ST. LOUIS, Mo.—Three Adams State University wrestlers made their mark on the opening day of the 2022 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships held inside the Chaifetz Arena. The Grizzlies had a stellar day as they went 7-of-7 on matches and all three Grizzlies to qualify are still in contention for national crowns.
 
Despite only having three wrestlers, the Grizzlies are sitting in sixth place in the team race with 28 points.
 
Session One
In the opening match for the Grizzlies, redshirt junior Noah Hermosillo pulled away from freshman Jake Piccirilli of UNC-Penbrook in a preliminary match with an 8-0 major decision. About an hour later, Hermosillo was able to win his second match of the day by defeating Dominic Means of Gannon with a 10-3 decision. He narrowly missed a riding-time bonus by five seconds that would have made it a major decision.
 
At 133 pounds, Jonathan Andreatta entered as the No. 4 seed. He was able to pull away from Breyden Bailey of Indianapolis for a 6-3 win at 133 pounds to open his day.
 
At 157 pounds, the No. 3 seed Josiah Rider opened the tournament in dominate fashion as he defeated Nathan Smith of Pitt-Johnstown to move on the quarterfinals with a fall in 2:16.
 
Quarterfinals
Andreatta was the first Grizzly to advance to the semifinals as he won his match by decision over Reece Barnhardt (Mary) with a score of 7-3.
 
Hermosillo was able to pull away with an 8-3 decision over Indianapolis' Logan Bailey while Rider earned a 3-1 decision over Ryan Wheeler of Colorado Mesa.
 
The Grizzlies will close out the NCAA Division II Championships on Saturday.