INDIANAPOLIS – The first day of one of the toughest tournaments in all of NCAA Division II is wrapped up and four members of the Maryville wrestling team survive to see day two action. The three that find themselves a spot in day two are Cole Ritter at 174 and Ryan Herman at heavyweight in the champs bracket, while Evan Binder remains alive in the consolation bracket at 133.
 
A small contingent of Saints travelled to the Oklahoma Wesleyan Open in Bartlesville, Okla. Collin Reif's performance was the highlight of the Saints in Oklahoma, earning two extra-point wins on his day.
 
INS & OUTS
Ritter and Herman both started their days with byes, with the duo putting them to good use. Ritter snagged a 18-5 major, scoring two takedowns in each of the first two periods. For Herman, after waiting enduring a long wait for his first match, made quick work, pinning his foe in just 58 seconds.
 
Ritter went onto pick up an 11-4 decision while Herman earned a 4-1 win on a clutch third-period takedown sending both Saints to the quarterfinals.

🤼 | Herminator is quarterfinals bound!

Ryan Herman wins by decision over Caleb Wunsch of Newman 4-1!@MaryvilleWrestl | #BigRedM pic.twitter.com/d4kpARYTwW

— Maryville Athletics (@MaryvilleSaints) December 14, 2024

For Binder, the day started smooth, earning a 4-3 win in the second round, but a tough draw in the third round saw him drop the match via major to No. 5-ranked James Anderson of Ouachita Baptist. He rebounded with a 7-3 decisive win in the consolations to finish his first day.

Outside of the second-day participants, the Saints were dominant on the backside of the brackets as almost every wrestler snagged multiple wins. Sam Shafer out of the 125-bracket earned back-to-back falls, a pin in his first consolation match and then a 16-0 tech in his match after.
 
Hudson Hackbarth at 141 had a very similar path on the backside as Shafer, as after dropping his opening match he rolled into two straight pins.
 
Other matches of note include a JP Homfeld major in the second round of the consolation bracket and a Jeremiah Larson sudden victory in his third match of the day.
 
UP NEXT
Binder, Herman and Ritter will try to keep their Midwest Classic run alive on day two with action set to begin at 9:30 a.m. from the campus of the University of Indianapolis.