Park City, Kan. – On day one of the 2024 NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championships, the Maryville wrestling team saw Cole Ritter and Ryan Herman advance through the consolation bracket to earn All-American honors. The duo will be back in action Saturday as matches start at 10 a.m. in Park City, Kan.
 
At 133, Evan Binder recorded a fall at the 4:48 mark to win his preliminary match. However, in his next contest against No. 7 seed Elijan Lusk, he lost an 8-4 decision to drop into the consolation draw. Binder had to face No. 2 seed Quentrevio Campbell of Chadron State, who was upset in the first round, but recorded the upset with a 4-1 decision. He advanced to face No. 8 seed Thierno Diallo of Frostburg State. Binder was down by two points entering the third period. He jumped ahead but Diallo recorded a takedown with four seconds left to pick up the win.
 
Kody Ketchum faced the undefeated top seed in the 141-weight class in Tiffin's Zackary Donathan but dropped an 8-1 decision. Down in the consolation draw, Ketchum squared off against Corey Gamet of Lake Erie and both wrestlers scored one point apiece on escapes as the match moved to sudden victory. However, Gamet picked up a takedown at the 1:04 mark to earn the win.
 
Ritter started his day with a bout versus No. 4 seed Nicholas Coreno of Gannon but was narrowly edged out 6-4. He faced Alec Cook of West Liberty in the consolations and advanced with a fall in just 1:58. Against sixth-seeded Dalton Gimbor of Kutztown, Ritter had an early takedown and held that advantage for a 5-2 decision to advance to Saturday's action and reach All-American status.
 
Herman opened his tourney at 285 by posting a fall at 6:26 to advance to the championship quarterfinals. He took on No. 3 seed Shawn Streck of Central Oklahoma, who is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation in the weight class. Streck proved he is worthy of top billing as he recorded a 13-3 win over Herman. In the consolation draw, Herman scored 10 of the first 11 points and held on for a 12-9 decision to earn All-American honors.