ASHLAND, Ohio -- Notre Dame has earned a first-place finish at the NCAA-II Midwest Regional Tournament, and nine Wrestling Falcons are now bound for the sport's national tournament. (Brackets)

The No. 1 (Basford) Wrestling Falcons scored 142 points over the two-day event, two more than second-place Central Oklahoma. Those two teams -- ranked No. 1 and No. 4 in the most recent Basford ratings -- battled neck-and-neck over Saturday and Sunday, clearly pulling ahead of the region's 10 other teams.

Maurice Miller (141 pounds), Joey Davis (165), Brandonn Johnson (197) and Orlando Scales (Hwt.) went undefeated over the weekend and won regional titles at their respective weights. Notre Dame also boasted two second-place finishes, two thirds and a fourth. The top four placers in each weight division will advance to the March 8-9 NCAA-II National Championship Tournament. That gives NDC nine national qualifiers. And that number gives NDC more than any other team in the recent history of the D-II National Championships.

For the Falcons, their trip to Birmingham, Ala. -- the site of the D-II national tournament -- comes in the program's first year as a full-fledged NCAA-II member. NDC won NAIA national titles in 2010 and 2011. In 2011-12, Notre Dame competed as a member of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, and the Falcons won that organization's title as well.

Miller defeated Basford No. 7 Joshua Myers (Ouachita Baptist-Ark.), 3-1, in the final at 141 pounds.

Davis -- the unanimous No. 1 at 165 -- crushed Findlay's Mason True (Basford No. 7) in the title bout at 165. The freshman sensation downed True, 16-1, collecting a tech fall in six minutes-and-15 seconds. For the weekend, Davis went 4-0, with a tech fall and a pin. He was named both the Most Outstanding Wrestler and the Freshman of the Year in the Midwest Region.

Johnson defeated Ashland's Joseph Brandt on Brandt's home mat to win the title at 197. The Basford No. 6 defeated Brandt, 4-1.

Scales won the heavyweight division with a 5-2 win over Andrew Tumlin (Findlay). That bout figured as No. 6 vs. No. 8, respectively, in the Basford rankings.

Those four will be joined in Birmingham by Marty Carlson (third at 133), Jonatan Rivera (fourth at 149)Jeffery Pelton (second at 157), Eric Burgey (second at 174) and Charles Mason (third at 184). Brian Hauser placed fifth at 125 and will be an alternate for the National Championship Tournament field.

In just seven seasons since the program was launched in 2006, Notre Dame has produced 82 national qualifiers.