COLUMBIA, Mo. - Eight Ohio grapplers will move on to Sunday's competition following the first day of the Mid-American Conference Championships at the Hearnes Center at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.

The Bobcats are currently in fourth place as a team, with 55.0 points.

No. 9 Cody Walters (Macedonia, Ohio) cruised through the quarterfinals with a 14-0 major decision at the 174-class against Northern Iowa's Curt Maas. The redshirt junior solidified his spot in the finals with a 3-0 decision against Central Michigan's Jordan Ellingwood. Walters will take on Missouri's No. 5 John Eblen tomorrow for the title.

Phil Wellington (Euclid, Ohio) advanced into the semi finals after a decision win against Kent State's Cole Baxter. The redshirt junior defeated Old Dominion's Kevin Beazley in a 6-1 decision, and will compete against Missouri's returning national champion J'Den Cox tomorrow for the title at the 197-class.

Redshirt junior No.10 Tywan Claxton (South Euclid, Ohio) began the tournament with a 10-2 major decision against Eastern Michigan's Nick Barber at the 149-class. Claxton fell to Missouri's No. 3 Drake Houdashelt in the semi finals and will compete for third place tomorrow.

Harrison Hightower (Strongsville, Ohio) advanced into the 165- class semi finals with a decision win against Kent State's Tyler Buckwalter in the quarterfinals. The redshirt senior fell to Northern Iowa's No. 13 Cooper Moore in the semi finals and will compete for third place tomorrow.

Andrew Romanchik (Independence, Ohio) advanced through the quarterfinals with a 4-2 decision against Austin Sevem of Central Michigan. The redshirt junior fell to No. 16 Willie Miklus of Missouri and will compete tomorrow for third place in the 184-class.

Ohio's Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, Ohio) won his first match of the day with a 3-2 decision against Kent State's Mackenzie McGuire at the 133-class. The junior fell to Missouri's Zach Synon in the semi finals and will compete tomorrow for a third-place finish

Following a loss to Missouri's No. 14 Joseph LaVallee in the quarterfinals, Spartak Chino (Wheaton, Ill.) posted a 7-5 decision against Northern Illinois' Andrew Morse. The redshirt junior will compete tomorrow for third place.

Despite a loss in his first match of the tournament, freshman Jesse Webb (Bennington, VT) defeated Central Michigan's Adam Robinson in a 6-3 decision to advance to tomorrow's competition.

Day two of competition begins tomorrow at 12 p.m., with doors opening at 11 a.m. Watch live at ESPN3: http://es.pn/1ABizxO

Overall Team Standings
1.Missouri122.0
2.Old Dominion76.5
3.Northern Iowa63.0
4.Ohio55.0
5.Central Michigan54.5
6.Kent State48.5
7.Eastern Michigan24.5
8.Northern Illinois23.5

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