Wichita, Ks. - Mercyhurst wrestling wrapped up their season Saturday afternoon with one wrestler in Jake Niffenegger competing. On day two of the NCAA DII National Championships, the sophomore ended up winning one his three matches on his way to earning sixth place in the event.

How it Happened

The Laker's day started off the way that he had hoped as he grabbed a win in his first matchup of the contest. He found himself up against the second seed Hunter Burnett from Augustana (SD), coming away with a win via decision, 8-6. It was a tight one throughout with Niffenegger able to do just enough in the end to grab the win and advance to the next round. 

Next of Niffenegger's ledger was Ronan Schuekle of McKendree who was the fifth seed coming into the championships, going 38-10 on the season. It was once again a tight contest that the Cincinnati, Oh. native found himself in, but unfortunately he found himself on the wrong side of the scoreboard in an 8-5 decision.

Niffenegger's final matchup of the day was in the fifth place contest against the seventh seed, Tate Murty of Upper Iowa. The two felt each other out in the early going before Murty began to find his rhythm and was able to take the win, 9-0, to give the Laker sixth in the event.

Niffenegger ends his season with a record of 26-7, finishing with the most wins on the team for the 2023-24 campaign while eclipsing the 50 win mark for his career now with 51. The sophomore has already stacked up an impressive resumé during his time with Mercyhurst, being named the NWCA Super Region I Rookie of the Year a season ago while being crowned the champion at 141 for the region this time around. He has now been named an All-American for a second-straight season and joins a list of five other Lakers who have been received the honor twice in their career including former teammate Eric Bartos. Niffenegger and the rest of the squad now gears up for another campaign, hoping to add on to what has already been a stellar career on the mat.