La Crosse, WI 3/16/2024- The Westminster College men's wrestling team and senior Montgomery Mills traveled to La Crosse, Wisconsin, to compete in the NCAA D3 Wrestling National Championships. Mills placed 3rd overall in the regional to qualify for Nationals. He is the 2nd Blue Jay to qualify for Nationals in program history. Sean Sax was the first qualifier back in 2018-2019.
Montgomery would have a tournament to remember, pinning the #5 and #4 ranked wrestlers in his weight class on Friday to advance to the National Semi-Finals on Saturday. He would lose to the #1 ranked wrestler and eventual national champion by decision 9-4. Mills would move over to the consolation bracket for a chance to compete for 3rd place. In the consolation semi-final, Mills would pin the second-ranked wrestler in his division to advance to the 3rd place match. In the third-place match, he would waste little time, winning by pinfall in 1:44.
With the pinfall victory, Montgomery Mills becomes the first ever All-American in Blue Jay Wrestling history. He finishes the tournament with 4 pins! He pinned the #5, #4, #2, and #7 ranked wrestlers in the country in that order. He was also awarded the Manuel Gorriaran award for the most pins in the least amount of time.
Congratulations to Montgomery and his coaches, Tony and Mike Eierman on a history-making season.
197-Pound Weight Class: Montgomery Mills
Montgomery Mills (28-11) placed 3rd and scored 20.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Montgomery Mills (Westminster) 28-11 won by fall over Parker Venz (Augsburg) 23-8 (Fall 3:23)
Quarterfinal - Montgomery Mills (Westminster) 28-11 won by fall over Ben Kawczynski (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 27-6 (Fall 3:58)
Semifinal - Massoma Endene (Wartburg) 27-0 won by decision over Montgomery Mills (Westminster) 28-11 (Dec 9-4)
Cons. Semi - Montgomery Mills (Westminster) 28-11 won by fall over Coy Spooner (Coast Guard) 8-3 (Fall 3:29)
3rd Place Match - Montgomery Mills (Westminster) 28-11 won by fall over Cameron Butka (Wilkes) 39-4 (Fall 1:44)
