MOUNT VERNON – The competition will be fierce once again for NCAA individuals berths at this weekend's NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Region Wrestling Championships, hosted by Millikin University in Springfield, Ill.
 
Coach Brent Hamm's Rams are among 19 teams set to battle it out over the two-day event, which begins at 1 p.m. Friday inside the Bank of Springfield (BOS) Center. The championship quarterfinals are slated for 3 p.m. Friday.
 
The tournament resumes Saturday with championship semifinals at 11 a.m., followed by all place matches at 2:30 p.m.
 
Fans can follow live video on FloWrestling and live results on trackwrestling.com.
 
Seven teams are nationally-ranked in the NWCA Top 25 with No. 1 Wartburg, No. 5 Loras, No. 6 North Central, No. 17 Millikin, No. 18 Luther, No. 21 Coe and No. 23 Dubuque. The regional also features 37 nationally-rated individuals.
 
The top three finishers in each of the 10 weight classes qualify for the NCAA Championships March 10-11 in Roanoke, Va.
 
The Rams have a pair of nationally-ranked individuals in No. 9 fifth-year Casey Allen (13-1) at 165 pounds and No. 15 freshman Gabriel Smith (29-10) at 157.
 
Allen, a 2021 NWCA All-American, placed fourth at regionals in 2022 and took seventh in 2020. His lone loss of the season was against eighth-ranked Jordan Hardrick of Ohio Northern.
 
Smith is among five Rams making his regional debut this weekend. The team leader in wins, Smith has won eight of his last nine matches. Smith's weight class is stacked with four of the top eight wrestlers in the country.
 
Cornell returns four regional placewinners from a year ago, including Allen. Junior Treyten Steffen (18-10) finished fifth at 197, senior Evan Husko (18-6) seventh at 133 and fifth-year Jacob Sherzer (15-7) fifth at 174. Sophomore Landon Card (23-12 at 149) also competed last year, but did not place.
 
Cornell's young lineup includes freshmen Jase Van Pelt (12-11 at 125), Carter Fecht (16-16 at 141), Landen Schemmel (15-17 at 285) and sophomore Cael McLaren (20-12 at 184).
 
The Rams placed eighth in last year's team standings with 51.5 points.