Lakeland College

This Week in Wrestling: NCAA Great Lakes Regional Preview

Athletics - posted on 2/21/2012

After winning a share of its fifth-straight Northern Wrestling Association title, the Lakeland College wrestling team heads to Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 25 to participate in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Augsburg College.

The Great Lakes Regional consists of 15 teams from the Midwest and West who will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships, which will be held March 9-10 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis. A total of 34 wrestlers will qualify for the national tournament from the Great Lakes Regional, including first-, second- and third-place finishers in each weight class, plus four at-large wrestlers selected by the regional coaches.

The Muskies finished ninth in the regional last year and sent their fourth straight grappler to the National Tournament. Lakeland will depend on senior Robby Frias and junior Ryan Renon to lead Lakeland to its fifth-straight national qualifier.

Frias is coming off a prolific showing at the NWA Tournament where he took the title in the 149-pound weight class and was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Year. The Oak Lawn, Ill., native has tallied a 27-11 record and hopes to finish of his senior year as a national qualifier.

Renon has had a dominant season in the 165-pound weight class and hopes to add All-American to his impressive wrestling resume. The grappler won his third consecutive NWA title at 165 and has tallied a remarkable 24-4 mark this season.

The Wrightstown, Wis., native is 10th among Division III wrestlers in technical falls as he's recorded six. He has been ranked as high as No. 7 in both D3wrestle.com and the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Brute - Adidas individual rankings.

Renon finished fourth at the Great Lakes Regional last year and will be on the attack for a top-two finish in Minneapolis this year.

Also returning to the regional for the Muskies are senior Miguel Luis (157), junior Joel Frias (141) and sophomores Grant Franson (125), Brent Steudel (157) and Tom Phalin (285). Luis and Franson are coming off second-place finishes at the NWA Tournament and look to make noise in the 157 and 125 weight classes, respectively.

Freshmen Eduardo Orihuela (133), Juan Diaz (141), Jake Maechtle (149), Logan Gueths (165), Matt Weber (157), Vince Cardarelle (184) and David Galarno (174) will make their first appearance at the Great Lakes Regional.

Galarno earned his first NWA title at 174 as part of a solid debut to his collegiate career. The New Holstein, Wis., native recorded seven straight wins, including six straight pins at the North Central College Invite on Dec. 10 to finish third on the day.

See what head coach Mike DeRoehn has the team focusing on for a successful regional showing: http://youtu.be/mfARAkJOuaw

Augsburg will be live video streaming the championship, semifinal and true fourth-place matches starting at approximately 1:30 p.m. You can watch here: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/augsburg.portal#

Fans can follow their favorite wrestlers throughout the day using Track Wrestling: http://www.twnode3.com/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?sport=wrestling&TIM=1329775327106&pageName=&ie=false&frameSize=579 .

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