NCAA Division II Championships bracket (PDF)  l  SR1 recap  l  Coach Rivera, McKeown discuss regional

EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University's three national qualifiers for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships learned their first-round match-ups on Tuesday, as the bracket was released for the tournament which will be held March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Redshirt junior Brendan McKeown (174), the Super Region 1 Tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, and redshirt junior Braden Turner (157), a returning All-American, will both be making their second trips to the NCAA Championships.

Freshman Tyson Searer (197) will be along for his first trip to the NCAA's. Last year's 197-pounder, Ed Ebewo, went 5-1 and won four straight consolation bouts to finish third in the country.

ESU will send 11 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in its first four years in Division II. The Warriors have produced three All-Americans in Shane Mallory (2010 – 2nd at 184), Ebewo (2012 – 3rd at 197) and Turner (2012 – 6th at 157).

ESU had four national qualifiers last year in Turner, McKeown, Ebewo and Thad Frick (165), and placed 16th in the team standings.

There are 16 wrestlers in each weight class, with eight earning All-America honors. The national qualifiers are determined at four “Super Region” tournaments, with the top four at each weight advancing. Two wins in the national tournament guarantee All-America status.

McKeown earned the Outstanding Wrestler honor by claiming the 174-pound title with a 3-2 decision over Mike Williams (UNC-Pembroke), who was a three-time regional champion and the returning national champ at 165 pounds.

McKeown is 20-1 on the season with 16 straight wins, with his only loss coming by injury default. He will face a fellow two-time national qualifier in the first round in Jacob Cramer (Tiffin), a sophomore with a 21-12 record.

The other section of his bracket has two-time national qualifier Blake Sorensen (Upper Iowa), a sophomore with a 32-11 record, and Travis Budke (Fort Hays State), a redshirt senior with a 19-12 record.

Turner (20-6) will open against Clint Poster (St. Cloud State), a redshirt freshman with a 32-3 record who was ranked No. 7 in Division II going into the Super Region 2 Tournament, where he was the 157-pound champion.

His second match will come against either Jeffrey Pelton (Notre Dame, Ohio), a senior with a 15-3 record, or Chase White (Nebraska-Kearney), a redshirt freshman with a 28-10 record who is ranked No. 3 in Division II.

Turner was ranked No. 5 in DII and first in the region entering the regional before wrestling back from a loss in the semifinals. He placed fourth in the regional, taking a medical forfeit in the consolation final.

At 197, Searer (18-9) will take on a fellow first-year wrestler in Romero Cotton (Nebraska-Kearney), a redshirt freshman who is 6-1 and won the Super Region 4 title.

The other section of his bracket has Carl Broghammer (Upper Iowa), a two-time national qualifier and the third-place finisher in 2011, who is ranked No. 1 in DII. He is 36-4 as a redshirt junior and takes on Znick Ferrell (Central Oklahoma), a junior with a 24-11 record, in the opening round.

Searer entered the regional ranked No. 6 in DII and went 4-2 last weekend, falling in the semifinals and working back through the consolations, eventually winning a true fourth-place match to secure his NCAA bid.