Proudlock Earns National Runner-Up Following Two Drama-Filled Matches

St. Louis, Missouri - It was the final day of the 2022 NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championship tournament held in the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis Missouri on Saturday, March 12. Findlay junior Branson Proudlock, an all-American a season ago, secured all-American again this year after making it to Saturday's semifinals.

In his 141-pound semifinal match, Proudlock, ranked third in the country and seeded second in the tournament, was matched up against Colby Smith of Lindenwood who was the three seed in the event and is ranked sixth in the country.

The semifinal began in the worst way for Findlay's standout junior as he got down early, trailing 6-0 through the first period. With just inside of a minue left in the second period, Proudlock scored a nearfall to get himself back into the match, ultimately trailing 6-4 heading into the final frame. With 1:44 left in the match, Proudlock picked up a takedown to tie it up at 6-6 and then got a near fall to take the 8-6 lead. Smith did score an escape, but with riding time in his pocket, it was Proudlock who secured the victory and a bid to the national championship bout by outscoring his opponenet 9-to-1 over the final four-and-a-half minutes.

Looking to with the tenth individual national championship in program history, Proudlock had to go through the fourth-seeded wrestler from Lander University, Zeth Brower.

For the first two minutes, the match was deadlocked as each wrestler got a feel for his opponent in the final grapple of the year. Proudlock got on the board first with a takedown at the 1:03 mark in the first period, but a reversal by Brower with 36 seconds remaining knotted the score up at 2-2. 

Seven seconds into the second period, Brower scored an escape to take a one-point lead, but 30 seconds later, Proudlock took a shot from the middle of the mat, scoring a takedown to regain a 4-3 lead. Another escape from Brower tied the match at 4-4 going into the third and final period.

Both wrestlers held eachother at bay for the first minute-and-a-half and twice in the period were locked up in stalemate situations. After the second reset, with less than 30 seconds remaining, Brower took a shot and both wrestlers hit the mat, but again looked to be knotted up and awaiting another reset. Brower then flipped quickly from his right side to take control, scoring a takedown and a 6-4 lead with 17 seconds remaining. As the match ended, Findlay challenged the ruling of a takedown but it was to no avail as Proudlock would suffer the loss to take runner-up in the tournament.