INDIANAPOLIS – After day one of the 46th annual Midwest Classic the Greyhounds still have two competing for crowns in their respective weight classes, while six others are still vying for placement finishes heading into day two. 

The Midwest Classic is one of the largest NCAA Division II wrestling tournaments in the country, consisting of 47 total teams, and 21 of the top-25 nationally ranked teams in Division II.

Cale Gray (285) and Gavin Garcia (149) both came out of Saturday unscathed, going a perfect 3-0 on the day. Along with Gray and Garcia advancing, the likes of; Nathan Smith (125), Aidan Sprague (133), Logan Farnell (165), Shane Bates (174), Christian Chavez (184), and Ethan Farnell (197), will all compete in tomorrow's consolation brackets.

INS & OUTS
In 149, Garcia took care of business with a 19-4 tech fall win in his first contest of the day against Bridgeport's Daniel Mahoney, which consisted of a whopping five takedowns and four-point near fall. His second match against Central Oklahoma's Cole Mayfield, propelled him into tomorrow's quarterfinals. Garcia used a second period takedown and a third period escape to squeak out a 4-3 win.

Gray advanced to his second straight Midwest Classic quarterfinal today with two decision wins and a tech fall victory. He cruised in his first match of the day, keeping a clean sheet with two take downs and two four-point near falls to earn a 16-0 win. His second bout of the day started off even, but Gray eventually took control in the second and third periods, earning all nine points over those five minutes.

Gray's main event for day one came in the third round against West Liberty's Parker Bentley, who competed in 197 last year. With the score all square at 1-1 with the seconds ticking down in the third period, Gray got the take down he needed with 10 seconds left to secure his spot in the quarters.

The Farnell brothers in 165 and 197 continued to showcase why they're a duo to be reckoned with in the GLVC this season. The freshman, Ethan Farnell, earned four victories on the day, the most of any Greyhound today. He notched two tech falls and pin victory in five matches played, and capitalized on a strong first period in his final match of the day to stay alive.

Ethan's older brother, Logan Farnell (165), did much of the same as his younger brother in his matches today. He started the day with a fall and tech fall win before falling to the No. 11-seeded Bryce Dauphin. He capped his day with a gritty 19-18 win that included a last second escape to clinch the back-and-forth fourth round consolation dual.

Along with Farnell, Bates also earned three wins today, starting his day with a second period tech fall win. He fell to the No. 1-seeded Cole Ritter from Maryville, but rebounded with a hard fought 7-5 comeback win to end his day, where he used a third period escape and take down to push his way into day two.

Sprague (133) made his return to the mats this weekend. He dropped his first match of the day, but turned his day around quickly with two tight decision wins that earned him a spot in day two of the Midwest Classic.

In 125, Smith had himself an eventful day, having to work in all three of his matches today. In his first contest a second period reversal against Seton Hill's Jacob Sombronski proved to be the difference, while in his second match he fell to Emmanuel's Brayden Mitchell after a controversial penalty was given in the final seconds of the match, leading to sudden victory, where Mitchell would come out on top.

Smith didn't let that affect him as he captured a four-point near fall in the third period to earn the 8-3 decision win in his final match today.

Chavez (184) was the final Greyhound to advance today with two convincing wins, a tech fall and major decision, after dropping his opening match of the day via decision. Chavez earned a stellar 11 points in the first period of his third round consolation rout.

Luke Robards (157) earned himself one win today over Fairmont State's Jim Green in his opening match. Zach Haughton (141) dropped his only two matches of the day Saturday, including a tightly contested 8-5 sudden victory match in his second bout.

UP NEXT
The Greyhound duo of Garcia and Gray will be in search of Midwest Classic titles tomorrow, while six others will push for a placement finish in the 46th edition of this event.