CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Washington and Lee juniors Riley Parker (Virginia Beach, Va. / First Colonial) and Ryan Luth (Milford, Conn. / Joseph A. Foran) both earned All-America honors on day one of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday.
 
Both Parker and Luth are still alive in their respective brackets and will continue their journey on Saturday.  As a team, the Generals rank 15th overall out of the 30 schools represented at the Championship with 15 points.  Top-ranked Wartburg leads the way with 58.0 points.
 
A 125-pounder, Parker began his day with a 15-6 major decision over eighth-seeded Derek Steele of Augsburg and then he followed with a pin of Mount Union's Jack Stanley in 4:50.  He then met top-seeded Jacob Decatur of Baldwin Wallace in the quarterfinals, dropping a 7-3 decision.  Parker sealed his All-America honor with a pin of Springfield's Joey Manginelli with just one second remaining in the match.  He trailed 3-2 in the final seconds, but scored a takedown to take a 4-3 lead with four seconds left in the match and then recorded the pin at 6:59.
 
Parker will face Tommy Russell of Millikin on Saturday in another consolation round match on his quest to improve his position on the podium.
 
Luth was the No. 4 seed in the 157-pound bracket and he opened with an 8-2 victory over Matthew Sacco of the College of New Jersey.  He then met fifth-seeded Tyler Shilson of Augsburg in the quarterfinals, suffering just his second loss of the season with a 16-0 technical fall setback.
 
Luth recovered in the consolation bracket to defeat Trent Furman of NYU by a score of 6-2 to earn All-America accolades.  On Saturday, Luth will continue his championship with a match against Luke Reicosky of John Carroll in the consolation bracket.
 
Parker and Luth are just the fifth and sixth All-Americans in program history, and the first to earn their awards based on their NCAA finish since Rich Redfoot '89 in 1989.
 
Luth, Shane Conners '20 and Rexx Hallyburton '20 all earned All-America accolades in 2020 when the championship was canceled due to Covid-19.  They never had the opportunity to compete in the championship.
 
Saturday's action begins at 9:00 am CST from Cedar Rapids.
   
125 Pounds
Riley Parker (W&L) d. #8 Derek Steele (Augsburg); MD 15-6
Riley Parker (W&L) d. Jack Stanley (Mount Union); Fall 4:50
#1 Jacob Decatur (Baldwin Wallace) d. Riley Parker (W&L); 7-3
Riley Parker (W&L) d. Joey Manginelli (Springfield); Fall 6:59
Riley Parker (W&L) vs. Tommy Russell (Millikin)
 
157 Pounds
#4 Ryan Luth (W&L) d. Matthew Sacco (TCNJ); 8-2
#5 Tyler Shilson (Augsburg) d. #4 Ryan Luth (W&L); TF, 16-0
#4 Ryan Luth (W&L) d. Trent Furman (NYU); 6-2
#4 Ryan Luth (W&L) vs. Luke Reicosky (John Carroll)