DEKALB, Ill. – Two Golden Eagle wrestlers clinched spots in the conference finals as well as berths in the NCAA Tournament, as Clarion enjoyed an exciting day at the 2020 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships.  Clarion currently sits in 11^th after one day. 
 
Brock Zacherl and Greg Bulsak became the program's first-ever MAC finalists by going undefeated on Saturday, with Bulsak winning three matches and Zacherl two en route to the finals.  Zacherl will face fourth-ranked and top-seeded Brock Mauller of Missouri in the 149 pound finals, while Bulsak will take on 16^th-ranked Ethan Laird of Rider at 197 pounds.
 
Zacherl punched his ticket after a hard-fought sudden victory decision over George Mason's Colston DiBlasi, who entered the weekend as the third seed in the 149-pound bracket and the 15^th-ranked wrestler in the nation.  Similar to the early-season meeting between the two wrestlers, Zacherl brought the majority of the offense with two takedowns in in the first period.  DiBlasi kept him at bay, pulling to within 4-3 in the third period.  After a stall called against Zacherl tied the score at 4-4, the match went to sudden victory, with Zacherl taking down DiBlasi a third time to earn a trip to the finals. 
 
Bulsak's NCAA-clinching victory also afforded him a measure of revenge, with the junior defeating Northern Illinois's Gage Braun, the only MAC wrestler to beat him in a conference dual this year.  This time around Bulsak neutralized Braun's aggressive offense while also staying on the attack himself, taking him down a number of times and controlling Braun on top.  He kept the offensive up en route to an 8-2 decision over Braun.
 
Greg Bulsak got the best of Kyle Murphy in the opening round, quickly taking him down and turning him for a four-point near fall.  Amassing roughly four minutes of riding time over the course of the bout, Bulsak took Murphy down again in the third period and continued to apply pressure, claiming the 9-1 major decision.  His quarterfinal match with Buffalo's Sam Schuyler was a battle from the jump, with Schuyler nearly taking Bulsak down in the first period.  Bulsak fought off Schuyler's attack and twisted him down for the takedown with 16 seconds left in the first period.  After riding Schuyler out in the second period, Bulsak shot in on a single leg in the third period and took Schuyler down to seal a 7-2 decision.
 
Unlike Gromacki and Bulsak, Zacherl started his day in the quarterfinals as a result of a first-round bye.  His quarterfinal bout with Kenan Carter played much like their meeting earlier in the year, with neither wrestler producing much offense until late.  Zacherl and Carter were tied at 2-2 in the third period before the former escaped at the start of the frame.  As the clock continued to tick down, Zacherl caught hold of Carter's leg, spinning him down and round for a takedown to make it 5-2.  That was all he needed to make his way to the semifinals.
 
Zacherl and Bulsak were joined in the quarterfinal round by Jake Gromacki, who advanced to the quarters with an impressive over Ohio's Trevor Giallombardo. He quickly took his opponent down and tilted him twice to amass a 10-0 lead, and then kept Giallombardo at arm's length for the rest of the bout to secure the 12-7 win by decision.  In the quarterfinal match against Old Dominion's Killian Cardinale, Gromacki built a quick 4-1 lead thanks to an early double-leg takedown and two-point near fall, but Cardinale wore him down and rallied for the 8-6 decision.  Gromacki lost by fall in his final consolation bout to end his day.
 
Elsewhere in the consolation rounds, a number of Golden Eagles also earned wins.  Seth Koleno, Taylor Ortz and Mike Bartolo picked up wins on the rebound.