#9 Courtad in Quarterfinals After Day One of NCAAs

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (March 17, 2000) -- Ohio wrestling senior #9 Tim Courtad has advanced to the quarterfinals after the first day of competition at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo. Senior #18 Brad Wright and #19 Dan Bednar both dropped their matches in the second round and will compete for third place as competition continues today.

#9 Courtad (HWT) continued his impressive winning streak by defeating Oklahoma's Brent Boeshana, 6-3 in the first round. He went on to decision Paul Hynek of Northern Iowa in the second round, 5-3. He has won 22 straight matches and has lost only once this season. #9 Courtad will face his toughest competitionof the season as he wrestles #1 Brock Lesner of Minnesota today in the quarterfinal match.

#18 Brad Wright (133 lbs) and #19 Dan Bednar (197 lbs) were impressive in the first round. #18 Wright decisioned Wyoming's Corey Hamrick, 4-2, before falling to Cody Sanderson by a 15-4 major decision. #18 Wright will face-off against Ben Richards of Oregon State in his quest for a third-place finish.

A pin in his first championship match moved #19 Bednar in to the second round. He pinned Todd Hockenbroch of Bloomsburg at 1:23. His second-round competition proved to be tougher as he fell to #1 Mark Muoz in a 13-5 major decision. #19 Bednar's next opponent will be Northwestern's Matt Huebner.

The Championships are to continue today through Saturday.