CLEVELAND – Adams State Wrestling wrapped up day one of the 2019 NCAA Championships in solid fashion as two grappled advanced to day two to secure All-American status.

Making it to the second day of the National Championships were Koery Windham at 165 pounds and Khalil Gipson at 197 pounds. Windham went undefeated with a 3-0 mark to secure a spot in the semifinal round. Gipson was 2-1 and will still finish in the top-eight overall.

Also competing at nationals for Adams State were Jonathan Andreatta (125 pounds), Dylan Udero (141 pounds), and Noah Hermosillo (149 pounds). Though all three battled hard, none made it out of day one.

Windham started his undefeated day as he won his first match against Logan Grass of Mercyhurst by a decision of 9-4. After getting out of the prelims and in the first round of the championship bracket, he won his second match as well, in close 6-4 decision against Tyler Harrington of Maryville. His final match of the day in the quarterfinal round saw Windham placed against Calvin Ochs from Nebraska-Kearney. Windham won in a tightly contested battle, 2-1 decision, leaving Windham 3-0 on the day and in sixth place in the weight class with 9.0 team points.

Gipson was the last grappler at the end of the day for the Grizzlies, starting out with a majority decision loss to Vince Dietz, 10-2, in the championship bracket. The first round of the consolation went much better as Gipson won handily over Wade French of Chadron State by a decision of 6-1. The final bout of the day for Gipson saw him get another victory against Nick Weldon of Newberry by an 8-3 decision to close out the day for the Grizzlies and receive 4.0 team points and in eighth place.

Andeatta started off the tournament, losing a close battle with Cole Laya from Wheeling Jesuit, with the final being a 2-1 decision in favor of Laya. In the consolation bracket ,Andreatta went on to defeat Josiah Seaton from CSU-Pueblo by a 5-2 decision. In the second round of the consolation bracket, Andreatta was defeated by Cole Jones of MSU Moorhead in a 10-6 decision to end his day with 0.5 team points and finish with a 1-2 record.

Udero struggled in his first match, with an 8-3 decision loss to Isaiah Royal from Newberry, following that match, Udero was once again defeated in the first round of the consolation bracket by Nate Keim of Central Okla. in an 8-5 decision.

Hermosillo was not able to get a win on the day as he dropped his first match against Trey Grine of Tiffin who only had one loss on the year coming into the match by a major decision 15-6. His next match in the consolation bracket was against Faris Messai from Gannon, Hermosillo did better in the match but ended up falling by decision 12-5. 

Day two action of National Championships will get underway Saturday morning for Windham and Gipson. Mat action will begin at 8 a.m. Mountain Time.