ITHACA, N.Y. – Four Lycoming College wrestlers reached the semifinals, leaving them a win from a berth to the NCAA Division III Championship, and two more the consolation quarterfinals, three wins from a berth at the championship, on Friday afternoon, Feb. 27, at the NCAA Region II qualifier at Glazer Arena.

Juniors 133-pounder Bobby Gardner (a South Williamsport graduate), 165-pounder Kaiden Wagner (a Lewisburg graduate), 174-pounder Nolen Zeigler and senior 184-pounder Eli Crum all reached the semifinals, while junior 197-pounder Ivan Neal and senior heavyweight Michael Sipps (a Cowanesque Valley graduate) reached the consolation quarterfinals as the first day of wrestling concluded.

Crum, the No. 3 seed at 184 pounds, highlighted the day for the Warriors with a pair of 15-0 tech falls for his 100th and 101st career wins, becoming the 11th Warrior to reach the 100-win milestone. He joined former teammates Kaiden Majcher ’25 and Gable Crebs ’24 in the 100-win club.

The Warriors sit in fifth place with 66.5 points, a point behind RIT and St. John Fisher, who are tied for third. Ithaca (94) and Stevens (86.5) lead the tournament, while Penn State Behrend (60.5) and Oneonta (60) are close behind the Warriors.

Crum will face second-seeded Oneonta’s Jack Ryan in the semifinal when the tournament resumes with the semifinal round at 10 a.m., on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Glazer Arena. The winner will reach the final and ensure a top-two finish in the weight class to earn a berth to nationals, while the loser of the match will move to the consolation semifinals, needing two wins to finish third and earn a berth to the NCAA Championship.

Gardner, the top seed at 133 pounds, posted three wins en route to his semifinal, beating Penn College’s Blake Dergham, 8-3, pinning Keystone’s Tanner Pringle in 47 seconds and majoring Hunter’s Botensky Bauzile, 14-1, to run his record to 16-0. He will face fifth-seeded Daniel Haws of Centenary in the semifinals.

Wagner, the top seed at 165 pounds, notched a 15-0 tech fall in 1:34 over Pitt-Bradford’s Peyton Mitchell and added an 81-second pin over St. John Fisher’s Trevor Sheehan in the quarterfinals. He will face Oneonta’s fifth-seeded Ryley Monica in Saturday morning’s semifinal round, as he seeks his second NCAA qualifier.

Zeigler, the No. 2 seed at 174 pounds, reached 30 wins on the season with a pin of Hunter’s Isaiah Harris in 94 seconds and an 11-0 major decision against Brockport’s Gavin McLaughlin. He will face No. 3-seed Jack Lamson of RIT in his semifinal as he looks to return to the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row.

Neal, the No. 6 seed at 197 pounds, went 3-1 during his first day of the tournament, beating NJCU’s Simeon Hunte, 5-0, and Stevens’ Terrance Thomas, 11-5, to reach the quarterfinals, where Penn College’s third-seeded Nicholas Woodruff notched a pin. Neal rebounded with an 8-0 major decision over Elliot Black to reach the consolation quarterfinals, where he will face St. John Fisher’s fifth-seeded Braydon Vandenberg.

Sipps, unseeded in the heavyweight weight class, opened the tournament by being pinned by third-ranked Josh Harkless of RIT. He rebounded with a 5-1 decision over Centenary’s Jonathan Martinez and reached the consolation quarterfinals with a first-period pin of sixth-seeded Nicholai Brotzman of Penn College. He will face seventh-seeded Matthew Caldwell of Penn State Behrend to open his Saturday run.

Junior 141-pounder Major Lewis and senior 157-pounder Kobin Karper also won a match each during the first day of the tournament.