Marauder duo seeks podium finishes at NCAA Championships

Friday, March 10

Cedar Rapids, IA

Millersville University

NCAA Championships

Marauder duo seeks podium finishes at NCAA Championships

3/8/2023 9:34:00 AM | Wrestling

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

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Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Alliant Energy PowerHouse; Upper Iowa University)
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THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Devin Flannery (133) and Brandon Connor (165) will represent Millersville University at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa beginning on March 10. Both wrestlers are making a return trip to the NCAA Championships as both qualified in 2021-22. Flannery is a returning All-American after a seventh-place finish. Millersville has produced eight national qualifiers since joining the Division II ranks in 2012-13, and all of them have come in the last six years. Flannery and Connor join Shane Ruhnke as two-time national qualifiers at the Division II level.
Nebraska-Kearney is the defending team champion after finishing as the runner-up in 2020-21. Last season's runner-up, Central Oklahoma, is among the favorites with a wrestler qualified in each weight class and the No. 1 seeds at 197 and 285.
Session I for the championships begins on Friday at 10 a.m. The second round of the championship bracket and first two consolation rounds start at 5 p.m. Saturday's action starts at 10 a.m., and the championship finals, held on one mat, start at 7 p.m.

THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Flannery enters the championships as the No. 5 seed, and if history is any indication, he is on track for a higher finish than his seventh in 2022. Since 1962, five Marauders earned All-America honors and qualified for the NCAA Championships a second time. Four of those wrestlers placed the same or higher in their second trip. Flannery is aiming to become just the sixth Marauder to be a two-time All-American. Flannery is in the midst of one of the great seasons in program history. He was ranked as high as No. 1 at 133 pounds and boasts a 29-4 record. Only 23 Marauders have won 30 matches in a season. Flannery's current winning percentage of .879 is matched only by Jerry McCoy's .886 (31-4) in 1995-96. Of Flannery's four losses, two were against Division I opponents and two were against the No. 2-seed at 133 pounds--Eric Bartos of Mercyhurst. Flannery's No. 5 seed puts him on the same side of the bracket as No. 1 seed Quentrevion Campbell of Chadron State. Campbell is in his first season at 133 pounds but qualified for nationals previously at 141. Flannery's opening draw is Indianapolis' Breyden Bailey, who is 18-4 and finished third in Super Region IV.
Connor enters the championships with a 20-6 record and now has back-to-back seasons of 20-plus wins. He's a two-time runner-up at the Super Region I Championships. Last season, Connor went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships, narrowly missing a spot on the podium. This season, he slots in against No. 6 seed Aaden Valdez of Adams State. Valdez won the Super Region VI title with second period pin, and he went 3-0 in the meet with two falls. Valdez wrestled his first nine matches at 157 pounds. Since moving up a class, he's 12-1. This is his first trip to the NCAA Championships. Two of Connor's opponents from the 2022 nationals--Hunter Mullin of Western Colorado and Jack Eiteljorge (Indianapolis) are also back but are on the opposite side of the bracket.