Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State had seven wrestlers place at the NSIC Super Region V tournament today in Sioux Falls, S.D., with three wrestlers advancing to the NCAA DII Championships.
 
Freshman 141-lb. Colton Hush and redshirt-junior 174-lb. No. 15 Drake Hayward placed third to punch their ticket to the championships, alongside junior 157-lb. No. 15 Caleb Meunier placing second to advance.
 
In the first round of the day, Hush lost to Connor Whiteley (Augustana) before receiving a first-round bye in the consolation bracket. Hush would then go on a four-win streak to clinch the third place 4-1 decision win over Upper Iowa's Ryan Wehner. In a notable consolation semifinal match, Hush faced No. 1 Cayden Henschel, UW-Parkside, winning by an 11-6 decision to make it into the third-place match.
 
Meunier went 3-0 in the first three rounds of competition to land in the championship match, including a 3-2 decision win over UW-Parkside's No. 9 Ben Durocher in the semifinal match. In the championship round, Meunier lost to SCSU's No. 1 Joel Jesuroga by a 7-3 decision.
 
At 174-lb., Hayward went 3-1 on the day, receiving a bye in the first round today. After a quarterfinal win over UW-Parkside's Brady Schuh, Hayward lost to No. 8 Lawson Losee (Upper Iowa). Hayward went on to beat Augustana's Coy Gunderson and MSU-Moorhead's Mason Gode for a third-place finish.
 
MSU also had four other Mavericks place at the Super Region V tournament. Redshirt-sophomore Chase Beckett, 133-lb., and junior Kole Marko, 165-lb., placed fourth in today's tournament. Beckett fell to University of Mary's No. 1 Reece Barnhardt, followed by Marko losing by a 5-2 decision to UMary's No. 15 Leo Mushinsky.
 
Freshman 125-lb. Jacob Fitzpatrick placed fifth with a 3-2 record, and redshirt-sophomore 149-lb. No. 14 Walker Bents placed sixth with a 3-3 record for the day.
 
A few words from Head Coach Jim Makovsky on MSU's performance today, "The Super Region 5 tournament was a true testament to our team's grit and determination. Caleb Meunier, Drake Hayward, and Colton Hush punched their tickets to nationals with outstanding performances. Jacob Fitzpatrick, Chase Beckett, Walker Bents, and Kole Marko showed heart and perseverance, placing and giving us even more to build on. Proud of each and every one of them!"
 
Minnesota State finished in fifth place as a team with 77 points, and now will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. for the NCAA DII Championships on March 14^th and 15^th.