Day 1 Results

Nick Rodriguez (Toledo, Ohio/Clay H.S.) and Will Speight (Bedford, Ohio/Bedford H.S.) both advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Invitational, helping lead Lourdes to a seventh place finish on day one inside Burns Athletic Complex in Marshall, Mo.
 
As a team Lourdes finished the opening day with 61 points, one-half point ahead of eighth place Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) and 18.5 points behind sixth place Cumberlands (Ky.) in the field of 45 schools.  Grand View heads into the final day of the event in first place with 136 points, holding a 41.5-point lead over second place Life.
 
"This was a pretty good day for us as a team," head coach Dock Kelly III said afterwards.  "To finish day one in the top-10 for team scoring gives you a pretty good indication of our potential when everyone is wrestling solid."
 
Rodriguez rolled to the semifinals at 125 pounds.  Ranked sixth in the NAIA, he opened with a 24-9 tech fall before adding a 19-4 tech fall in round two, both of which came in the third period.  In his third round bout, Rodriguez added his third tech fall of the day, this one with eight seconds left in the opening stanza by a 19-3 score.  He then won via injury default late in the second period of his quarterfinal bout against 18^th-ranked Allan Hendricks of Embry-Riddle. 
 
Speight, ranked second at 184 pounds, had an opening round bye.  He then posted a 21-6 tech fall midway through the third before scoring a 16-4 major decision in the third round.  In his quarterfinal bout, he registered a 19-4 tech fall just 16 seconds into the second stanza against 13^th-ranked Brett Bober of Baker.
 
"Nick Rodriguez and William Speight are wrestling at an elite level right now and we have to keep this momentum going in the semifinals tomorrow morning," Kelly added.
 
Dominico Migliori (Curtis, Ohio/Clay H.S.) advanced to round three in the championship draw at 174 pounds.  He notched a 19-1 tech fall in his first bout before scoring a first period pin at the 1:47 mark of his second round match.  He fell in a tech fall in round three before being defeated in the consolation bracket.  Niko Christo (Galion, Ohio/Northmor H.S.) also won his first round bout at 174 with a 13-11 decision.  After falling in round two, he rebounded with a third period fall in the consolation draw before being eliminated in his next match.
 
At 133 pounds, Cole McKinley (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.) dropped his opening bout before rebounding with back-to-back pins in 1:08 and 1:45 before bowing out of the tournament in the third consolation round.  Dru Wilson (Warren, Mich./Wood-Tower H.S.) dropped his first round match at 141 before posting a first period fall and a 7-1 decision in consolation rounds two and three before his day ended in the fourth round of consolations.
 
Drew Torres (Phoenix, Ariz./Tempe Union H.S.) also advanced to the fourth round in the consolation bracket at 157 pounds.  He bounced back from a first round setback to win in a 13-4 major decision and a first period fall.  At 197 pounds, Carter Kroll (Ontario, Ohio/Ontario H.S.) dropped his opening bout before scoring back-to-back pins, one in the first stanza and the other in the second before his tournament ended in the fourth consolation round.
 
Tyler Cobb (Toledo, Ohio/Clay H.S.) also earned a win in the tournament, scoring a first round fall in the consolation bracket at 285 pounds.
 
"Overall, we missed out on multiple opportunities against ranked opponents, and we need to capitalize on every single one of these if we intend to take the next step by becoming a top-10 nationally ranked program." Kelly concluded.
 
Rodriguez and Speight will return to the mat beginning at 11 a.m. EST on Saturday.  Rodriguez faces seventh-ranked Austin Franco of Cumberlands (Ky.) while Speight faces 10^th-ranked Isaiah Morales of Menlo.