WARRENBURG, Mo. – Three Saints of Maryville wrestling are Natty Bound! Cole Ritter (174), Ryan Herman (285) and Jeremiah Larson (197) placed in the top three of their class at the NCAA Super Region IV tournament, advancing to Indianapolis for the NCAA Division II Nationals.
 
For Ritter and Herman, it came in big ways as they both claimed the regional title at their weight class, with it being the second-straight regional title for Herman. Larson landed in third place to punch his ticket to the Circle City.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
While Ritter and Larson got byes in the first round, No. 1-seeded and No. 2-ranked Herman went to work quickly, downing his first opponent 1-0 to send him to the quarters. Herman kept the shutouts coming with one over Kentucky Wesleyan's heavyweight in a 4-0 victory.
 
A familiar foe in Cale Gray of Indianapolis was seen in the semifinals, with Gray sitting as just one of two people to best Herman all season. Revenge was Herman's as he bested Gray 2-1 to send him to a finals match against Tyler Haynes of McKendree.
 
Herman controlled the pace through and through against Haynes, earning a second-period escape. The riding time point gave Herman the 2-0 and his second regional title at 285.

Ritter, who entered as the one seed, started with a major victory in his first bout of the day. Just a match later, he punched his ticket to the dance, pinning Central Oklahoma's Zane Coleman in just 26 seconds.
 
In the finals, Ritter faced off against No. 7 Matt Ortiz of McKendree, who he defeated in Lebanon, Ill. in the regular season. It was once again Ritter's hand being raised after a 4-3 decision.
 
At 197, Larson rebounded after a semifinal loss to march right back into the third-place match, winning via major decision to earn his spot at Nationals.
 
The Saints had three wrestlers fall just one match short, with Sam Shafer (125), Evan Binder (133) and Dalton Litzsinger (184) all placing fourth.
 
UP NEXT
Three Saints are heading to Indianapolis for the NCAA National Tournament as apart of the NCAA Winter Sports Festival. The tournament, spanning March 14, to March 15, will take place at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. More details to come on MaryvilleSaints.com