CEDAR RAPIDS – Cornell advanced four wrestlers into the semifinals and has four others alive on the consolation side after a strong Day 1 performance Thursday at the Lower Midwest Region Championships at Alliant Energy Powerhouse.
 
Coach Brent Hamm's Rams stand fourth in the 22-team field with 82 points, already surpassing last year's two-day point total (76). Top-ranked Wartburg leads the way with 116.5 points, followed by No. 19 Coe (101) and No. 4 North Central (96.5).
 
Action resumes at 10 a.m. Friday with championship semifinal matches, where the Rams have four individuals aiming to secure NCAA berths in junior Landon Card (149 pounds), sophomore Gabriel Smith (157), junior Cael McLaren (184) and senior Treyten Steffen (197).
 
The top three finishers in each weight class qualify for the NCAA Championships March 15-16 in La Crosse, Wis.
 
The No. 5 seed Card (21-7) faces top-seeded and fifth-ranked Charlie Dojan of Wartburg in a 149-pound semifinal. Card opened his tournament with an 18-3 technical fall and then defeated Augustana's Michael Macias, 5-3, in the quarterfinals.
 
The 15th-ranked Smith (24-7) recorded a pair of pins Thursday, decking Coe's Gabe McGeough in 2:49 and then Dubuque's Kale Roth in 6:17. He moves into a semifinal against Westminster's Michael Roberts, who upset No. 1 seed Javen Estrada of North Central in the quarterfinals.
 
At 184, Cornell's No. 2 seed and 13th-ranked McLaren (19-8) has a semifinal ahead with Coe's 15th-ranked Jared Voss. The two split a pair of matches this season, each winning by fall.
 
McLaren, a regional fourth-place finisher in 2023, posted a 19-4 technical fall in his opening match, followed by an 8-2 quarterfinal decision over Central's Samuel West.
 
The 12th-ranked Steffen (24-6) enjoyed a 3-0 opening day at 197. He'll battle top-ranked and No. 1 seed Massoma Endene of Wartburg in a semifinal. Steffen notched a first-period pin (1:18) and two decisions (6-1 over Eureka's Thomas Culp and 6-3 over Dubuque's Eli Pannell) on Thursday.
 
Sophomore Jase Van Pelt (2-1 at 125), sophomore Scotty Scheidecker (3-1 at 165), freshman Brian Petry (2-1 at 174) and sophomore Jackson Brinker (2-1 at 285) all moved on to Day 2 with guaranteed top-eight places.
 
Sophomore Eli Sneed (133) and freshman AJ Parrish (141) both went 2-2 and did not place in their regional debuts.
 
Cornell Day 1 Results
125 – Jase Van Pelt (2-1). 133 – Eli Sneed (2-2, DNP). 141 – AJ Parrish (2-2, DNP). 149 – Landon Card (2-0). 157 – Gabriel Smith (2-0). 165 – Scotty Scheidecker (3-1). 174 – Brian Petry (2-1). 184 – Cael McLaren (2-0). 197 – Treyten Steffen (3-0). 285 – Jackson Brinker (2-1).