Braves 10th After Day One Of Midwest Classic

INDIANAPOLIS – Mike Williams and Shane Nolan each punched their way to Monday's action with close decisions in the quarterfinal round to help key UNCP to 42.0 team points and a 10th place standing after day one of the 33rd Annual Midwest Classic inside the University of Indianapolis's Nicoson Arena.

Brendon Parker-Risk will continue action in the 157-pound tournament as well after he lost just one time on the day and will engage in Monday's consolation quarterfinals.

Top-ranked Newberry leads the 25-team field after the opening day of the prestigious event with 87.5 team points, while No. 2 Upper Iowa is second with 74. points. No. 13 West Liberty is third with 62.5 points, Lincoln is fourth with 47.5 points and Maryville is fifth with 46.0 points. No. 15 King (Tenn.) is in sixth with 45.5 points, Northern State sits seventh with 45.0 points, 10th-ranked Ashland is eighth with 43.5 points and Fort Hays State is ninth with 42.5 points.

Williams needed just two matches to punch his ticket to the semifinal round. The nation's third-ranked wrestler in the 165-pound weight class booked a first-period pin (2:47) of Indiana Tech's Kafuba Donzon in his opener, and then turned in a 3-1 win by decision over host-Indianapolis's Jeff Weiss in the quarterfinals. Williams will lock horns with Ashland's Tommie Graszl in Monday's semifinals.

Nolan, ranked eighth nationally in the 197-pound weight class, tallied a pair of pins on his way to Monday's action. Nolan ousted Lake Erie's Mike Samijlenko for the second time in eight days with a second-period pin in his opener, but needed four overtime periods before pinning Newberry's Zach Anderson (8:30). Nolan will take on second-ranked Dan Scanlan of Limestone in Monday's semifinals.

Parker-Risk registered wins by decision in each of his first two matches of the day, but had his season-opening 11-match winning streak snapped on the heels of a loss by major decision (12-0) to Newberry's Taylor Knapp. Parker-Risk would rebound with a tight 10-9 win by decision over Limestone's Jeremy McPhearson in the consolation bracket. He will face Fort Hays State's Derek Koehn in Monday's consolation quarterfinals.

2011 MIDWEST CLASSIC (UNCP Results Only)

133
Michael Magaha (Limestone) maj. dec. Adonis Wright (UNCP) M 8-0
Adonis Wright (UNCP) pinned Danny Suite (West Virginia Tech) F 1:32
Adonis Wright (UNCP) maj. dec. Eddie Sander (Mount St. Joseph's) M 17-4
Ian Muirhead (Northern State) pinned Adonis Wright (UNCP) F 0:54

141
Justin Kieffer (Indianapolis) pinned Ryan Blackwell (UNCP) F 0:27
Dustin Dooley (Fort Hays State) pinned Ryan Blackwell (UNCP) F 4:47

149
Mark Marianovich (Lincoln) maj. dec. Curt Jones (UNCP) M 12-2
Curt Jones (UNCP) maj. dec. Chance Smith (West Virginia Tech) M 16-3
Forrest Romer (Trine) dec. Curt Jones (UNCP) D 5-1

157
Brendon Parker-Risk (UNCP) dec. Tommy Fehring (Mount St. Joseph's) D 3-0
Brendon Parker-Risk (UNCP) dec. Trevor Nickolai (Tiffin) D 7-0
Taylor Knapp (Newberry) maj. dec. Brendon Parker-Risk (UNCP) M 12-0
Brendon Parker-Risk (UNCP) dec. Jeremy McPhearson (Limestone) D 10-9

165
No. 3 Mike Williams (UNCP) pinned Kafuba Donzon (Indiana Tech) F 2:47
No. 3 Mike Williams (UNCP) dec. Jeff Weiss (Indianapolis) D 3-1

174
Bryce Sopko (Limestone) dec. Jake Ferguson (UNCP) D 9-2
Jake Ferguson (UNCP) inj. def. Colt Adye (Lincoln) M For
Jason Alber (Trine) dec. Jake Ferguson (UNCP) D 3-2

184
Mitchell Schultz (Upper Iowa) maj. dec. Shiheem Bryant (UNCP) M 9-0
Shiheem Bryant (UNCP) dec. Billy Malicote (Mount St. Joseph's) D 8-7
Ryan Pieper (Trine) dec. Shiheem Bryant (UNCP) D 3-2

197
No. 8 Shane Nolan (UNCP) pinned Mike Samijlenko (Lake Erie) F 4:21
No. 8 Shane Nolan (UNCP) pinned Zach Anderson (Newberry) F 8:30

285
James De La Riva (UNCP) pinned Clint Endicott (Ashland) F 2:57
James De La Riva (UNCP) dec. Casey Hogg (West Virginia Tech) D 7-3
No. 2 Matt Meuleners (Northern State) dec. James De La Riva (UNCP) D 6-2
Andrew Tumlin (Findlay) dec. James De La Riva (UNCP) D 3-1