ROANOKE, Va. (Duhawks.com) - With their seven national qualifiers, the No. 8-ranked Loras wrestling team crafted a strong opening performance at the 2019 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships on Friday, March 8. The Duhawks advanced four wrestlers to the championship quarterfinals and have three additional wrestlers alive on the consolation side of the bracket. With 13.5 points, Loras sits third in the team standings, trailing Augsburg for first by 8.5 points.

133# | (5) Brice Everson
Bout 31 | vs. Kiom Dial (Merchant Marine)
• Scoreless in the first, Dial opened the scoring with a takedown with 1:03 to go and never looked back
• Dial rode out Everson for the remainder of the second period and the entirety of the third

149# | (4) Clint Lembeck
Bout 40 | vs. Evan Drill (NYU)
• Drill had more of the attacks, but a six-point move for Lembeck proved to be the difference
• Drill was close on a number of shots, but Lembeck's flexibility and athleticism kept him away from conceding points

149# | Kevin Kelly
Bout 7 | vs. (1) Da'Mani Burns (JWU)
• Burns shot to a single and locked Kelly into a cradle on his way to the mat for the fall

Bout 107 | vs. (3) Stephen Maloney (Messiah)
• With his back to the wall, Kelly came out with a renewed sense of confidence, resulting in a 4-1 lead after the first period
• A second stalling call on Maloney coupled with a takedown in the third period helped Kelly pull the upset on the No. 3 seed and stay alive in the consolation bracket

157# | (5) Brandon Murray
Bout 10 | vs. Jared Lough (Averett)
• Scoreless first period with Murray scoring first with :52 to go in second period
• Murray got his escape in the third to send the bout to sudden victory
• There, Murray got himself a takedown and immediately put Lough to his back for the fall

Bout 10 | vs. Jared Timberman (Wabash)
• Murray advanced to the championship quarterfinals after a first period takedown
• After the takedown, Timberman was forced to retire, conceding the injury default

165# | (5) Eddie Smith
Bout 63 | vs. Jared Walker (Wash. & Jeff)
• Smith first to score on first period takedown, rides Walker for over a minute
• Walker gets a takedown in the second, Smith matches with pair of escapes
• After giving up a reversal, Smith scores final takedown to take 7-5 lead with 34 seconds remaining

174# | Jacob Krakow
Bout 14 | vs. Blake Rosenbaum (Ferrum)
• Back and forth battle with each wrestler taking multiple leads
• Came down to the final period where Krakow scored a reversal and a takedown with :18 to go

Bout  75 | vs. (7) Tanner Vassar (Augsburg)
• Krakow got himself in a a number of shots, but was unable to score anything from it
• Vassar opened a 4-2 lead in the first and never looked back, adding two more takedowns, winning 10-4

197# | (2) Guy Patron Jr.
Bout  18 | vs. (7) Zeckery Lehman (Baldwin Wallace)
• Quick takedown and straight to a fall in :49

Bout 92 | vs. Ken Burrs (Waynesburg)
• Patron Jr. was a takedown machine in the first period, building a 12-3 with four takedowns and a four-point near fall
• The Jesuit prep added two more points, one by escape and one via penalty to build his lead to 14-3
• In the third period, Patron Jr. added one more takedown for good measure and with riding time, narrowly missed on the tech fall