PITTSBURGH, Pa. — All five of Navy's qualifiers - Nicholas Gil (Sr / 141 / Crystal Lake, Ill.), Jared Prince (Jr / 149 / Safety Harbor, Fla.), Tanner Skidgel (So / 165 / Tulsa, Okla.), Spencer Carey (Jr / 174 / Ringwood, N.J.) and Joshua Roetman (Jr / 197 / Kotzebue, Alaska) made it through Thursday's opening day of competition at the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championship and will continue their quest to become All-Americans when action resumes on Friday at 11:00 am at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Junior 174-pound Spencer Carey earned an opening-round victory over 13th-seeded Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois, 10-5, but dropped a 12-3 major decision to fourth-seeded Myles Amine of Michigan on Thursday evening. Meanwhile, the other four qualifiers dropped their first-round matches but battled back to capture wins in the first round of wrestlebacks to stay alive in the tournament.

All five wrestlers went 1-1 on the day, while Skidgel, Carey and Roetman all captured their first NCAA Championship victories.

Navy is tied with North Dakota State and Rider for 33rd among the field of 70 potential scorers with 5.0 points. The Mids are just one point out of the top 30. Penn State, meanwhile, is atop the leader board with 32.5 points and all nine of its wrestlers still in action including nine in the championship bracket. The Nittany Lions hold a seven-point advantage over Ohio State (25.5), who has 10 wrestlers still in the tournament. Iowa is in third with 24.0 points, followed by Minnesota and Oklahoma State who are tied for fourth (20.0).

Team Scores
1.   32.5 - Penn State
2.   25.5 - Ohio State
3.   24.0 - Iowa
4.   20.0 - Minnesota
      20.0 - Oklahoma State
6 .  18.0 - Missouri
7.   17.5 - Michigan
8.   16.0 - Nebraska
      16.0 - Virginia Tech
10. 15.5 - Northern Iowa

Navy Results at 2019 EIWA Championship
141:  (10) Nicholas Gil (1-1, Advances to Day 2)
• 29-7 this season | 107-40 career | 3-5 NCAA Championship career
• Lost to (23) Sam Turner, Wyoming / Dec / 4-2
• Defeated (26) Sam Krivus, Virginia / Dec / 2-0
• (8) Kanen Storr, Michigan / Wrestlebacks / Friday Morning

• Three-time NCAA qualifier
• Has won an NCAA Championship match in each of the last two tournaments in which he has competed
• Moved into sole possession of 12th on the Mids' all-time wins chart following his shutout victory over Virginia's Sam Krivus. Needs one win to tie 11th-place Peyton Walsh who amassed 108 wins from 2012-15.
• Was eliminated at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 1 after being pinned by Virginia's Sam Krivus

149:  (18) Jared Prince (1-1, Advances to Day 2)
• 20-10 this season | 67-25 career | 3-5 NCAA Championship career
• Lost to (15) Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa / Dec / 9-8
• Defeated (32) Shayne Oster, Northwestern / Dec / 11-5
• (16) Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma / Wrestlebacks / Friday Morning

• Three-time NCAA qualifier
• Has won an NCAA Championship match in two of his three appearances (2-2 in 2017 and 0-0 in 2018).
• Also dropped a decision (12-6) to Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen in the seventh-place match at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
• With an 11-5 win over Northwestern's Shayne Oster, reached 20 wins for the first straight year.

165:  (19) Tanner Skidgel (1-1, Advances to Day 2)
• 21-9 this season | 26-12 career
• Lost to (14) Jesse Dellavecchia, Rider / Dec / 9-2
• Defeated (32) Tyler Morland, Northwestern / Major Dec / 10-2
• (13) Andrew Fogarty, North Dakota State / Wrestlebacks / Friday Morning

• One of three first-time NCAA qualifiers for the Mids
• Earned his first collegiate NCAA Championship victory by way of a 10-2 major decision over Northwestern's Tyler Morland

174:  (20) Spencer Carey (1-1, Advances to Day 2)
• 25-15 this season | 40-25 career
• Defeated (13) Brit Wilson, Northern Illinois / Dec / 10-5
• Lost to (4) Myles Amine, Michigan / Major Dec / 12-3
• (19) Ethan Smith, Ohio State / Wrestlebacks / Friday Morning

• One of three first-time NCAA qualifiers for the Mids
• The only Navy wrestler to win his opening-round match of the tournament.
• Earned his first collegiate NCAA Championship victory by way of a 10-5 decision over Northern Illinois' Brit Wilson in the opening round.

197:  (27) Joshua Roetman (1-1, Advances to Day 2)
• 26-11 this season | 41-23 career
• Lost to (6) William Miklus, Iowa State / Dec / 6-1
• Defeated (22) Sawyer Root, The Citadel / Major Dec / 14-3
• (5) Jacob Warner, Iowa / Wrestlebacks / Friday Morning

• One of three first-time NCAA qualifiers for the Mids
• Earned his first collegiate NCAA Championship victory by way of a 14-3 major decision over The Citadel's Sawyer Root.
• Roetman lost to Root, 9-1, at the All-Academy Championship earlier this season.


### Go Navy ###