LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Nothing was going to stand in the way of Konnor Schmidt from winning the 197-pound title at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Region IV Championships. Not even if it was the No. 1 ranked wrestler in Division II. Schmidt earned his first Region IV title and helped Western State Colorado University wrestling to a fifth place team finish at the Region IV Championships on Saturday in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
 
Schmidt was one of three Mountaineers to qualify for the Division II National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 9-10. Making the trip with Schmidt will be Shawn Beiriger at 157 pounds and Brandon Supernaw at 174 pounds.
 
As a team, Western placed fifth at the regional championships, scoring 73.5 points. The Mountaineers won five matches by way of fall and one by technical fall during the two-day tournament.
 
After making his way to the finals at 197 pounds, eighth ranked Konnor Schmidt wrestled Simon Fraser University's Morgan Smith, ranked first in Division II.
 
Schmidt fell behind early and was trailing 5-1 entering the third period. Starting from the bottom position, Schmidt escaped, and then earned a takedown near the edge of the mat. Now trailing 5-4, Schmidt turned Smith earning a four-point nearfall, nearly pinning Smith and winning the title bout 8-5.
 
Schmidt, a redshirt sophomore, will make his second appearance at the NCAA Division II National Championships, after qualifying last season.
 
In the 157-pound final, Western's Shawn Beiriger faced Newman University's Tyler Miles. Beiriger was unable to defeat the Newman wrestler, but finished second overall and qualified for his first NCAA Division II Championship Tournament.
 
In the 174-pound final, it was a matchup between Division II's second and third ranked wrestlers, as Supernaw, ranked third, went up against California Baptist University's Nolan Kistler. It was also a rematch of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship final this season and a rematch from last season's Region IV Championships 174-pound final. Kistler defeated Supernaw at the RMAC Championships by a 10-4 decision earlier in the season.

This time, the score was even closer, but the result was the same, with Kistler winning by decision, 4-1.
 
In the 184-pound third place match, Brendon Gonzales faced Newman University's Noel Torres, ranked 10^th in Division II. The match went back-and-forth, but Torres came out on-top, winning by 9-3 decision.
 
Gonzales was the tournament's fourth place finisher, but needed to win a true-fourth match against Adams State University's Richard Bencomo to decide who would be going to the National Championships. Bencomo defeated Gonzales earlier in the tournament.
 
Against Bencomo in the true-fourth match, Gonzales fell behind early, but came storming back in the third period. However, Gonzales was unable to come away with a victory, falling by 9-7 decision.
 
Gonzales made the 184-pound third place match, defeating Fort Hays State University's Micah Felton to open Saturday in the consolation semifinals. Gonzales defeated Felton by 7-1 decision.
 
Trenton Piatt placed sixth at 125 pounds at the 2018 Region IV Championships. Piatt entered Saturday wrestling in the consolation semifinals, looking to make the third place bout later in the day. However, Colorado School of Mines' Zach Gracia was also trying to make the third place match. Gracia defeated Piatt by 4-3 decision and the Western wrestler moved into the fifth place match.
 
Piatt met San Francisco State University's Brandon Vu in the fifth place match. At the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships just two weeks prior, Vu defeated Piatt by 10-7 decision. Piatt was unable to avenge the loss, falling to Vu by major decision, 18-4, and finishing the tournament in sixth place.
 
California Baptist University finished as team champions with 114.5 team points.