CEDAR RAPIDS – Sophomore 165-pounder Brian Petry threw his arms up and gazed overhead to Cornell's roaring cheering section when he knew he had done it.
 
Petry scored a takedown with about one minute left in overtime for a 6-3 sudden victory over Wartburg's Aiden Brosinki to secure third place and an NCAA berth at Saturday's Region VI Championships at Alliant Energy Powerhouse.
 
Petry defied the odds as the No. 6 seed in his weight class and earned a trip to Providence, R.I., for the NCAA Division III Championships March 14-15. He'll enter with a 31-8 record and winner of 16 of his last 19 matches.
 
Petry was among nine Cornell wrestlers to place in the top eight over the two-day tournament, which marks the most placers in coach Brent Hamm's seven seasons at the helm. The Rams finished seventh in the 18-team field with 92.5 points.
 
Sophomore AJ Parrish finished a strong fourth at 157 pounds, one win shy of an NCAA bid. The Rams received fifth-place showings from seniors Landon Card (149), Cael McLaren (184) and fifth-year Treyten Steffen (197).
 
Junior Eli Sneed took sixth at 133. Juniors Jase Van Pelt (125) and Jackson Brinker (285) both placed seventh, while freshman Jace Nelson-Brown (174) wound up eighth.
 
Petry quickly regrouped from a 4-2 semifinal loss to eventual champion Dustin Bohren of Loras Saturday morning. He posted a 7-2 decision over Dubuque's Kale Roth in the consolation semifinals and then outlasted Brosinski for third place.
 
Petry, who took seventh at regionals last year, knocked off Luther's third-seeded Bryce McDonough in Friday's quarterfinals, 10-3.     
 
The sixth-seeded Parrish (15-13) notched three consecutive consolation wins to reach the third-place bout, where he fell 9-3 to Luther's seventh-ranked Clayton McDonough. Parrish defeated Wartburg's sixth-ranked Blain Christie in the consolation semifinals, 10-3.
 
Card (29-9), eighth-ranked McLaren (27-6) and 10th-ranked Steffen (33-7) all won their final match to close out outstanding careers. They combined for 320 victories in a Ram singlet.  
 
Card rolled 8-1 over Central's Cade Siebrecht for fifth place. McLaren earned a 7-4 sudden victory over Luther's Elijah Mitchell in his place bout. Steffen went out with a convincing 17-1 technical fall over Coe's Mathieu Arsenault.
 
Steffen placed at regionals for the fourth consecutive year. Card, McLaren and Van Pelt (24-9) are now three-time placewinners. Brinker (17-13) placed for the second time, while Sneed (25-15), Parrish and Nelson-Brown (13-11) earned their first top-eight finishes.  
 
Cornell Individual Results
125 – Jase Van Pelt (7th, 2-2). 133 – Eli Sneed (6th, 3-3). 141 – Elliot Cooney (DNP, 0-2). 149 – Landon Card (5th, 3-2). 157 – AJ Parrish – (4th, 4-2). 165 – Brian Petry (3rd, 4-1). 174 – Jace Nelson-Brown (8th, 1-3). 184 – Cael McLaren (5th, 3-2). 197 – Treyten Steffen (5th, 4-2). 285 – Jackson Brinker (7th, 3-2).