Final Brackets

Three close regional championship matches fell in favor of the opposition Saturday, sending the Wabash wrestling team home from Cleveland, Ohio without an automatic national qualifier. The Little Giants finished second out 10 teams in the final standings at the 2012 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional. Greg Rhoads was awarded the first alternate position and has now learned he will be competing at nationals.

Rhoads, Austin O'Neal, and Jake Strausbaugh each advanced to the finals of their respective weight classes. Rhoads, a 2011 national qualifier and DIII All-American, had posted two early wins heading into his championship bout at 184 pounds against Ryan Pieper from Trine University. The two finalists battled to a 1-1 tie in regulation, forcing overtime where Pieper recorded the only points on an escape to claim the victory and the spot at nationals.

The senior will continue his career as one the best wrestlers in the long history of the sport at Wabash. He owned the most victories of any Division III wrestler this season heading into the regional with a 44-5 mark, adding three victories on Saturday. He has a career record of 147-53 heading into the final weekend of his career, placing him second only behind Chris Healy (159-35) on the Little Giants' all-time wins list.

O'Neal scored a 2-1 overtime victory in his first bout, then advanced to the finals with a 6-1 win at 197 pounds to face top-seeded Justin Leonard from Olivet. With the match tied at 1-1 heading into the closing seconds of the final period, Leonard scored a takedown to claim the 3-1 victory. O'Neal rebounded for a 4-0 victory in the "true second" bout to earn the fourth alternate spot in the coaches' post-tournament voting.

Strausbaugh entered the tournament as the top seed at 149 pounds. He dominated the early rounds, winning 12-3 in his opener followed by a pin at the 1:55 mark in his next match. A 7-3 victory sent him to the finals against Cameryn Brady. Strausbaugh battled throughout the contest, fighting to a 1-1 tie late in the match after trailing 1-0. Brady was able to hold on and score the final point to win 2-1. A 3-1 loss to Olivet's Gage Pederson in the "true second" bout eliminated Strausbaugh from alternate consideration. Strausbaugh finished the year with a record of 45-6. He entered the regional tied for second in the nation in total wins this season, and completes his junior year with a career mark of 131-26, placing him third on the all-time Wabash wins list behind Healy and Rhoads.

Garrett Payne finished fourth at 141 pounds with a record of 2-2 for the tournament. Josh Sampson took fifth place at 157 pounds with a 3-2 record for the day. Tommy Poynter took fifth place at 125 pounds (1-2), while Drew Songer was sixth at 174 pounds (1-3). Marc Escobedo finished sixth at 133 pounds.

Olivet won the Midwest Regional with a total of 165.5 points. Wabash finished second with 112.5 points, while Waynesburg was third (103).