All five of Northern Iowa’s wrestlers stayed alive on the first day of the NCAA Division I Championships on Thursday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, including former Ankeny star Caleb Rathjen at 149 pounds.
The 14th-seeded Rathjen opened the tournament with a 3-1 victory over No. 19 Brock Herman of Little Rock. He then dropped an 8-5 decision to No. 3 Cross Wasilewski of Penn in sudden victory in the second round.
Rathjen (10-7) crawled back after giving up a first-period takedown to Wasilewski to tie the match at 5-5 at the end of the third period. The Panther senior then stayed heavy on offense, making two solid shots that went out of bounds.
Rathjen took one final shot, but Wasilewski was able to defend, reattack and finish the takedown for the victory. Wasilewski (26-3) advanced to the quarterfinals on Friday morning, while Rathjen will compete on the back side of the bracket.
In his opening match, Rathjen battled Herman to a scoreless first period after a takedown for Herman was overturned following a review. Rathjen then rode out Herman in the second period, gaining a point as Herman was called for stalling.
In the third period, Rathjen earned an escape and stayed alert on defense to hold onto his lead.