Dias, Machado place at Heart Championships
Photo courtesy Heart of America Conference
The St. Ambrose wrestling team competed in the Heart of America conference tournament over the weekend. Steele Dias and Diego Machado progressed through their brackets to both place for the Bees.
At 125 pounds, Steele Dias won his opening match by a score of 8-4 to advance to the semifinals. After dropping a competitive semifinal match, Dias would end up placing sixth for the Bees.
At 165 pounds, Diego Machado won his opening match via decision by a score of 4-2. After dropping an overtime match in the quarterfinals, Machado fell to the consolation bracket. On the backside, Machado earned back-to-back major decisions by scores of 12-1 and 12-3, and a decision win 4-2, to secure a top-three finish. He then finished in true second to earn an automatic bid to the National Championships along with all-conference honors.
Riley Woods, Reese Finch, Jayden Terronez, Tyler Casey, and Tyreese Johnson all won matches in their respective brackets for the Bees as well. St. Ambrose placed ninth as a team.
The Bees will now have to wait until Tuesday to find out if any wrestlers will join Machado at the NAIA National Championships.