GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Washington and Lee wrestling team advanced five wrestlers to the semifinals and sits in second-place out of 20 teams after day one of the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by Messiah College on Friday.
 
Seventh-ranked Stevens leads the team standings with 82.0 points, just 1.5 points ahead of the Generals, who totaled 80.5 points on the first day.  Messiah, ranked 16th nationally, sits in third-place with 78.5 points, while Washington & Jefferson (54.5) and Ferrum (54.0) round out the Top 5.
 
Individually, first-year Riley Parker (Virginia Beach, Va. / First Colonial), junior Bryce Crew (St. Mary's, Ga. / Camden County), sophomore Ryan Luth (Milford, Conn. / Joseph A. Foran) and seniors Shane Conners (Mount Airy, Md. / South Carroll) and Rexx Hallyburton (Bishop, Ga. / Oconee County) all advanced to the semifinals and are just one win away from qualifying for the NCAA Division III National Championship.  The top three wrestlers in each weight class all receive a bid to nationals.
 
Parker received a forfeit to open the tournament and then he posted a win by fall (5:00) over Shane Casey of Lycoming in the quarterfinals.  He will face Messiah's Sean Redington in Saturday's 125-pound semifinal match.
 
Crew notched a pair of wins by fall to advance to the 141-pound semifinals, where he will meet Troy Stanich of Stevens.  He pinned Tyson McDuffy of York in 0:59 and then knocked off Ryker Eckenbarger of McDaniel with a pin in 5:15.
 
Luth recorded a pair of technical fall victories to advance to the 157-pound semifinal match where he will face Stephen Maloney of Messiah.  He notched a 19-1 win over Cole Ruffo in the opener and the posted a 16-1 win over Alexander LaVeck in the quarterfinals.
 
Conners breezed into the 165-pound semifinals with a 15-0 technical fall over Thiel's Peyton Hearn and a 12-2 major decision over Matt Pangle of Messiah.  He will face Stevens' Thomas Poklukuha in the semifinal match.
 
Hallyburton downed Waynesburg's Dan Verhovsek by a score of 9-2 and then he logged a 13-4 major decision over William Myers of York.  He will next face Bruce Parola of Stevens in the 184-pound semifinals on Saturday.
 
Several others are still alive in the consolation brackets, including sophomore 133-pounder Charlie Cunningham (Pequannock, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep), first-year 149-pounder Alex Winant (Chester, N.J. / West Morris Mendham) and junior 174-pounder Nick Konovalchik (North Andover, Mass. / Brooks School).  All three are currently 2-1 overall and will vie for third-place and the final NCAA bid in each weight class.
 
Saturday's action begins at 11:00 am from the campus of Messiah College.
   
125 Pounds
Riley Parker (W&L) d. Austin Ryan (Waynesburg); Forfeit
Riley Parker (W&L) d. Shane Casey (Lycoming); Fall 5:00
Riley Parker (W&L) vs. Sean Redington (Messiah) (Semifinals)
 
133 Pounds
Charlie Cunningham (W&L) d. Jack Bauer (Wilkes); Fall 2:48
Levi Englman (Ferum) d. Charlie Cunningham (W&L); 5-2
Charlie Cunningham (W&L) d. Paul Bauberger (Greensboro); 8-1
Charlie Cunnigham (W&L) vs. Joseph Jones (Averett)

141 Pounds
Bryce Crew (W&L) d. Tyson McDuffy (York); Fall 0:59
Bryce Crew (W&L) d. Ryker Eckenbarger (McDaniel); Fall 5:15
Bryce Crew (W&L) vs. Troy Stanich (Stevens) (Semifinals)
 
149 Pounds
Colin Devlin (Gettysburg) d. Alex Winant (W&L); MD 12-2
Alex Winant (W&L) d. Jace Guy (Waynesburg); 9-5
Alex Winant (W&L) d. Evan Widing (Delaware Valley); 9-5
Alex Winant (W&L) vs. Raymond Kable (McDaniel)

157 Pounds
Ryan Luth (W&L) d. Cole Ruffo (PSU-Behrend); TF 19-1
Ryan Luth (W&L) d. Alexander LaVeck (McDaniel); TF 16-1
Ryan Luth (W&L) vs. Stephen Maloney (Messiah) (Semifinals)

165 Pounds
Shane Conners (W&L) d. Peyton Hearn (Thiel); TF, 15-0
Shane Conners (W&L) d. Matt Pangle (Messiah); MD 12-2
Shane Conners (W&L) vs. Thomas Poklukuha (Stevens) (Semifinals)

174 Pounds
Nick Konovalchik (W&L) d. Noah Wienclawski (Averett); MD 12-0
Brian Shermeyer (Messiah) d. Nick Konovalchik (W&L)
Nick Konovalchik (W&L) d. Brandon Miller (PSU-Behrend); TF, 16-0
Nick Konovalchik (W&L) vs. Joe Paul (Johns Hopkins)

184 Pounds
Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) d. Dan Verhovsek (Waynesburg); 9-2
Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) d. William Myers (York); MD 13-4
Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) vs. Bruce Parola (Stevens) (Semifinals)

197 Pounds
Brad Basham (W&L) d. Brody Keefe (Lycoming); Fall 6:32
Michael Dooley (Stevens) d. Brad Basham (W&L); MD 8-0
Michael Reinhart (York) d. Brad Basham (W&L); Fall 8:30
 
285 Pounds
Clay Chadwick (W&L) d. Roger Horton (Wilkes); MD 11-0
Rocky McGeary (Waynesburg) d. Clay Chadwick (W&L); 5-4
Henri Behaeghel (Johns Hopkins) d. Clay Chadwick (W&L); Fall 1:28