MOUNT VERNON – Cornell's returning qualifier Brian Petry will draw on experience at this week's NCAA Division III Men's Wrestling Championships, held at Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids.
 
Petry (29-8) is back in the 165-pound field for the second year in a row. The junior begins his pursuit for a place on the podium at 10 a.m. Friday with an opening-round match against Ohio Northern's Ben Hegler (31-9).
 
Friday's Session II gets underway at 5 p.m. Action continues Saturday at 10 a.m. with the championship semifinals. Saturday's championship finals start at 7 p.m.
 
The top eight finishers in each weight class earn all-America honors. Fans can follow all the action on trackwrestling.com. Click here for brackets.
 
The 12th-ranked Petry punched his NCAA ticket with a third-place effort at the Region VI Championships Feb. 27-28. He'll be the first Ram to compete at nationals in back-to-back years since Aaron Engle (2016, 2017).
 
Petry finished 2-2 in last year's NCAA debut, one win short from reaching all-America status.
 
Petry is among nine returning qualifiers in a tough 21-man bracket at 165. The weight class features four of the top five finishers from a year ago with Augsburg's Cooper Willis (second), UW-La Crosse's Tanner Gerber (third), UW-Whitewater's Brayden Peet (fourth) and Baldwin Wallace's Andrew Supers (fifth).
 
Luther's Clayton McDonough (46-1) is the No. 1 seed this weekend. He's a two-time all-American at 157.
 
With a win, Petry would advance to face No. 5 seed Supers (36-2) in the second round.  
 
Six of Petry's eight losses this season have come against nationally-ranked opponents. He's 1-6 against this year's NCAA field.
 
Petry has recorded 19 bonus-point wins this season, 11 by technical fall.