Ruhnke punches ticket to NCAA Championships

Friday, February 23

Johnstown, PA

12:00 PM

Millersville University

NCAA Super Region 1 Championships

Ruhnke punches ticket to NCAA Championships

2/24/2018 6:27:00 PM | Wrestling

2018 Super Region I Wrestling Final Brackets

By: Ryan Small, Athletic Communication Graduate Assistant

Johnstown, Pa. – 165-pound redshirt junior Shane Ruhnke captured Millersville's first NCAA Division II Championships berth since the program moved to the Division II ranks in 2012 by finishing in third place at the Super Region 1 Championships.

Ruhnke became the first Marauder to qualify for nationals since 141-pound Mike Greck reached the NCAA Division I Championships in 2011. 197-pound Colton Dull came up just short of a nationals berth, placing fifth. The Marauders placed eighth out of 15 teams with 39.5 points. This is the highest placement that the program has claimed as a Division II program.

Ruhnke faced a familiar foe in Keegan Driscoll of Wheeling Jesuit in the third-place match. Ruhnke had gotten the better of Driscoll in the championship quarterfinal by a 16-6 major decision. Driscoll, however, got an early takedown within a minute into the match but Ruhnke escaped to put the score at 2-1. Then, Ruhnke responded with a takedown of his own to pick up his first lead of the match for a 3-2 score. Then, Ruhnke quickly pinned Driscoll at 1:02.

Ruhnke reached the third-place match after an 18-7 major decision over Anthony Dailey of Notre Dame in the consolation quarterfinals. Devin Austin of Pitt-Johnstown knocked Ruhnke from the championship bracket earlier in the day. Austin was up 8-6 with 1:22 left in the third period. Austin took down Ruhnke to take a four point lead with a minute left. Ruhnke got a reversal to get it back down by two at 10-8 but then Austin came back with his own reversal to secure the 12-8 decision win. Austin advanced to the championship final of weight class and lost 6-4 against Nathan Ross of Gannon.

With a national berth on the line for fourth place, Wes Phipps of Mercyhurst topped Dull for the national berth to national championships in a 3-0 decision. Phipps took down Dull to the ground to earn a 2-0 lead at the 1:30 mark of the first period. Phipps built riding time for the rest of the match. Phipps kept Dull scoreless in the match to place fourth while Dull earned fifth place.

To reach the third-place match, Dull scored a pin at 2:39 against Logan Kemp of West Liberty. Dull started the match with a takedown at 1:39 to take the first two points of the match in the first period. Dull earned four nearfall points with a minute left in the first period to have a 6-0 lead. Shortly after, Dull received four nearfall points to extend the lead to 10-0. Then, Kemp got a reversal to earn his first points of the match to go down 10-2. With 22 seconds left, Dull got a reversal and secured the match with a pin. Dull lost in his consolation quarterfinal matchup against Jake Temple of Seton Hill, 6-2.

Sophomore Evan Morrill started the second day with a loss to Ethan Cole Ritchie of Alderson-Broaddus. The two were scoreless through the first period. Morrill earned the first point of the match with an escape at the end of the second period. Ritchie escaped from the down position at the beginning of the third period to tie the match up at 1-1. Ritchie took down Morrill with 16 seconds left to have a 3-1 lead with 1:13 riding time. Then, Morrill escaped with two seconds left to be trailing by one point. Ritchie took the 4-2 decision victory with riding time to end Morrill's season.

Redshirt junior 125-pound Connor Sheehan dropped his first match of the day to Jacob Dunlap of Gannon in a 4-2 decision.

Ruhnke will now compete at the NCAA Championships on March 8-10 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.