INDIANAPOLIS – With ten teams descending upon Nicoson Hall for the NCAA Super Regional IV tournament, the University of Indianapolis wrestling team walked away with five Greyhounds punching their tickets to Witchita, Kan. Those wrestlers were headlined by reigning GLVC Wrestler of the Year Derek Blubaugh's No. 2 finish at 197. He was joined in the Nationals crew by a quartet of third-place finishers in Jackson Hoover at 149, Owen Zablocki at 157, Trey Sizemore at 174 and Owen Butler at 184.
 
On the day the Greyhounds finished in fifth place in the region, with Central Oklahoma once again capturing the Super Region IV crown. The Hounds in total earned 85 team points with seven of the ten Greyhounds scoring points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Blubaugh, with a first-round bye, was aggressive early, dominating Erik Tomanek of Newman with a 17-2 tech fall in just a minute and a half. That fire kept rolling as a semifinal victory saw him take downs Jeramiah Larson of Maryville for the second time in two weeks, having beat him at the GLVC duals.
 
That win set up the eventual matchup with reigning NCAA Champ Dalton Abney of Central Oklahoma. However, it was Blubaugh's day as Abney captured the 5-0 decision, handing Blubaugh his first loss against DII opposition this season.
 

BLUBAUGH HEADING BACK TO NATIONALS????

197 | (No. 2) Derek Blubaugh wins by decision (6-0) over Jeramiah Larson of Maryville#HoundsWrestling #AlphaDogs #OffTheChain pic.twitter.com/Mzc5XUAoie

— UIndy Wrestling (@UIndyWrestling) March 2, 2024

Hoover also went straight into the quarters, where he captured some revenge over Dillion Nichols of Drury, avenging a loss from early this season with a 12-7 victory. A late fall loss in the semis set up a wrestle-back for Hoover as he demolished a Quincy Hawk in his first consolation match. Wrestling for a spot at Nationals, Hoover captured a 7-6 win. With the win, Hoover earned his first career trip to the big dance.
 

HOOVER IS GOING TO NATIONALS ??

149 | Jackson Hoover wins by decision (7-6) over Garrett Lyons of Central Missouri #HoundsWrestling #AlphaDogs #OffTheChain pic.twitter.com/JQmlNWGFGJ

— UIndy Wrestling (@UIndyWrestling) March 2, 2024

Zablocki, the elder statesman of the group, started his day downing Drury's Will Kuster 10-8 to earn a spot in the semis. A tough battle with Central Missouri's' Anthony Erikson sent Z to the consolation bracket where he kept forcing out gritty ones, first over Josh Laubach of McKendree, his second time handing Laubach a loss. His second nailbiter win came over Ouachita's Jaylon Otero, where the pair battled to a 1-1 overtime. A shot on the edge of the mat by Zablocki was eventually the decider as he clinched his first trip to nationals.
 
Sizemore, with expectations high, proved them right, adding two falls to his already team leading number to bring him to 12 on the season and a spot in the semis against McKendree's Matt Ortiz. Having already beaten Ortiz twice, it was a tough battle as overtime was needed to seal the deal with it falling in the Bearcats favor. A win over Central Missouri's Nolan Saale and his third pin of the day in the third-place match was what was needed for Sizemore to etch himself a spot in Kansas.
 
Butler, the only other national qualifier from 2023 to return to the Greyhounds lineup outside of Blubaugh, was also fortunate to start his journey in the quarters. The high-paced offense of Butler was too much for the Quincy Hawk Judah Yates to handle was Butler showed out with a 3:44 tech in the first round. After dropping his semifinal bout, Butler added to his team leading tech fall total with another in the consolation semifinal. Facing Zeke Waltz from McKendree for a spot in the big one, Butler replaced his performance from earlier this season, winning 11-6 to make it five qualifiers for the Hounds.
 
Blake Mulkey captured victory in his first two rounds of action, but a pair of losses in the semi's and the consolation semis ended his day and his run with the Greyhounds. Mulkey ends his year with the Hounds with an 20-11 record and a All-GLVC third-team and while placing sixth at this year's regional.
 
Nathan Smith, as the Greyhounds primary starter at 125, wrapped up his day at sixth after winning his first match of the day. Much like Mulkey, losses in the semis and conso semis ended his run.
 
Both Noah Cantu and Jay Thompson wrapped up their career as Greyhounds at this year's regional.
 
HOUND BYTES
Head Coach Jason Warthan on his guys pushing through to Nationals…
"I'm proud of the effort, especially after a tough semifinal round. After the semifinals we had one guy in the finals and ended up with four guys working their way through the wrestle backs. A couple heartbreakers in there, but as a wise man once told me 'you seldom get everything you want in sports.' That certainly holds true today."
 
Warthan on the five who are heading to Kansas…
"All in all, five guys to nationals, five guys that can do damage at nationals, I think they're battle tested, I think coming through tough competition in some high-pressure situations, I think they'll be ready to make a push to stand on the podium in a couple weeks."
 
UP NEXT
The big one, the final showdown, the last dance, whatever you may call it, it's time for NCAA Nationals in Witchia, Kan. The group of five Hounds will make the trip west for the tournament that is set to begin March 15th  and conclude the next day on the 16th.