ATHENS, Ohio – Joey Fischer and Will Feldkamp earned berths in the conference championship matches for the first times in their collegiate careers, highlighting an exciting first day of the 2022 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships at Ohio University. All told, the Golden Eagles will have seven wrestlers still with the opportunity to clinch an NCAA Tournament bid on Saturday. 

Clarion finished the first day placed fourth in the team race with 66.5 points, just one point behind Northern Illinois for third place.  

The finals appearances are crucial for Fischer and Feldkamp are crucial, not only in that they will have the right to compete for a championship, but also in earning an NCAA Tournament bid. Both the 125- and 197-pound weight classes have only been allocated one automatic qualifier, meaning the only guaranteed way for those two to reach Detroit in two weeks is to win the bracket. 

Fischer reached the finals of his first career conference championship with a string of matches decided late, including back-to-back sudden victory decisions to propel him to the championship bout. After opening the day with a 4-0 decision over Bloomsburg's Bronson Garber, Fischer squared off with Cleveland State's Logan Heil in the quarterfinal round. Fischer handled Heil to the tune of a 10-4 decision in their first meeting this season, but this time around neither competitor was able to manufacture much offense. They traded escapes in seven minutes of regulation, setting up a sudden victory period for the trip to the semis. Fischer shrugged Heil and got around him for the takedown and the victory.  

In the semifinal round, Fischer was given the opportunity to get a measure of revenge against Buffalo's Tristan Daugherty, who beat him in a tiebreaker in the team's dual earlier this season. This one again went seven minutes and then some, with neither wrestler scoring in the sudden victory period either. The drama intensified as Daugherty rode Fischer out in the first tiebreaker session, but Fischer countered by doing likewise in his turn in the offensive position. Late in the second sudden victory period, Fischer came in on a single leg, with Daugherty coming over his back. Daugherty appeared to lock his ankles around Fischer's head and neck, with the referees awarding Fischer a point – and the win – on the violation. 

Fischer was not the only one to lock up a spot in the championship bout through sudden victory. Will Feldkamp lived up to his billing as one of the favorites in the 197-pound bracket, winning both of his bouts to head to the title bout. The junior started his day with a bye in the opening round and then proceeded to dominate Ohio's Carson Brewer in the quarterfinal, winning by an 8-1 decision.  

Feldkamp's bout against Edinboro's Cody Mulligan was a low-scoring affair through seven minutes, with neither wrestler mustering a takedown. Feldkamp elected to take the bottom position to start the second period and escaped, and Mulligan did likewise to start the third period. That led to a sudden victory period, with Feldkamp delivering the kill shot just over a minute into the period. He took Mulligan down to his back with 51 seconds remaining, notching four near-fall points in the process to take an 8-1 decision. 

In addition to Fischer and Feldkamp, there were five other Golden Eagles still in the hunt for NCAA Tournament bids. Two of those wrestlers control their own destiny – Seth Koleno and Kolby Ho – by virtue of the fact their weight classes have three automatic bids.  

Koleno reached the semifinals of the 141-pound bracket, defeating Kent State's Louis Newell by 4-2 decision in the first round and George Mason's Kaden Cassidy by 8-6 decision in sudden victory. The junior lost his bid at the championship in the semifinal, falling by major decision to Rider's Quinn Kinner, but will still have a chance to earn an automatic bid in the consolation bracket. Koleno will wrestle in the consolation semis tomorrow against either Newell or Northern Illinois's Jaivon Jones, which would then be followed by the third-place match. 

Ho went on a run in the consolation bracket to set himself up for a shot at the national tournament. Ho defeated Bloomsburg's Trenton Harder by 12-4 major decision in his first consolation match of the day, and followed it up with a 4-2 decision over George Mason's Tyler Kocak. He will face Buffalo's Noah Grover in the consolation bracket tomorrow, with the winner facing Cleveland State's Riley Smucker in the consi semifinals. 

The other three Golden Eagles still seeking bids, on the other hand, will need to win and have breaks fall their way. At 174 pounds, John Worthing won in the quarterfinal match, defeating Central Michigan's Bret Fedewa to reach the semifinals against Ohio's Sal Perrine. Perrine topped him by 4-3 decision, sending Worthing to the consolation semis on Saturday. In the 184-pound bracket, senior Max Wohlabaugh upset seeded competitor Zayne Lehman in the first round before falling to Cleveland State's DeAndre Nassar in the quarters. He followed that up with a pinfall victory over Bloomsburg's Buridano Stolfi, flattening him in the first period to win a spot in the consolation quarters. Heavyweight Ty Bagoly will compete in the consolation semis on Saturday after beating Ohio's Jordan Greer in the quarterfinal round, before falling to top-seeded Matt Stencel of Central Michigan in the championship semifinals.  

Bagoly, Wohlabaugh and Worthing could potentially wrestle "true second place" matches on Saturday, should they win out in the consolation brackets and the wrestlers that defeated them win their respective championships.