Cedar Rapids, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team is in second-place after the first day of competition at the 2010 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Eagles have 56.0 team points while Augsburg College (Minn.) leads with 69.0 points. Wartburg College (Iowa) is in third-place (53.5) while Coe College (Iowa) is fourth (47.5) and Delaware Valley College (Pa.) fifth (41.5).

Sophomores Mike Schmitz (174-pounds) and Bebeto Yewah (133) along with seniors Andy Moore (197) and Dan Laurent (285) advanced to the semifinals Friday night. All four wrestlers have guaranteed NCAA Division III All-America honors. Juniors Matt Mauseth (149) and Cory Ferguson (165) have also earned All-America accolades after advancing in the consolation bracket Friday night.

The six All-America honors this year is tied for the third-most in school history. UW-L also had six awards in 2007 and 2008. The Eagles finished with a school record seven NCAA Division III All-America honors in 2005 and 2006.

Schmitz advanced to the semifinals at 174-pounds with a 6-1 decision win over Cowan Brown of North Central College (Ill.) in Friday's quarterfinals. He had advanced to the quarterfinals with a win by fall (1:22) over Wesleyan University's (Ct.) Gregory Hurd in the first round. Schmitz, seeded third in the tournament, is making his second career appearance at the national meet. He earned All-America accolades in 2009 with a fourth-place finish. With Friday's two wins, Schmitz improves to 30-5 on the season.

Yewah is moving on to the 133-pound semifinals after a win by fall (6:15) over William Livingston of Centenary College (N.J.) in Friday's quarterfinals. Yewah, the top seed at 133, won by fall (1:47) over Heidelberg University's (Ohio) Tom D'Alessandro in his opening match Friday morning. Yewah, competing in his first national tournament, is now 22-1 on the season.

Third-seeded Moore earned a 6-4 win over sixth-seeded Bill Schindel of Mt. Union College (Ohio) in the quarterfinals. He is now 16-2 on the season. Moore, who received a first-round bye Friday, is appearing in his second national tournament after placing fourth last season and earning NCAA III All-America honors.

Laurent, the two-time defending champion at 285-pounds, advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0 victory over sixth-seeded Adam Sutter of Lakeland College (Wis.) in the quarterfinals. The third-seed this year, Laurent earned a 5-2 win over Brock Glotfelty of McDaniel (Md.) in the opening round. Laurent is now 31-3 on the season. Along with winning national titles in 2008 and 2009, Laurent finished 1-2 in 2007.

Mauseth went 2-1 Friday and will compete in the consolation semifinals Saturday. The defending national champion at 149-pounds, Mauseth opened the tournament with a win by major decision (15-2) over Coe College's (Iowa) Mark Carey. He then lost by decision (18-11) to Case Western Reserve University's (Ohio) fifth-seeded Isaac Dukes at 149-pounds in the quarterfinals, but came back to win (3-2) over seventh-seeded Jacob Groth of Wartburg College (Iowa) in the consolation round.

Mauseth, seeded fourth this year, is now 27-4 on the season. He is making his third appearance in the national championships. Along with winning the national crown in 2009, he earned NCAA III All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in 2008.

Ferguson also went 2-1 Friday and will advance to the consolation semifinals Saturday morning. He fell by major decision (16-4) to third-seeded Nick LeClere of Coe College (Iowa) in the first round Friday, but came back to win two straight matches to earn All-America honors. He won by fall (4:36) over Trent Zempel of Messiah College (Pa.) and by fall (2:09) over eighth-seeded Matt Curley of Heidelberg University (Ohio).

Making his second career tournament berth, Ferguson improves to 21-3 this season. He went 0-2 in the 2009 NCAA III Championships. Ferguson is unseeded in this year's tournament.

Junior Albie McKinney was eliminated from the national championships at 125-pounds Friday night. McKinney fell by decision (10-5) to Buena Vista University's (Iowa) Austin Mogg in the consolation round. McKinney, unseeded in this year's tournament, went 1-2 Friday. He opened with an 9-6 victory over second-seeded Mark Kist of Wartburg College (Iowa) in the first round. Kist placed third at the 2009 national championships. McKinney then lost by decision (5-4) to seventh-seeded Joshua Roberts of Augsburg College (Minn.) in Friday's quarterfinals. Roberts won the match with a riding time advantage. McKinney finishes the season at 23-10 and was appearing in his second NCAA Division III Championships after going 1-2 in 2009.

Action continues at 10 a.m. Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.