Back in November, Minot State senior Mitchell Eull stood before a group of Beaver Boosters and stated his goal was to earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. Five months later, Eull has accomplished his goal and will represent the Beavers in the NCAA Championships beginning today at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Eull will open the tournament against Daniel Bland of Limestone in the first round of competition in the 285-pound class. Eull enters the tournament with an overall record of 29-4, while Bland posted a 20-14 record this season. Eull earned his spot in the NCAA Championship field by winning the title at the NCAA Super Region 3 Tournament, while Bland secured his place at the NCAA’s by finishing fourth in the NCAA Super Region 2 Tournament.

The winner of the Eull/Bland match will meet the winner of the Caleb Cotter/Terrance Fanning bout in the second round.

Eull, who is currently ranked sixth in the nation at 285 pounds, currently has a 29-4 overall record which includes eight wins by fall and two wins each by technical fall and major decision. Eullenters the tournament riding an eight-match winning streak and is one of the four region winners. Dylan Faulkenberg of Indianapolis, Jarrod Hinrichs of Nebraska-Kearney and Kameron Teacher of Notre Dame won their respective regional titles.

Eull faced three NCAA qualifiers during the regular season and posted a 3-2 record in those matches. He was 2-1 against Lawrence Phillips of St. Cloud State, 0-1 versus Ryan Appleby of Kutztown and 1-0 against Jacob Borgmeyer of Lindenwood.

Teacher was the runner-up at 285 pounds last season after falling to Garret Gray of Tiffin in the championship final. Logan Hopp of Upper Iowa finished in fifth place last year, while Cotter placed seventh with a win over Appleby.

Competition will begin on Friday at 11 a.m. with the opening round matches. The quarterfinals and first and second round consolation matches will begin at 6 p.m.

On Saturday (March 10), the semifinals will be held at 10 a.m. and the championship finals will begin at 7 p.m.

Both days of competition will be streamed live on the NCAA website.

— Minot State athletics