OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Twelve wrestlers from Notre Dame College - 11 of whom are ranked - took to the mats at the Abe Lemons Arena as the 53rd Annual NAIA National Championships got underway on Thursday. In an outstanding day for #Frank Romano#'s crew from Cleveland, NDC advanced 10 grapplers into the quarterfinals of the tournament, and the Falcons lead the field after Thursday's action.  (Brackets) 

NDC wrestlers went a combined 21-2 on the day as all 12 athletes for the Blue & White stayed alive in the brackets.

The Wrestling Falcons, ranked No. 1 in the nation (NAIA Coaches' Poll) and one of the most dominant teams in collegiate wrestling this year, began the three-day tournament (March 4-6) looking to earn NDC's first national championship in any sport.

"The guys have really prepared well the last couple weeks," said NDC Head Coach Frank Romano. "I feel like everyone - the wrestlers here, the rest in our whole program and the coaching staff - are all focused on the goal of winning a championship. Today, we got off to a good start."

That good start has the top-ranked Falcons in the early lead in Oklahoma City, with 44 points. Southern Oregon is in second place with 38 points and has eight wrestlers in the championship bracket. Missouri Valley is third (32 points), McKendree (Ill.) is fourth (31 points) and Great Falls (Mont.) is in fifth place (28 points) after the first day of action. Three-time defending national champion Lindenwood (Mo.) wrapped up the first day in sixth place, with 25.5 points. Nine Lions suffered defeat and will have to work back through the consolation bracket, while three wrestlers are still alive in the championship bracket.

Notre Dame picked up bonus point performances in 13 bouts on Thursday. 149-pounder #Ashtin Primus# had a big day, notching a major decision and back-to-back falls to provide big points for the Falcons. Primus' second pin on the day was a 37-second job against eighth-ranked Jeff Marval (Waldorf-Iowa). Primus, a sophomore from Connellsville, Pa., came into the tournament as the 10th-ranked wrestler at 149; he is now 25-3 on the season, with 20 falls.

The Falcons also got a big lift at 184, where #Alex Denman# defeated Montana State-Northern's Evan Hinebaugh, who is the current NAIA No. 2 and was a national runner-up a year ago.

Primus and Denman are joined by #Tyler Savage# (125), #Adam Koballa# (141), #Jeffrey Pelton# (149), #Thomas Straughn# (157), #Kevin Hardy# (165), #Cody Butzer# (174), #Derek Foore# (197) and #Orlando Scales# in breaking through to the quarterfinals, which will be held on Friday.

Eight of NDC's wrestlers carried a Top-3 ranking into the national championships, the Falcons' fourth since the program was instituted in 2006-07. Derek Foore, 24-0 and ranked No. 1 at 197 pounds, came into the national tournament as Notre Dame's top-ranked wrestler. The transfer from Eastern Michigan was selected as the NAIA East Region's Wrestler of the Year on Feb. 20.

Notre Dame College fields 23 varsity athletic teams, the second most among the 53 colleges and universities in the state of Ohio (Ohio State has 33 teams). Nineteen of those programs have been launched in the last decade, but none of the 23 have ever won a national championship.