Williams and Mendez earn berths to NCAA Championships

Vincent Perez

February 26, 2018

Senior Matt Williams wrestles in the Roadrunner Open in the Icardo Center on Sunday, Nov. 19. Williams is currently ranked 10th in the nation in the 197 weight division according to intermatwrestle.com. Photo by Simer Khurana/ The Runner

Sports Editor

This past weekend, two CSU Bakersfield earned their road to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.

Steady leader of the Roadrunners, senior Matt Williams, at 197 pounds, earned his Pac-12 berth after a victory on Sunday, Feb. 25 in Oregon at the Pac-12 Championships.

Sergio Mendez (125), who has showed improvement this season, finished third in Oregon and punched his ticket to Cleveland.

Redshirt-sophomore Russell Rohlfing (141) lost his match, but has a chance at earning a spot at the NCAA Championships. He was ranked No. 25 last week in the country.

Sean Nickell (133), a redshirt-junior and redshirt-senior Coleman Hammond (149) also finished third in their weight classes, but both will have to wait for the selection show for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship to see if they qualify.

The selection show will be broadcasted on Wednesday, March 7 at 3 p.m. on NCAA.com.

The NCAA Championships are scheduled for Thursday, March 15 through Saturday, March 17, in Cleveland, Ohio.