Miller moves on to national wrestling quarterfinals in St. Louis
Sophomore 174-pounder Mike Miller advanced to the quarterfinals as the only CMU wrestler to win in the second round Thursday at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo.
Miller qualified for the quarterfinals with a 4-1 decision against Penn sophomore Scott Giffin.
Miller took an early two-point lead with a takedown in the first period. Giffin escaped to bring the match within one point. Miller began the second period in the down position and got a quick escape to reclaim his two-point lead. Riding time at the end of the match gave Miller the final 4-1 lead.
Miller will take on No. 2 seed Michael Cannon from American University for a spot in the semifinals. Cannon is 32-0 on the season and scored a major decision against freshman Jason McCroskey in the first round of the tournament.
Miller can guarantee All-American honors with a win against Cannon today.
Freshman 125-pounder Scotti Sentes had his hopes for a national title ended in the second round by Oklahoma sophomore Joey Fio. Fio won the match in a 5-4 decision.
Sentes tied the match at three with a reversal, but quickly gave up another reversal. A late escape brought Sentes within one point, but there was not enough time left for him to earn a takedown for the win.
Sentes tied a CMU record for most wins by a freshman with his win in the first round.
Senior 165-pounder Trevor Stewart and freshman heavyweight Jarrod Trice both failed to score a takedown in the second round and lost in 3-1 decisions. Junior 141-pounder Steve Brown also lost in the first round, 11-2.
Sentes, Brown, Stewart and Trice all still have an opportunity to finish as All-Americans.
Junior 133-pounder Conor Beebe and junior 141-pounder Tony D'Alie were both eliminated from the tournament with losses in round two consolation matches.
Quarterfinal, semifinal and wrestleback matches take place today. Finals and other All-American matches are Saturday.
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