Local wrestlers fare well at NCAAs

St. LOUIS, Miss. — Two former Sandpoint wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals by posting two wins Thursday, and a third nabbed one victory during the first day of the NCAA Division 1 wrestling championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

No. 7 Joey Fio (23-3) of Oklahoma won his first two matches at 125 pounds. He beat Chattanooga’s Demetrius Johnson 9-3, then earned a tight 5-4 decision over No. 10 Scotti Sentes, of Central Michigan. Fio faces No. 2 Troy Nickerson, of Cornell, this morning for a berth into the semis.

No. 3 Jared Rosholt (32-4) of Oklahoma State advanced to the quarterfinals at 285 pounds, beating Oregon State’s Clayton Jack 9-3 and Rutger’s Dominick Russo 8-6. Rosholt, looking to join his brother Jake as a national champ, will face No. 5 Konrad Dudziak, of Duke, this morning for a berth into the semis.

Stanford’s Luke Feist (23-14) won his first 197 pound match with a 6-1 decision over John Hall, of Boston, before falling 8-4 to Boise State’s Brent Chriswell (No. 3) in the round of 16. He remains alive in the wrestle-back bracket.

Former Bonners Ferry wrestler Adam Hall, No. 8 at 157 pounds, also had a stellar first day. He beat Penn’s Matt Dragon 8-5, then won a hard fought 9-7 decision over Michigan State’s Anthony Jones, before losing 4-3 in the round of 16 to No. 9 Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State.

Action continues today, with the finals slated to air Saturday, at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.