Wrestling | 2/26/2022 11:00:00 PM

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Central Missouri Mules wrestling sophomore John Ridle captured the NCAA-II Super Region IV Championship at 157 pounds, and redshirt junior Darick Lapaglia placed third at 149 pounds, leading No. 19 Mules wrestling at the NCAA-II Super Region IV tournament Saturday, Feb. 26, inside Hyland Arena on the Lindenwood University campus.

Ridle and Lapaglia both advance to the 2022 NCAA-II Wrestling Championships which are scheduled for March 11-12 in St. Louis, Mo.

In the team standings, the Mules placed fourth out of 10 teams with 75.5 points, their highest finish since 2009 when they tied for second at the Midwest Regional.

Ridle, who hails from West Dundee, Ill., became the first UCM grappler to take home a Super Regional crown since Frank Cagnina in 2015. Cagnina went on to win the national title at 149 pounds that season.

Ridle, who is ranked fifth in the latest NWCA rankings, started his path to the title with a 14-1 major decision over Lindenwood's Anthony Michaels in the opening round before pinning Kentucky Wesleyan's Cade Johnson at 1:06 to move on to the semifinals. Ridle battled Newman's Jace Fisher in the semis and came away with a 12-7 decision, putting him in the title match against No. 6-ranked Ty Lucas of top-ranked Central Oklahoma. For the second time this season, Ridle defeated Lucas, earning a 2-0 decision to give him the title and move him to 24-3 on the season.

Ranked 11th in the most recent NWCA rankings, Lapaglia began his day with a 12-5 decision over Joseph Semerad of No. 5-ranked McKendree prior to pinning William Jewell's Garrett Deason at 3:39, advancing him to a semifinal showdown against No. 12-ranked Logan Bailey of No. 10 Indianapolis. Lapaglia suffered a 7-1 defeat to Baiely, dropping him into the consolation bracket.

Lapaglia pinned Newman's Garrett Lange just 27 seconds into the match to put him in the third-place match against Drury's Sam Schultz. He pinned Schultz at 1:21, securing third place and a berth in the NCAA-II Championships. Lapaglia improved to 19-7 overall with his 4-1 performance at the Super Regional.

Emmett Kuntz (fifth place at 165), Austin Morgan (fourth place at 174), Zachary Hazen (fifth place at 184) and Collin Braun (fifth place at 285) also placed for the Mules at the tournament.

Central Oklahoma claimed the team championship with 153 points, while Indianapolis was second with 129.5 points and McKendree was third at 114.5 points, rounding out the top-three.