Nick Roberts' (133 lbs.) marathon victory over two-time defending National Champion Daniel Shazer helped the Mountain Cats race out to a 31-4 lead en route to leading seventh-ranked Pitt-Johnstown to a dominating 37-7 victory over third-ranked Nebraska-Kearney in Friday's quarterfinals of the NWCA Division II National Duals in Fort Wayne, IN.
 
The Mountain Cats, 7-0 on the year, advance to the Division II National Duals Semifinals to take on No. 2 St. Cloud State (Minn.) on Saturday at 11 a.m.  St. Cloud State defeated No. 9 Lake Erie (OH) College, 32-6, to set up the meeting with Pitt-Johnstown in the semifinals.
 
The Mountain Cats opened with a pair of overtime victories to climb out to a 6-0 lead.  Eighth-ranked Evan Link got things started at 125 lbs. with a takedown 35 seconds into overtime to defeat seventh-ranked Connor Bolling.  Then, at 133 lbs. Nick Roberts and two-time defending National Champion Daniel DeShazer were still tied at three after two overtimes and a pair of ride out periods, but Roberts secured a 4-3 victory by having a five-second advantage in riding time.
 
Nebraska-Kearney answered with Keith Surber's 9-1 major decision over Sam Hanau at 141 lbs., but Pitt-Johnstown came right back to extend the lead 12-4 when Travis Shaffer pinned Seth Harrington at 1:01 in the 149-lb. bout.
 
The Mountain Cats continued to build on their lead.  Devin Austin upset Nebraska-Kearney's No. 7 ranked Chase White, 3-1 at 157 lbs., and Tyler Reinhart (165 lbs.) cruised to an 11-1 major decision over Isaac Deaton to push the lead out to 19-4.
 
The Mountain Cats went on to seal the lopsided victory with a pair of falls by John Blankenship at 174 lbs. and Travis McKillop at 174 lbs.  Blankenship pinned Richie Miranda at 5:26 to put the match out of reach, and McKillop made short work of Mike Cotton by pinning him in just 15 seconds to expand the lead to 31-4.
 
With the outcome already decided, Nebraska-Kearney's top-ranked Romero Cotton defeated Jacob Hart, 7-2, at 197 lbs.
 
That was as close as the Lopers would get.  Pitt-Johnstown's third-ranked D.J. Sims battled back from a third period deficit with a late takedown, before pinning Luke Peterson as time expired to set the final at 37-7.
 
With the loss, Nebraska-Kearney fell to 4-1 on the season.
 
Following the Division II National Duals, the Mountain Cats travel to Lake Erie (OH) College on January 15 and Seton Hill University on January 20, before returning home to host a PSAC match against Gannon University on January 22 at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center.

Quarterfinals vs. #3 Nebraska-Kearney
125 lbs.  #8 Evan Link (UPJ)  Decision  #7 Connor Bolling (UNK)  7-5 OT  3-0 UPJ
133 lbs.  Nick Roberts (UPJ)  Decision  #1 Daniel DeShazer (UNK)  4-3 TB2  6-0 UPJ
141 lbs.  Keith Surber (UNK)  Major Decision  Sam Hanau (UPJ)  9-1  6-4 UPJ
149 lbs.  Travis Shaffer (UPJ)  Fall  Seth Harrington (UNK)  1:01  12-4 UPJ
157 lbs.  Devin Austin (UPJ)  Decision  #7 Chase White (UNK)  15-4 UPJ
165 lbs.  Tyler Reinhart (UPJ)  Major Decision  Isaac Deaton (UNK)  11-1  19-4 UPJ
174 lbs.  John Blankenship (UPJ)  Fall  Richie Miranda  (UNK)  5:26  25-4 UPJ
184 lbs.  #2 Travis McKillop (UPJ)  Fall  Mike Lambert  :15  31-4 UPJ
197 lbs.  #1 Romero Cotton (UNK)  Decision  Jacob Hart (UPJ)  7-2  31-7 UPJ
285 lbs.  #3 D.J. Sims (UPJ)  Fall  Luke Peterson (UNK)  7:00  37-7 UPJ