After dropping their opening matches on Thursday afternoon, 174-pound senior Jack McKeever and 184-pound sophomore Steve Schneider of the Binghamton wrestling team advanced to the consolation rounds on at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

In the first round of wrestlebacks, McKeever matched up against Harvard sophomore Josef Johnson, who captured a 6-4 sudden victory win over McKeever in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships two weeks earlier. In the grudge match, McKeever reversed the decision against Johnson, earning a 4-2 victory for his first win of the day and his first-ever win at the NCAA championships.

“It all came down to fighting for the fundamental finish that we always talk about,” BU head coach Matt Dernlan said. “We knew that in a critical spot, we were going to have to dig deep and do it the right way and he did. That’s what a lot of the NCAA Tournament comes down to — in close situations, you can’t deviate from what you have been taught to do every single day.”

Next up for Binghamton was Schneider, pitted in a rematch against North Carolina redshirt senior Alex Utley. After defeating Utley, 4-1, in the pair’s first meeting on November 15, Schneider opened tough, ending the first period scoreless. But following higher-scoring second and third periods and a late takedown by Utley, Schnieder’s two points were not enough to earn his second win over the Tar Heel and he fell, 5-2. Despite returning from his first NCAA championship without a victory, Schneider will come back for his junior season with something much more valuable — a taste of wrestling’s biggest stage.

“I’m really proud of Steven, he gave a heck of an effort [on Thursday] and that’s something that we talk about — win or lose, you want to be able to look at yourself in the mirror,” Dernlan said. On Schneider’s chances at victory in his final match, Dernlan continued, “That’s going be the frustrating takeaway for Steven, that he did have opportunities. Its going to be a motivating thing over the next 365 days because he was in a position to win and now he knows everything we talk about in how we have to execute when the pressure is the highest.”

As the sole Bearcat to advance to Friday’s rounds, McKeever matched up against his second EIWA foe in Army senior Brian Harvey. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Harvey put McKeever into a 3-0 hole at the end of two periods. Hoping to rally back and keep his collegiate career alive, McKeever earned a late takedown to get on the board, but the effort proved insufficient. McKeever dropped the match, 5-2, to finish his Binghamton career.

Earning his first win on wrestling’s biggest stage after dropping both of his tries as a junior, McKeever’s second appearance at the NCAA’s was a testament to his growth and a harbinger of the success that is to come for the young Binghamton roster.

“This is all a learning experience; its part of the process. Very rarely do guys walk in here and get on the podium,” Dernlan said. “It’s usually a sequential thing. You’ve got to taste it, you’ve got to feel it, you’ve got to understand what this environment is about.”