DeKalb, Ill. - Redshirt senior Evan Cheek advanced to Sunday's 141-pound championship bout to highlight the Cleveland State University wrestling team's action on the opening day of the Mid-American Conference Championships Saturday inside Northern Illinois' Convocation Center.

A strong opening day for CSU saw nine of the 10 Vikings win at least one bout while seven of the 10 advanced to the final day of the Championships Sunday.

Cleveland State, making its debut in the event in its first season in the MAC, is currently sixth in the 15-team field with 50 points.

Cheek began his day by with a victory over his opponent from Buffalo at 141 pounds. He netted a first-period takedown to grab the lead and would maintain the shutout in a 3-0 win. Cheek then proceeded to win in sudden-victory over his seeded George Mason opponent, 3-1.

In his semifinal bout, Cheek faced the third seed from Old Dominion. He grabbed the lead with a takedown inside of 90 seconds and would hold on for a 3-2 victory. With the win, Cheek guaranteed a NCAA Championships berth as he is assured of a top-two finish, and the league owns five automatic berths at the weight.

Cheek topped two opponents ranked among the top 26 nationally in the latest NCAA coaches' rankings. He will face No. 1 seed Dresden Simon of Central Michigan in the MAC final, which will begin at 2:40 Eastern Time Sunday.

A trio of Vikings claimed wins over wrestlers seeded higher than them during Saturday's action.

True freshman Logan Heil not only defeated a higher-ranked opponent, but he did so in style at 125 pounds.

Heil opened his day with by pinning his George Mason opponent in the first period. In his quarterfinal bout, he faced the second seed from Lock Haven who is ranked 12th nationally. After giving up a takedown early, Heil secured a reversal before pinning his nationally ranked foe.

Heil dropped his semifinal bout by an 8-5 margin but is still alive for an automatic NCAA qualification berth.

Another true freshman, DeAndre Nassar, joined Heil in taking down a higher seed

Nassar nearly pulled off a stunning upset to open the event at 184 pounds. He ended up losing his match to the top seed in the second tiebreaker period.

Nassar posted a shutout in his first consolation bout as he used a takedown, an escape and a point for riding time to claim a 4-0 win. In his next bout, facing a seeded opponent from Buffalo, Nassar broke a tie with under 30 seconds left in the bout by securing a takedown. He held on for a 5-4 victory.

After losing his first bout to the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds, sophomore Ben Smith pulled off an upset to keep his MAC Championships alive. He won in sudden victory against the third seed from Missouri as his 3-1 win guaranteed his season lasting at least another day.

Redshirt freshman Riley Smucker won a pair of matches at 165 pounds to advance to Sunday. He won a pair of consolation bouts, taking down a foe from Rider via technical fall (17-2) before never trailing in a win over his Bloomsburg opponent (4-2).

Redshirt sophomore John Kelbly and redshirt senior Justin Patrick also both advanced to the second day of the event despite having to face the top seed in the quarterfinals.

Kelbly secured his passage to the second day by pinning his Kent State opponent in the second consolation round. Despite falling behind, 4-1, in the first period, Kelbly stayed the course and put his opponent on his back in the third period.

Patrick notched a 7-3 win over his Clarion opponent in second consolation round to ensure he reached the second day of the event. It was the same competitor he lost to in a dual bout in January.

Redshirt junior Nico O'Dor (157) and redshirt sophomore Chase Archangelo (174) each won one match for CSU Saturday.

The seven remaining Vikings will compete on the final day of the event Sunday, with the first action slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

CSU Results at the Mid-American Conference Championships

125
First Round: No. 7 Logan Heil (CSU) over Talha Farooq (George Mason) - Fall 2:36
Quarterfinals: No. 7 Heil (CSU) over No. 2 Luke Werner (Lock Haven) - Fall 1:18
Semifinals: No. 3 Kilian Cardinale (Old Dominion) over No. 7 Heil (CSU) - 8-5 dec.

133
First Round: No. 8 Justin Patrick (CSU) - bye
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Tim Rooney (Kent State) over No. 8 Patrick (CSU) - 6-3 dec.
Consolation Second Round: No. 8 Patrick (CSU) over Seth Koleno (Clarion) - 7-3 dec.

141
First Round: No. 2 Evan Cheek (CSU) over Marcus Robinson (Buffalo) - 3-0 dec.
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Cheek (CSU) over No. 7 Alex Madrigal (George Mason) - 3-1 SV
Semifinals: No. 2 Cheek (CSU) over No. 3 Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) - 3-2 dec.

149
First Round: No. 5 Alec Hagan (Ohio) over Gus Sutton (CSU) - 9-0 MD
Consolation First Round: John Arceri (Buffalo) over Sutton (CSU) - 8-0 MD

157
First Round: No. 7 Alexander Klucker (Lock Haven) over Nico O'Dor (CSU) - 4-2 SV
Consolation First Round: O'Dor (CSU) over PJ Gohn (Edinboro) - 3-2 dec.
Consolation Second Round: No. 8 Michael Petite (Buffalo) over O'Dor (CSU) - 11-9 dec.

165
First Round: No. 3 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) over Riley Smucker (CSU) - 8-3 dec.
Consolation First Round: Smucker (CSU) over Joe Casey (Rider) - 17-2 TF 6:17
Consolation Second Round: Smucker (CSU) over Nate Newberry (Bloomsburg) - 4-2 dec.

174
First Round: No. 5 Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven) over Chase Archangelo (CSU) - Fall 4:13
Consolation First Round: Archangelo (CSU) over Bryson Alsteen (Buffalo) - 2-0 dec.
Consolation Second Round: No. 6 Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois) over Archangelo (CSU) - 17-4 MD

184
First Round: No. 1 Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg) over DeAndre Nassar (CSU) - 8-6 TB-2
Consolation First Round: Nassar (CSU) over Austin Andres (SIUE) - 4-0 dec.
Consolation Second Round: Nassar (CSU) over No. 7 Peter Acciardi (Buffalo) - 5-4 dec.

197
First Round: No. 5 Ben Smith (CSU) - bye
Quarterfinals: No. 4 Gage Braun (Northern Illinois) over No. 5 Smith (CSU) - 5-3 dec.
Consolation Second Round: No. 5 Smith (CSU) over No. 3 Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) - 3-1 SV

285
First Round: No. 8 John Kelbly (CSU) - bye
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) over No. 8 Kelbly (CSU) - 13-1 MD
Consolation Second Round: Kelbly (CSU) over Spencer Berthhold (Kent State) - Fall 5:30