Cornell’s Gabriel Smith won the final match of his stellar sophomore season and placed seventh at 157 pounds Saturday at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships inside the La Crosse Center.
Making his NCAA debut, the unseeded Smith (28-10) became the program’s 48th Division III all-American and the 82nd Ram to earn a place on the podium in Cornell’s storied history.
Smith secured seventh place with a 9-6 decision over No. 8 seed Xavier Howard of McDaniel. Smith led 4-3 after one period and built the margin to 8-3 in the second with an escape and takedown. Howard got within 8-6 in the final period, although Smith held on and tacked on a riding time point for the victory.
Smith finished 3-2 during the two-day tournament, which included Friday’s 14-10 comeback win over Alvernia’s Jason Rezac in the consolation round that essentially punched his ticket to Day 2.
In his opening bout Saturday, Smith fell 14-1 to Luther’s No. 7 seed Clayton McDonough, who wound up fourth.
Smith was the only unseeded wrestler in his 18-man bracket to place in the top eight at 157. He took runner-up at the Lower Midwest Region Championships Feb. 29-March 1.
Cornell junior 184-pounder Cael McLaren (22-11) finished 2-2 on Friday and did not place. He defeated two seeded wrestlers.