After a strong day one at the Missouri Valley Invite, the Charger wrestling team currently sits in 13^th place out of 45 teams, backed by strong performances from CaRon Watson in the 133-pound division and Alton Allen in the 285-pound division.
 
"Day one went pretty well, this is the toughest regular season NAIA tournament in the country, and we currently sit in 13^th place out of 45 teams. CaRon Watson made the smi finals and Alton Allen will be wrestling through the consolations tomorrow morning," said Head Coach Joe Privitere. "As a whole, I'm happy with how we competed today."
 
Watson remains undefeated in the tournament, earning a tech fall win in round two over Providence's Tristan Bremer. He earned a tough decision victory in round three over Haden Hernadez of Missouri Valley. In the quarterfinal round, he earned a sudden victory after defeating Jeremiah Steele of Menlo.
 
Allen began his run with a pin fall over Jamestown's Daniel Erlandson in the first round. He followed up with a decision victory over Sven Lukner of Corban University, and a major decision victory over Spencer Fleming from Missouri Baptist. In his final match of the day, he dropped a 8-1 decision to NCAA Division three Jacob Vincent who holds a 21-3 record. Allen will compete in the consolation bracket on day two.
 
Ethan Krey in the 149-pound division went 4-2 on the day and gave the Cliff 7.5 team points for his performance. After dropping his first match, Krey went on to win his next four, including a tech fall over Hastings' Jack Morton and major decision victories over Karter Brink of Avila, and Southeastern's Chris Kelly.
 
Jackson Balmer faced a similar path in the 165-pound division, dropping his first match before winning his next four, including a major decision victory over Hasting's Israel Manriquez and pin over Central Methodist's Cody Hughes.
 
Other notable performances include Dante Rigal in the 125-pound division, who went 3-2 on the day and gave the Chargers 6.5 team points. Ben Peters started strong at the 157-pound division, earning a tech fall and pin in his first two matches, but would fall in the next two to end his run. Seth I'nama went 3-2 on the day and earned five team points for the Chargers.
 
The remaining Chargers in the bracket will compete tomorrow for day two of the Missouri Valley Invite.