LA CROSSE, Wis. -
Josiah Gehr (141 lbs.) ended his career on Saturday afternoon by taking home a fourth-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championships. Gehr would finish his final season as a Falcon 26-4 on the season.
As a team, the Falcons would finish the National Championships in a tie for 25th place among the 66 teams in attendance.
How it Happened
In the national semifinals,
Josiah Gehr had a familiar opponent in top-seeded Jacob Reed (Ohio Northern). Gehr wrestled Reed in the prestigious Wheaton Invitational finals where he dropped a 6-1 decision. Two months later, round two of the matchup would be on the national semifinal stage. Reed gets the first takedown of the match with just 23 seconds remaining in the opening period. Gehr chose neutral to start the second period after giving up a takedown. Reed then picked up another takedown and two near-fall points to make it 8-0 over the Falcon, but Gehr gets a reversal with 1:01 left in the second. Heading into the third period, Reed held an 8-2 lead and chose bottom. Gehr made things interesting when he cradled Reed and put him on his back. Gehr nearly secured the pin with 41 seconds left, but his nearfall points made the score 8-6. A riding time point at the end of the match would be added for Gehr to make the 8-7 final.
After a loss in the semifinals, Gehr dropped to the consolation semifinal to take on third-seeded Kyler Romero (Wartburg). The fifth-year senior opens up the match with a slick takedown to make it 3-0. Romero earned an escape just for Gehr to take him down once again making the score 6-1 going into the second. An escape for the Falcon made the score 7-1 when Romero found a takedown himself. Gehr quickly found a way to escape, making it 8-4. Romero chooses to go on his feet to start the third period. Two stall calls against the Falcon would make it 8-5 but Gehr used that as fuel to earn his third takedown of the bout of the match making the score 11-4. Four more near-fall points would be awarded to Gehr making it 15-4 when Romero found himself on his back once again, which awarded the falcon two more near-fall points. 17-5 would be the final.
In the third-place match, Gehr would go up against Roanoke's Mark Samuel. Two takedowns by Gehr and an escape by Samuel made the score 6-1 at the end of the first period. Gehr chose the bottom position to start the second period and found himself giving up two near-fall points making the score 6-3. Gehr earned an escape making the bout 7-3 heading into the final period. Samuel makes things interesting getting an escape and a takedown tying the match up at 7-7. Time expired and the two wrestlers head into overtime. After a flurry of scrambles, Gehr fell short and would get taken down making the final score 10-7.
