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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PEMBROKE, N.C. – In just their second year of existence, the University of Montevallo’s wrestling program has booked its second-straight trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship, and this time, the Falcons are taking two wrestlers to the national stage.

Colt Brown and Jake Chisolm qualified for nationals thanks to their finishes at the NCAA Super Regional II tournament on Saturday, March 1 at UNC-Pembroke.

The pair qualified as a result of finishing within the top three of their respective weight classes. Brown will now be the first 125-pound wrestler in program history to compete at nationals while the Oxford native Chisolm will be the first Falcon in the 165-pound division.

Brown finished the tournament in second place as he went 2-1 on the day. He started out with a decision win over King’s Tyson Upchurch and then reached the finals thanks to an 11-3 decision over Coker’s Corey Gallivan.

While Brown would lose in the finals, his semifinal victory meant that he clinched a spot at nationals.

Chisolm had a more difficult path through regionals as he needed to go through the consolation bracket. In the main bracket, he got a 20-2 technical fall over Newberry’s Nick Humphrys and an 8-3 decision over King’s Joe Bertrand.

From there, he got his fastest win of the season with a 1:40 pin against Christian Arrington in the consolation bracket before eking out a 14-13 decision over UNC-Pembroke’s Will Lowery to qualify for nationals.

The pair will compete for their respective national championships on March 14 and 15 in Indianapolis against some of the best wrestlers in Division II.

Brown and Chisolm will look to follow in Gabe Hixenbaugh’s shoes after the Alabaster native and former state champion at Thompson won the 133-pound national championship. His undefeated season came in Montevallo’s inaugural year as a program and led to the school’s first-ever Division II national title.

Brown and Chisolm are both positioned well to succeed at nationals as they are each ranked No. 15 in Division II for their weight class by Theopenmat.com. Brown is 18-6 on the year and 11-1 in decisions while Chisolm has earned 20 wins over the course of the season.

In addition, three Alabama products finished their successful seasons by placing at regionals.

Alabaster’s Carson Freeman came in fourth place in the 157-pound weight class. He picked up four wins at regionals, including three major decisions over William Nix, Noah Korenoski and No. 3 Keegan Roberson along with a five-minute pin of Malachi Thomas.

His former Thompson teammate Nick Dempsey placed sixth in the 149-pound weight class with three wins, including two falls and a major decision.

Wetumpka native Willie Cox secured fifth place in the 285-pound heavyweight division and wrapped up the season with 19 wins thanks to his two decision victories at regionals along with a major decision and a forfeit win.