ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Redshirt-junior Shane Gantz of the Parkside wrestling team finished as an NCAA Division II National Runner-up on Saturday at the NCAA II Championships at Chaifetz Arena on the campus of Saint Louis University. He lost one of the great battles of the tournament 1-0 to No. 1 Matt Malcom of Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Redshirt-freshman Reece Worachek was also a first time All-American, as the Luxembourg, Wis., native finished in eight place after dropping both matches on Saturday.
 
Check out @RangerAthletics on Twitter for highlights from the day at Chaifetz Arena

Tune in next week to catch the post Tournament interview with Head Coach Nick Becker
 
#2 Shane Gantz – 165 Pounds – NCAA II National Runner-up

• Gantz booked a trip to the National Championship match with a 3-1 decision over No. 6 Cory Peterson of McKendree
• In the Championship match, Malcom was credited with an escape in the second period and that was all the scoring.
  • Gantz finished with just under 1-minute of riding time
• The Waukesha, Wis., native will finish his season 32-1.
• It's the highest finish at the NCAA II Championships since Head Coach Nick Becker won the National Championship in 2018
• Gantz is now a 2-time All-American for Parkside

 
Reece Worachek – 184 Pounds – All-American – 8^th Place

• Unranked Worachek opened his day with a loss in sudden victory to No. 6 Martin Verhagen of Fort Hays State, setting the table for a rematch in the seventh place match
• Worachek would battle No. 7 Anderson Salisbury in the seventh place match, the same wrestler he beat in the opening round 4-2
  • Salisbury came away with the 5-2 decision
• He finished the season 24-14 for Parkside. 

 
#7 Joe Arroyo – 125 Pounds – FRIDAY ONLY

• Arroyo was the first Ranger to hit the mat on Friday, and he started his day with a 7-1 loss to Tyshawn White of Shippenburg, who went on to upset No. 2 Paxton Rosen of Central Oklahoma as well
• He bounced back with a 5-2 decision over Jaxson Rohman of Augustana to move on to the consolation round two
• Arroyo got pinned by Kevin Radcliff of Limestone in round two

 
#8 Job Ayala – 174 Pounds – FRIDAY ONLY

• Ayala won his opening match with ease, beating Stephon Halliburton from Queens in a 14-5 major decision
• He had to go up against No. 1 Austin Eldredge of Nebraska-Kearney in round two and lost 9-3
• He moved over to the consolation round two, where he dropped a hard fought 8-6 decision to Allen Michel of New Mexico Highlands

TEAM SCORES
Parkside finished in 14th place as a team, scoring 22 points including 15 from Gantz. Nebraska-Kearney ran away with it, knocking off the reigning champions St. Cloud State with 127.0 points. Central Oklahoma took second and West Liberty took third.