OMAHA, Neb. - Seven Central Michigan wrestlers remain in contention after the first day of competition at the 2010 NCAA Championships.

All seven Chippewas are competing in the consolation bracket of their respective weight class. CMU is in a four-way tie for 10th place in the team standings with 17 points.

Competing in the consolation bracket Friday morning will be Matt Steintrager (125), Conor Beebe (141), Tony D'Alie (149), Steve Brown (157), Tyler Grayson (165), Ben Bennett (174) and Jarod Trice (285).

CMU entered Thursday's evening session with six individuals still alive in the championship bracket. All six dropped into the consolation bracket, however, with four falling to higher seeded wrestlers.

Steintrager was bumped to the consolation bracket at 125 pounds when he dropped a 3-2 decision to Penn State's Brad Pataky. Pataky shot off the whistle and took Steintrager down just 4 seconds into the match, and the only scoring that would occur the remainder of the match came on an escape by each wrestler.

Beebe, unseeded at 141 pounds, trailed No. 6 Montell Marion (Iowa) 4-3 in the third period before Marion executed a four-point move to pull away.

At 149, unseeded D'Alie dropped an 8-4 decision to No. 7 Mitch Mueller (Iowa State). Mueller scored takedowns in each of the three periods, while D'Alie tallied four escape points.

No. 5 Steve Fittery (American) used a high scoring third period to edge No. 12 Brown at 157 pounds. The match was tied 2-2 entering the final period, but Brown reversed to take a 4-2 lead. Fittery escaped and took down Brown for a 5-4 advantage, but Brown again reversed for a 6-5 lead. Fittery evened the score with an escape, then secured the win with a takedown with 20 seconds remaining.

Grayson, unseeded at 165 pounds, lost a 3-2 decision to No. 9 Andrew Rendos (Bucknell). Grayson led 2-0 after a first-period takedown, but Rendos escaped in the second and scored a takedown off a neutral start in the third to earn the decision.

At 174 pounds, No. 7 Bennett dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 10 Jordan Blanton (Illinois). With the match tied 2-2, Blanton took Bennett down off a neutral restart with 30 seconds remaining in the third period. Blanton added riding time for the final margin.

No. 7 Jarod Trice remained alive with a 5-4 decision over Oklahoma's Nathan Fernandez in the consolation bracket. Trice trailed 4-2 entering the third period, but he drew within a point with an escape and scored a takedown with 35 seconds remaining to secure the victory.

Three other Chippewas were eliminated from the tournament with losses in the consolation round Thursday night.

Scotti Sentes advanced in the consolation bracket with an 8-3 decision over Brandon Low (UC Davis) in a pigtail match. Sentes led 4-1 after the first period with a takedown and two back points. He scored an escape and takedown in the second period after starting in the bottom position.

Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) eliminated Sentes from the tournament later in the session, scoring a pair of takedowns in a 5-0 decision.

Mike Miller also was eliminated when he dropped a 3-1 decision to Nebraska's Josh Ihnen Thursday night. Ihnen scored on a single-leg in the final minute for the decisive points.

At 197 pounds, Eric Simaz was defeated by American's Daniel Mitchell in the consolation bracket, 10-2.

Session III of the tournament gets underway at 9:30 a.m. Central Time on Friday.


Central Michigan Complete Results

125 Pounds: No. 8 Matt Steintrager
First Round: W, dec. James Knox (Maryland), 3-2 TB1
Second Round: L, dec. Brad Pataky (Penn State), 3-2
Consolation Second Round: Jason Lara (Oregon State)

133 Pounds: No. 7 Scotti Sentes
Pigtail First Round: L, Matthew Fisk (Lehigh), fall at 3:29
Consolation Pigtail: W, dec. Brandon Low (UC Davis), 8-3
Consolation First Round: L, dec. Kendric Maple (Oklahoma), 5-0

141 Pounds: Conor Beebe
First Round: W, dec. No. 11 Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech), 4-0
Second Round: L, dec. No. 6 Montell Marion (Iowa), 10-5
Consolation Second Round: Todd Schavrien (Missouri)

149 Pounds: Tony D'Alie
First Round: W, dec. No. 10 Barrett Abel (UC Davis), 5-2
Second Round: L, dec. No. 7 Mitch Mueller (Iowa State), 8-4
Consolation Second Round: Glenn Shober (Navy)

157 Pounds: No. 12 Steve Brown
First Round: W, maj. dec. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel), 12-1
Second Round: L, dec. No. 5 Steve Fittery (American), 8-6
Consolation Second Round: Kyle John (Maryland)

165 Pounds: Tyler Grayson
First Round: W, maj. dec. No. 8 Shane Onufer (Wyoming), 14-4
Second round: L, dec. No. 9 Andrew Rendos (Bucknell), 3-2
Consolation Second Round: No. 3 Nick Marable (Missouri)

174 Pounds: No. 7 Ben Bennett
First Round: W, dec. Robert Hamlin (Lehigh), 4-2 TB1
Second Round: L, dec. No. 10 Jordan Blanton (Illinois), 5-2
Consolation Second Round: Brad Darrington (Utah Valley)

184 Pounds: Mike Miller
Pigtail First Round: W, dec. No. 10 Mike Pucillo (Ohio State), 4-2
First Round: L, dec. Jason McCroskey (Chattanooga), 5-2
Consolation First Round: L, dec. Josh Ihnen (Nebraska), 3-1

197 Pounds: Eric Simaz
First Round: L, dec. Joseph Kennedy (Lehigh), 3-1
Consolation First Round: L, maj. dec. Daniel Mitchell (American), 10-2

285 Pounds: No. 7 Jarod Trice
First Round: L, Brandon Williamson (West Virginia), fall at 6:59
Consolation First Round: W, dec. Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma), 5-4
Consolation Second Round: Tucker Lane (Nebraska)