting four straight wins for the title. He flattened Urbana in 2:15, outpointed Findlay 13-2 and Ashland 14-9, and then smashed Lake Erie with a pin in just 24 seconds for the championship.
Donathan also was impressive, opening with a pin over Davenport in 4:56, then clipping Findlay 6-1 and Ashland 10-3 for TU's second championship.
Grine had not lost a match all season and looked poised to keep his win streak going straight to nationals. He opened with a pin over Davenport in 1:31 and a massive 17-6 win over Urbana. He came up just short to Notre Dame, however, falling 7-2 for his first loss of the season.
LaVearn also had a good day, pinning Davenport in 5:11 and earning his trip to nationals with a 13-6 win over Ashland. He fell in the championship in a razor thin 4-2 decision to Indianapolis.
Bronne, the national falls leader, also came very close to a championship finish. He pinned Urbana in 51 seconds before falling in a narrow 5-0 match to Indianapolis. Bronne battled back through consolations, though, winning by fall over Davenport in 3:13 before nipping Notre Dame 5-3 to earn his nationals spot.
Henson opened with a tough 12-2 loss to Urbana but bounced back nicely with three straight wins. He clipped Findlay 3-2, Indianapolis 6-3, then advanced to the third place match with a 2-1 sudden victory over Lake Erie. He fell to West Liberty 2-1 to finish 4th.
Mansor had victories over West Liberty 2-0 as well as a medical forfeit over Lake Erie, while Screptock had wins over Urbana 17-2 and Lake Erie 1-0 in the 5th place match.
Adams defeated Lake Erie 6-2, while Puente had a 12-7 win over Indianapolis.
The Dragons will now compete at the Division II National Championships held at Sioux Falls, South Dakota March 13-14.