WICHITA, Kan. - On Friday the Marian wrestling competed in the third and fourth sessions of the NAIA National Championship, with Anthony Hughes and Elliott Rodgers remaining in the tournament. Hughes and Rodgers both advanced from the morning session to the evening, but in the evening only Hughes would prevail to reach the All-American rounds.

Anthony Hughes - 125

• Hughes went 2-0 on day one of the NAIA Championship, and in the NAIA Quarterfinals he wrestled No. 1 Aden Reeves of Grand View
  • Reeves got the upper-hand with a first period takedown, and led 3-0 entering the final period
  • In the third period, Hughes made his comeback, scoring two takedowns to tie the match 6-6 after Reeves scored three points in the period
  • The match went to overtime, but in the period Reeves scored a takedown to win by sudden-victory 9-6
• Hughes bounced into the consolation bracket, wrestling against No. 14 Matteo Vargo of the University of the Cumberlands
  • In the blood round, Hughes jumped in front 3-1 after the first period
  • Vargo made a comeback to tie going into the third period with a 3-1 score, and in the final period both wrestlers match with three points each to force overtime
  • Hughes scored a takedown in the overtime session, exacting the previous sudden defeat with a 10-7 sudden victory
• The win sealed Hughes' first-ever NAIA All-American honor, and advanced him to wrestle against No. 5 Angel Banda of Reinhardt
  • After winning twice by sudden victory, Hughes built up an early lead with two first period takedowns
  • The Knight finished a win by fall in the second period, winning at the 4:31 mark
• Hughes' win advances him to take on Allen Calderon of Indiana Tech on Saturday
• Hughes is 4-1 overall at the NAIA Championships
  • If the Marian wrestler is victorious, he will advance to the third place match against either Brody Gee of Saint Mary or Vonn Fenn of Southern Oregon. 
  • A loss would drop the Knight to the fifth place match against the loser of Gee and Fenn

Elliott Rodgers - 157

• Rodgers went 1-1 on Thursday between sessions one and two
• The senior wrestled against Diego Machado of St. Ambrose in his first match of the day
  • Rodgers dominated the second period, scoring seven of his eight points as he went on to win by an 8-4 decision
• The win pushed Rodgers into the blood round, wrestling Fabian Padilla of Life in the fourth session
  • Rodgers fell behind early trailing 5-1 after the first period
  • The senior scored a point in the third period, but was unable to complete his comeback, falling 5-2
• Rodgers ended his NAIA Championship march with a 2-2 record, ending one win short of the All-American rounds

Anthony Hughes will wrestle at 12:00 p.m EST on Saturday in the All-American rounds, aiming to reach the third place match. 

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