LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The Westminster College men's wrestling team and senior Montgomery Mills traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Friday and Saturday to compete in the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships.
Mills placed third overall in the regional to qualify for nationals. He was the second Blue Jay to qualify for nationals in program history, after Sean Sax, who qualified first in 2018-19.
Mills had a tournament to remember, pinning the No. 5 and No. 4 ranked wrestlers in his weight class on Friday to advance to the national semifinals on Saturday. He lost to the No. 1 ranked wrestler and eventual national champion by a 9-4 decision.
Mills moved over to the consolation bracket for a chance to compete for third place. In the consolation semifinal, Mills pinned the second-ranked wrestler in his division to advance to the third-place match.
In the third-place match, Mills wasted little time, winning by pinfall in 1:44.
With the pinfall victory, Mills became the first-ever All-American in Blue Jay wrestling history. He finished the tournament with four pins, pinning the No. 5, No. 4, and No. 7 ranked wrestlers in the country in that order.
Mills was also awarded the Manuel Gorriaran Award for the most pins in the least time.
197-pound weight class: Montgomery Mills
Mills (28-11) placed third and scored 20½ team points.
Champ. Round 1: Westminster's Mills (28-11) won by fall (3:23) over Augsburg's Parker Venz (23-8).
Quarterfinal: Westminster's Mills (28-11) won by fall (3:58) over Wisconsin-La Crosse's Ben Kawczynski (27-6).
Semifinal: Wartburg's Massoma Endene (27-0) won by a 9-4 decision over Westminster's Mills (28-11).
Cons. semifinal: Westminster's Mills (28-11) won by fall (3:23) over Coast Guard's Coy Spooner (8-3).
Third-place match: Westminster's Mills (28-11) won by fall (1:44) over Wilkes's Cameron Butka (39-4).
Courtesy of Westminster College Athletics. (Contributed Photo)
Courtesy of Westminster College Athletics. (Contributed Photo)