CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa  Western Colorado on Friday assured itself of four All-Americans by the end of Day 1 at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship, and the award haul could be even greater with two Mountaineers, Jason Hanenberg and Hunter Mullin, wrestling in Saturday semifinal matches.

The Mountaineers will enter the second and final day of the championship with 31.5 points and in fifth place.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mullin, ranked eighth nationally at 165 pounds and a 4-3 round-one winner, recorded one of the bigger upsets at the national event, taking down No. 1 seed Shane Gantz from Wisconsin-Parkside in the second round with a 7-6 decision.
• After a scoreless first period and entering the third tied at 2-2, Mullin fell behind early in the third when Gantz managed an escape and soon after a takedown for a 5-2 lead. Mullin was able to respond with his own escape 14 seconds later and then added an almost immediate takedown to pull even.
• The ride lasted just nine seconds though, as Gantz had another escape but Mullin clinched the upset with a takedown with 26 seconds remaining and rode his way to the victory and a second consecutive All-American honor.
• Ahead of Mullin's upset came Hanenberg's pair of falls at 149 to earn Western's initial All-American result of the day.
• Ranked fifth nationally, Hanenberg opened the tournament with a first-period pin of Phillip Sims of Quincy then advanced into the semifinal round with a third period pin of seventh-ranked Joey Bianchini of St. Cloud State.
• Hanenberg earned a first-period takedown for the lead on a reviewed takedown – initially ruled not a takedown but challenged by head coach Charlie Pipher – then added an escape and takedown in the second before finishing off Bianchini with a mid-third period takedown on a nearside cradle for his second pin of the day.
• Seventh-seed at 125 Patrick Allis opened his tournament with a back-and-forth match against Christian Mejia of McKendree, finally earning a 9-8 decision with the riding time point to advance to Round 2.
• That brought about a rematch of a rematch with 2-seed Brendon Garcia of Adams State, who had earlier this season earned a 3-2 decision over Allis in a dual meet against the Grizzlies, and a 3-1 decision in the championship match of the Super Region VI tournament.
• Garcia won Friday's match 8-2, sending Allis to the consolation side of the bracket where he responded resoundingly with a third-period technical fall of Zach Shupp of Newberry. Tied 3-3 after the opening period, Allis then dominated Shupp the rest of the way with an escape, a pair of takedowns and a trio of 4-point nearfalls to end the match at the 6:40 mark.
• The result assured Allis of a spot in at least the 7th/8th-place match, cementing Western's third All-American certificate.
• On a similar path to Allis was the Mountaineers' Cole Hernandez, who took his opening-round match at the No. 6 seed on a 10-2 major over Jack MacKiernan of American International. The tables were turned, however, in the second round where third-seed Austin Eldredge of Nebraska-Kearney sent Hernandez into the consolation bracket with a 16-0 tech fall.
• The defeat didn't weigh on Hernandez as in his next match he broke a scoreless deadlock after one by outscoring Owen Butler of University of Indianapolis 8-2 the rest of the way for the decision that put him in play for, at worst, the 7th/8th-place match – the Mountaineers' fourth assured All-American nod.
• Western's fifth participant, Dean Noble at 141, dropped an opening-round 5-1 decision before bowing out of the tournament in the wrestle-backs on a high-scoring 23-10 major decision loss.

UP NEXT

• Allis will start Day 2 off for Western with his consolation bracket match against Brandon Mendoza of Tiffin. A win in that match advances Allis into the consolation semifinal, the winner moving on to the 3rd-4th-place match with the loser dropping into the 5th/6th-place match.
• Progressing through the weights during the morning matches, Hernandez will take to the mat next, facing Ashland's Nate Barrett with the same path ahead as Allis'.
• Hanenberg will eventually carry the mantle for Western with a semifinal match against top-seeded Jacob Ealy of Pitt-Johnston.
• Shortly thereafter, Mullin will take on fourth-seeded David Hunsberger of Lander University in one of the 165 semifinals.