By Nick Finch
Special to NCAA.com

CEDAR RAPIDS - For many of the wrestlers who pulled off major upsets in the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, just thinking about wrestling kept them up late on Friday night.

“It was very nerve racking but very good,” said Matt Ulrich. The junior from Southern Maine came into the 141-pound class unranked but he won twice on Friday, including a victory over a No. 2 seed to make the semifinals.

Championship bouts will begin at 8pm ET Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Ulrich is one of the three unseeded student-athletes to make the final four in the 141. “Everyone is just as good as everyone else. It is just mental now.” Ulrich said he took a year off of college to work on training and maturity and believes he is benefiting from that approach now.

Ulrich won’t have to knock off a highly-ranked opponent next. Ithaca’s Jeremy Stierly is on the other side of the bracket. Stierly, a sophomore, knocked off No. 6 and No. 3 seeds by scores of 11-10 and 2-1, respectively to earn his spot in the semifinals.

This is Stierly’s first trip to the national championship. He admitted he had early nerves but once he found his place on the mat, he settled in.

“Once I got past that first match, it was like whatever happens will happen,” said Stierly. “My goal will be to be an All-American and I’ve done that so far.” Steirly said a “big nap” after the opening match was his only easy rest.

After Stierly survived his quarterfinal match, with blood dripping from his nose and cuts bleeding on his forehead, sleep and rest became much more difficult.

“Yeah, I was tossing and turning,” he admitted before his semifinal match Saturday morning. “Every time I was thinking about wrestling, I couldn’t fall asleep. So I counted as many numbers as I could.”

Wartburg’s Matt Kelly was the final unseeded qualifier for the 141-pound semifinals. Kelly’s journey was also marked by close wins. He faced a tall order for his match, No. 1 seed and defending champion Myanganbayar Batsukh of St. John’s (Minn.). Batsukh carries himself as cool as a cucumber. In 2008-09, he also rode out upsets to becoming a national champion.

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