Olivet College’s King pins his way to the semifinals at 2022 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa.  – Olivet College sophomore Donovan King won both of his matches by matches by pin at the 2022 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship today at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse. The two pins secure All-American honors for him and a berth into the semifinals tomorrow.

In his first match as the No. 7 seed, King pinned Jake Peavy from the University of Southern Maine in his first-round match. He scored a takedown 37 seconds into the match. Peavy escaped eight seconds later before King got another takedown and two-point near fall to lead 6-1 at the end of the first period.

Peavy chose bottom to start the second period and got out for the escape point. Midway through the second period, King scored a takedown but Peavy escaped to make the score 8-3. King secured a takedown in the final 20 seconds of the second period to take a 10-3 lead into the third period.

King decided the neutral position to start the final period. A throw around the midpoint of the period for King resulted in a takedown and the pin with 1:12 remaining in the match.

In the quarterfinal match, King faced No. 2 seed Kaleb Reeves from Coe (Iowa) College. Off a throw attempt in the first period, he threw Reeves to his back and on the roll through, King locked-up a cradle to end match by fall in 55 seconds.

King now faces No. 6 seed Tyler Kim from Augsburg (Minn.) University in the semifinals. A year ago, the two wrestlers faced each other in a dual meet at Olivet, and King won an 8-4 decision. Semifinals at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse get under way Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CT.