Walters Named Outstanding Wrestler at Regional
The University of Findlay wrestling team placed eighth at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional, which wrapped up action on Saturday, March 1 in Tiffin, Ohio. The Roughnecks finished the tournament with 62.5 points and Indianapolis won the field of 17 teams with 125.5 points.
Individually, senior Adam Walters was named the Midwest Region Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 174-pound weight class with a perfect 3-0 record. Walters, the second-ranked grappler in the nation at 174, defeated North Carolina-Pembroke's Blaze Shade by a score of 2-1 in the finals to secure the championship.
Ben Sergent went 4-0 in the 125-pound weight class to win his division and will be heading to the national championship as well. Sergent won his weight class by defeating Newberry's Jeff Vesta, who is ranked seventh in the nation, by a 3-2 decision in overtime.
Freshman Bradley Metz worked his way through the consolation bracket and posted a 5-1 record to claim third place in the 165-pound bracket. He came away with a 6-4 win over Maryville's Dimitri Willis, who is ranked eighth in the nation, in the third place match to punch his ticket to nationals.
In addition, freshman Dalton Nicely went 4-2 in the 149-pound weight class to finish fifth. His fifth place win over Limestone's Mel Levergne will send him to the national championship.
Walters, Sergent, Metz and Nicely will all compete at the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship, which is scheduled to be held on March 14-15 in Cleveland, Ohio.