Flannery rallies to take seventh at NCAA Championships

Friday, March 11

St. Louis, MO

12:00 PM

Millersville University

NCAA Championships

Flannery rallies to take seventh at NCAA Championships

3/12/2022 4:56:00 PM | Wrestling

Results

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

ST. LOUIS - Millersville University's Devin Flannery closed the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships with a seventh-place finish at 133 pounds. He did it by rallying from a 4-0 deficit and finishing the weekend with a 3-2 record.

Flannery won two of his three bouts on Friday evening to secure a top-eight finish at All-America status, but there was work to be done on Saturday to climb higher on the podium. Flannery started his day with a 9-5 loss to eventual fourth-place winner Reece Barnhardt of Mary before knocking off No. 3 seed Jack Huffman 6-5 for seventh place.

SATURDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
• Against the fifth-seeded Barnhardt, Flannery scored the match's first takedown 1:02 into the first period. Barnhardt, however, scored the next eight points. In the closing minute of the third, Flannery got an escape and a late takedown, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit. That loss put Flannery in the seventh-place match.
• There, he drew Huffman of Augustana, who boasted a 20-3 record. Huffman jumped out to an early lead, getting a takedown and two back points in the opening two minutes of the first period. Flannery deferred his second period selection and ended up on top where he neutralized Huffman's riding time advantage by staying in control the entire period. Flannery chose a neutral start in the third, and 31 seconds in, he scored a takedown and managed to turn Huffman on to his back as the clock ticked away. With 20 seconds on the board, Flannery was awarded four bonus points, putting him on top 6-4.

REACTION FROM FLANNERY
• On the experience of wrestling at nationals: "It was a great experience being on the mats with some of the best in the nation, doing what we do best: wrestling. We were well prepared for the competition that we knew we were going to face. I just never wanted to give up. If there was time on the clock, there would be a chance to score points."
• On the seventh-place match: "I knew I still had four minutes to go in the match, and I had to keep wrestling, don't give up any positions. Once I got that final takedown and got the back points, I knew I had him, and I had to stay strong in the position and keep him there. He got out, but I knew he was more tired than I was."

REACTION FROM COACH KERRY REGNER
• On Flannery's performance: "The Devin Flannery who wrestled for Millersville University in 2021-22 has matured 10-fold in all aspects of being a student-athlete. We always knew he could be an All-American. Once he began his journey this year, it became more and more evident that it would come to fruition."

NOTES
• With its three qualifiers and Flannery taking seventh, Millersville finished in 36th place out of the 48 teams with at least one wrestler.
• Flannery joins Colton Dull (2019) and Shane Ruhnke (2018, 2019) as Millersville Division II All-Americans. After going 38 years with just one All-American, Millersville has totaled four placewinners in the last five years.
• Flannery, Anthony Giampietro and Brandon Connor gave Millersville three national qualifiers for the first time since 2009.