GENEVA, Ohio – Four Wolverines remain alive out of six at the U23 Freestyle Nationals at the Spire Institute. Evan Bockman is the only one in championship contention, and Yusief Lillie, Kase Mauger, and Isaiah Delgado will fight for a spot on the podium tomorrow.
 
"We got off to a good start today, winning our first nine matches. All of the guys are showing some improvement from our spring training, and that's really positive to see. Evan is looking solid, and Yusief, Kase, and Isaiah are all capable of doing well tomorrow if they stay aggressive with their hand-fighting and attacks," said UVU head coach Greg Williams.
 
Bockman remained undefeated and went 2-0 to advance to tomorrow's quarterfinals. After receiving a first-round bye in his opening match, the No. 5 seed cruised to a 10-0 victory in 3:34 over Jack Kilner (Edinboro RTC). He jumped out to an 8-0 lead after one period before adding two points to put it away early in the second.
 
In the second match of the day, Bockman used another fast start to get out to an 8-1 lead after the first period. He scored four points in the second period for the 12-1 win over Viking Wrestling Club's Owen Braungardt. He will now move into the quarterfinals, meeting NCAA Qualifier and Big Ten Champ Silas Allred (Nebraska).
 
55kg Greco Champion Lillie finished 1-1 on the day and advanced to the round of 16 after a victory over Dalton Whitehall-Gilkes (Iowa) by VSU 10-0. In the round of 16, he led 1-0 heading into the third period before Brett Ungar (Spartan Combat RTC) scored three points to secure the 3-1 victory. In the consolation rounds, he will face Devin Gomez (Western Colorado WC).
 
Mauger cruised in the first two rounds with a 10-0 victory over Shay Horton (Kentucky) and followed it up with an 11-0 win over George Mason's Shawn Nonaka. In the round of 16, he fell to fellow Big 12 foe Julian Farber (Panther WC RTC). The ninth-seeded Mauger will meet the 11th-seeded Maximillian Leete (Massachusetts). The American University foe led AU in wins during the NCAA season.
 
The No. 29 seed Delgado advanced to the round of 16. He used a 10-1 lead to aid him to a 14-3 win over Vince Perez (Chippewa WC). He trailed in the second matchup 4-0 to Evan Mougalian (Pennsylvania RTC), but he quickly responded to take ten of the following 12 points and pick up the 10-6 win. Following a victory over Cayden Rooks (Indiana WC), he took his only loss of the day to Ryan Jack of Wolfpack Wrestling Club. In the next round, Delgado will face Alek Martin (Jackrabbit Wrestling Club)
 
Merrell Morley finished 3-2 on the day in the Freestyle Tournament and picked up a pair of victories over Douglas Dittmer (Club Lucha) and Brooks Sacharczyk (Arkansas RTC) in the morning. Mahonri Rushton finished 2-2 with wins over Kennedy Wyatt (Knights RTC), and Joseph Metz (West Point WC).
 
The U23 Team Trials will wrap up on June 4. The action gets underway at 8:00 a.m. MT and will be available on FloWrestling with live results on Arena.FloWrestling.org.
 
 
Results
 
57kg                           Yusief Lillie (1-1)
R32                            Yusief Lillie (Brunson UVRTC)              Over        Dalton Whitehall-Gilkes (Iowa)          VSU 10-0 (5:09)
R16                            Brett Ungar (Spartan Combat)            Over        Yusief Lillie (Brunson UVRTC)              VPO1 3-1
 
61kg                           Kase Mauger (2-1)
R64                            Kase Mauger (Brunson UVRTC)          Over        Shay Horton (Kentucky)                         VSU 10-0 (1:02)
R32                            Kase Mauger (Brunson UVRTC)          Over        Shawn Nonaka (George Mason)        VSU 11-0 (1:11)
R16                            Julian Farber (Panther WC RTC)         Over        Kase Mauger (Brunson UVRTC)          VSU1 14-4 (5:06)
 
65kg                           Isaiah Delgado (3-1)
R128                          Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC)       Over        Vince Perez (Chippewa WC)                VSU1 14-3 4:36
R64                            Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC)       Over        Evan Mougalian (Pennsylvania RTC) VPO1 10-6
R32                            Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC)       Over        Cayden Rooks (Indiana)                         VP01 1-1
R16                            Ryan Jack (Wolfpack WC)                      Over        Isaiah Delgado (Brunson UVRTC)       VSU 11-0 (3:13)
 
86kg                           Merrell Morley (3-2)
R128                          Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC)      Over        Douglas Dittmer (Club Lucha)             VPO1 13-10
R64                            Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC)      Over        Brooks Sacharczyk (Arkansas RTC)    VPO1 8-2
R32                            Caden Rogers (Lehigh Valley WC)      Over        Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC)      VSU 10-0 (3:41)
C32                             Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC)      Over        Nathan Lapinski (Pennsylvania RTC) VPO1 5-5
C16                             Connor Strong (Pennsylvania RTC)    Over        Merrell Morley (Brunson UVRTC)      VPO1 10-1
 
86kg                           Mahonri Rushton (2-2)
R64                            Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) Over        Kennedy Wyatt (Knights RTC)              VSU1 17-7 4:54
R32                            Cael Valencia (Sunkist Kids WC)         Over        Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) VPO1 6-4
C32                             Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) Over        Joseph Metz (West Point WC)            VIN 1:51 0-3
C16                             Ty McGeary (Pennsylvania)                  Over        Mahonri Rushton (Brunson UVRTC) VPO1 4-3                
 
92kg                           Evan Bockman (1-0)
R32                            Evan Bockman (Brunson UVRTC)       Over        Jack Kilner (Edinboro RTC)                    VSU 10-0 (3:34)