Wrestling’s season will continue, as two Huskies advance to the NCAA Championships Thursday to Saturday in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Five Huskies were able to advance to the second day of the MAC Championships, but only two Huskies — seniors Nick Smith and Rob Jillard — were able to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.

The Huskies finished in eighth place as a team in the MAC Championships. Redshirt freshmen Shawn Scott (197) and Shaun’Qae McMurtry (165) finished third and fourth, respectively, in their weight classes, while redshirt senior Jared Torrence finished fifth at 285.

Head coach Ryan Ludwig said Smith was in control all day.

“Nick [Smith] did a great job staying in position and wrestling where he is best,” Ludwig said, according to a news release. “It paid off for him today with a bid to the NCAA Championships.”

Ludwig said Jillard fought hard all day and is proud his work paid off with an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

“Rob [Jillard] wrestled an amazingly hard-fought match with both guys and came out victorious,” Ludwig said, according to a news release. “He was as focused and determined as I’ve seen him.”

McMurtry’s quest for an automatic bid fell just short when he lost to nationally ranked Missouri Tiger Zach Toal. McMurtry started the day with an 8-4 victory over Kent State’s Tyler Buckwalter but then was unable to beat Toal, whom he upset the previous day to get to the third-place match.

Scott fell just short as he was one match away from advancing to the NCAA Championships. Scott started the day with a win over Northern Iowa’s Jared Bartel in the consolation semifinals, then defeated Old Dominion’s Kevin Beazley with a 3-2 win by decision to claim third place. In his final match against Ohio’s Phil Wellington, Scott lost, 5-2, by decision.

Torrence finished the weekend with a fifth-place finish after he defeated Northern Iowa’s Blaize Cabell, 4-2, by decision, and claimed a victory, 5-1, over Khodor Hoballah of Eastern Michigan.

Ludwig said he is proud of how his guys wrestled and of the five Huskies who advanced to day two of the tournament.

“They wrestled hard and ground out some tough situations,” Ludwig said, according to a news release. “That’s how you win matches in the postseason. It comes down to guts and solid position.”