DES MOINES, Iowa – The No. 2-ranked Indiana Tech men's wrestling team kicked off the 2019 NAIA National Championships on Friday inside the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center and finished the day in fourth place with 53.5 team points, trailing third place Lindsey Wilson by 2.5 points.
 
Tech had three wrestlers, Sawyer Miller, Erique Early and Gaige Torres, reach the semifinal round while Justin Atkinson and Robert Humphrey battled back in the consolation bracket to make it to day two and secure All-American honors.
 
Miller, seeded second at 125-lbs., picked up a 4-3 decision in his first matchup of the day before knocking off seventh-ranked Hayden Lee of University of the Cumberlands, 3-1, to advance to the semifinals and guarantee an All-American result. Early, ranked second at 133-lbs., overcame an upset bid in his first round matchup with a 5-3 win after going to sudden victory before pinning 10^th-rankd D'earion Stokes of Briar Cliff University at the 5:43 mark.
 
Torres, seeded fourth at 141-lbs., won all three of his matches by decisions, including a 12-6 victory over fifth-ranked Devin Poppen of Southern Oregon University. Atkinson, ranked seventh at 149-lbs., defeated 10^th-ranked Bailey Moore of Marian 10-6 before falling to second-ranked Devin Reynolds of Grand View in the quarterfinals. The redshirt senior would rebound in the consolation bracket with a pin of 12^th-ranked Zac Funderburk of Briar Cliff at the 4:47 mark to advance to day two and secure up his second All-American honor. Humphrey, the eighth-seeded wrestler at 149-lbs., started off his day with a 13-5 major decision before falling 9-7 in sudden victory to ninth-ranked Shonn Roberts of University of Providence. The Fort Wayne, Indiana native responded strong with three straight wins, including a pin over 11^th-ranked Colby Johnson of Baker in 65 seconds, to advance to session three and secure All-American honors.
 
Seniors Jacob Gross, Jake Weimer and Oscar Martinez all saw their collegiate careers come to an end in Session I. Gross went 2-2 a pair of major decisions at 165-lbs.while Martinez went 2-2 at 197-lbs. falling to second-ranked Isaac Bartel of Montana State University – Northern and fifth-ranked Dialo Matsimela of Life, 5-0, and 3-2, respectively.
 
Tech returns to action on Saturday with Session III and IV (Championships) of the 2019 NAIA National Championships. Session III is set to get underway at 11 a.m. EST from the Jacobson Exhibition Center.