As the first leg of collegiate wrestling postseason closes, wrestlers scattered throughout the NCAA Division II’s four regions prepare for the final stop of the season.

For Shippensburg University, the young team traveled to the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, for the two-day Super Region I Championships that were held on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.

The excitement billowed out of the gymnasium as action began on Friday afternoon, which featured 11 victories for the Raiders, while advancing five wrestlers to the next day’s competition.

No. 5 ranked 141-pounder, junior Karl Lightner took to the mat with style and finesse, as he was able to defeat both opponents on the day by means of major decision. In Lightner’s first bout, he took down West Liberty University’s Anthony Craig, 12-4, only then to defeat the No. 5 ranked 141-pounder from LIU Post, Vinny Turano, 14-2.

Following Lightner’s impressive performance, freshman Adam Martz, seeded fifth at the 157-pound weight class, showed his mat prowess by overcoming an early afternoon defeat, in which he took down his final two opponents, 6-2 and 5-3.

Senior Mark Lentz fought hard in his three bouts of the first day of wrestling and was successful as he beat the No. 8 seed 6-4, lost to the No. 1 seed 3-1, and finally pinned East Stroudsburg University’s 165-pounder in just 1:42.

Redshirt freshman Shane Springer, who was unranked heading into the postseason, was able to pick up a pin in the final bout of Friday’s action at 174-pounds, leading to his birth in Saturday’s bracket.

The 197-pound weight class featured glitz and glamor with an exhilarating pin for sophomore Evan Ramos in his first bout, previous to his close 8-7 victory against No. 7 ranked Lorenzo Maddox of Gannon University.

In the thrilling 8-7 victory for Ramos, Ramos was down 6-1 before scoring seven unanswered points, including one point for riding time, before Maddox escaped in the final seconds of the bout, giving Ramos the advantage, 8-7.

At the end of the first day, SU posted an impressive 27 points to give them seventh place in team scoring.

In the second day of action, in which the top four wrestlers of each weight class advance to the NCAA National Championships in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on March 11 and March 12, SU had five wrestlers partake.

Out of the five Raiders who advanced to the second day, only two have qualified for Division II Nationals.

Ramos was able to make his first trip to Nationals as he took second place at the 197-pound weight class, along with teammate freshman Adam Martz who placed fourth at the 157-pound weight class, who is also making his first trip to Nationals.

The five wrestlers who partook in Saturday’s wrestling: junior Karl Lightner, freshman Adam Martz, senior Mark Lentz, redshirt freshman Shane Springer, and sophomore Evan Ramos. All made SU proud as they scored a collective 52.5 points throughout the weekend, placing the Raiders 7th in the Super Region I.

Lightner was unable to cap off his impressive first day at the 141-pound weight class, as he was defeated three times on Saturday, cutting his postseason short.

Martz achieved his first victory at 157-pounds on Saturday by means of medical forfeit, just before defeating No. 4 ranked Garrett Smith from Gannon University, 10-3.

Martz clinched his Nationals bid with his thrilling victory over Smith.

Springer kept his postseason hopes alive, winning his first bout Saturday with a pin in 31 seconds.

The spectacular pin was not enough to get him to South Dakota as he then fell to the No. 4 ranked 174-pounder, then the No. 7 ranked 174-pounder.

Ramos impressed on the final day of wrestling, as he only required one more victory to move onto Nationals.

Ramos first took the mat on Saturday against Kutztown University’s No. 3 ranked 197-pounder, Brandon Clark, and was able to pin him in just over four minutes.

The string of victories for Ramos came to an end as he lost in the championship bout to the 197-pound front-runner, No. 1 ranked Garrett Lineberger from Notre Dame College, Ohio.

The final bout was a close loss for Ramos, 8-5, but the competition will only improve as Ramos looks to his National adversaries that he will be standing across from in only two weeks time.

Martz and Ramos will have about two weeks to prepare for Nationals.

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