The Ashland University wrestling team brought home six individual qualifications for the NCAA Championships last weekend at the Midwest Super Region Duals.

As a team, AU finished second in overall standings with 106.5 points, close behind first place Wisconsin-Parkside who tallied 121 total points.

Three-time All-American Joe Brant will make his fourth trip to the tournament as the first place wrestler in the 197-pound weight class.

“We want to get him a national title,” said Hutchens. “Obviously when you get to the meet there will be a handful of people who can go either way and you just have to be on that day. But that is his goal and that is what he has been training for this whole year and now it’s here and he is ready to do it.”

At the Region Duals, Brant had a rematch against Tiffin’s Jake Cramer, whom he faced at the Eagle’s final home meet on Feb. 12. Brant defeated Crammer once again in a 3-2 decision, improving his record 24-2.

Bobby Manson was the next Eagle to qualify for the Championships after defeating his opponent from Newberry College, Nick Lankford, in a 7-2 decision in a semi-final matchup. Manson fell in the finals to Wisconsin-Parkside’s Pernevlon Sheppard.

“Bob has never been there before,” said Hutchens. “He has never been to nationals or placed at the Regional Tournament. He was in a close match and even though he had a tough loss in the finals, we were still celebrating the fact that he was there and made it to nationals. Once you’re at NCAA’s, anything can happen.”

Redshirt junior Brent Fickle won three matches in a row, placing himself in the championship match of the 149-weight class. In the final dual, Fickle defeated Findlay Oiler Nic Goebel in a 10-9 decision.

“Fickle was losing both in the quarterfinals and the semis but he was able to get a cradle in the third periods and get a pin, which was really exciting,” said Hutchens. “It showed a lot of heart from him coming back from two tough matches and get to the finals to qualify.”

Fickle was not the only Eagle who needed heart to pull out some wins. Three more Eagles qualified after spending much of the weekend in consolation matches and working their way back to the top.

Freshman Chandler Minnard worked his way from the bottom to obtain the fourth place bid after battling in the consolation rounds through the weekend. He improved his overall record to 16-9 heading into the NCAA Championships.

Jordan Murphy qualified for the championships with his 4-1 record in the Super Region Tournament. His showing improved his overall record to 21-8.

Redshirt Brandon O’Neil claimed the fourth and final bid in his 184-weight class. O’Neil went 4-1 in the tournament and began with two back-to-back wins in the opening and quarterfinal rounds before losing in the semifinal round.

Now those six athletes will spend the next two weeks preparing for their final tournament of the 2015-2016 season.

“The preparation is very similar to that of the Regional Tournament,” said Hutchens. “This week will be tough as we get the system ready, and then we will back off next week quite a bit and get feeling good and mentally prepared.”

The six qualifiers and the AU coaching staff will travel to South Dakota and compete at the NCAA Championships March 11 and 12.