The first day of the NCAA III Region VI Wrestling Regional is in the books. The Norse, ranked No. 10 in the NCAA III Tournament Coaches Poll, are in fifth place from the field of 18 teams with 85.5 points. Wartburg College sits atop the leader board with 121, followed by Coe College with 112.5 and Loras College 110.5 that rounds out the top-three. Day two will begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. starting with the championship semifinals and consolation third round.

Region VI Championships Web Site

Four Norse advanced to the semifinal round of the championship brackets, and a win tomorrow morning will secure a trip to the NCAA III National Championships. The top-three place finishers in each bracket will qualify for the season finale. 

Nationally ranked No. 10 Connor Kidd (133), a 2025 All-American, will face No. 9 Connor Fiser of Loras College.  These two met earlier this year on Jan. 24 and Kidd lost to Fiser (8-6). Today Kidd posted two falls and increased his career total to 55 that ranks tied for second on Luther's all-time list with Garrett South (2002-05).

No. 1 Clayton McDonough (165), a two-time All-American, improved to (45-0) for the year thanks to three falls. With these wins he tied Luther's career wins record with a mark of 149-24. He is tied with Jeff Freidhof (1997-2000) who had a record of 149-53. McDonough will face No. 15 Aiden Brosinski of Wartburg College in the semifinals and this will be a first time meeting this year. 

No. 6 Bryce McDonough (174) will face No. 12 Mike Slade of Wartburg College. These two squared off in Waverly on Dec. 5, during the first conference dual of the year, and McDonough posted a (10-3) victory.

Ben Strehlow (197) is looking to make his second consecutive trip to the National Championships. Strehlow will face Jean Ngoma of Coe College in the semifinals. The two faced each other during the A-R-C Duals on Jan. 24 and Strehlow posted a (5-1) victory. 

On the consolation side of the brackets, Mateo Ochoa (141), Peter Hollingshead (157), and Griffin Schultz (184) are still alive. Each will need to win three consecutive matches tomorrow to place third and earn a trip to the national finale.