ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Following the first day of competition at the NCAA Mideast Regional hosted by RIT, the McDaniel College men's wrestling team has four wrestlers in contention for a spot at the NCAA Division III Championships.

As a team, the Green Terror currently sit in seventh place out of 21 teams with 51.5 points, tying them with St. John Fisher.

Three wrestlers, sophomore Thomas Monn, junior Xavier Howard and senior Jaedyn Harris are in the championship semifinals at their respective weight classes while sophomore Ryan Ohler is in the consolation semifinals, needing two wins to earn third place.

The top three finishers in each weight class qualify for the 2024 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin March 15-16.

The top-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds, Monn went 2-0 on Friday with both wins coming by first period falls over Zack Vera of New Jersey City in 2:14 and familiar foe Dante Monaco of Ursinus in 2:32. Monaco is currently ranked eighth in the Mideast Region.

Howard, ranked third at 157 pounds, also posted two bonus point wins with a 21-6 tech fall over Mark Venson of Centenary and a third-period fall over RIT's Mark Bush in 6:04. Bush is currently ranked sixth in the Mideast Region.

The top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, Harris won three matches on the first day of regionals, opening with a 4-1 win over Roman Jellick of Cortland State and a first period fall over Scranton's Jonathan Sklavounos in 2:54. He finished with an 11-3 major decision over Centennial Conference foe Paul Parise of Muhlenberg who is ranked sixth in the region.

Harris, who has lost just two matches this season, avenged one of them as Parise edged out a 12-8 decision over Harris in Westminster on Jan. 20.

Ohler also posted three wins at 165 pounds, advancing to the quarterfinals before losing to second ranked Brian Schneider of Elizabethtown by fall in 3:21. Ohler began the day with a fall in just 30 seconds over Keystone's Codi Bomboy before recording a major decision against Mikey Syposs of SUNY Brockport, 18-6.

Ohler stayed in the hunt for third place and a spot in the national championships with a 7-5 decision over Cortland State's Hunter Hughes.

Senior Alex DuFour posted two wins at 133 pounds while graduate student Dalton Pearl recorded a win at 174.

Competition on the final day of the NCAA Mideast Regional begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday.