Mehlert, a 149-pound junior, finished second in his weight class at the University of Northern Iowa Open in a field of predominantly NCAA Division I wrestlers. He posted a 5-1 record with two falls at the Open including a 2-1 record and a pin against Division I wrestlers. Mehlert pinned Nebraska-Omaha’s Brandon Winkey at 2:47 in the first round and followed that with a pin at 1:45 of Southern Illinois’ Matt Warren. In the third round he recorded a 7-3 victory over Dickinson’s Luke May. Mehlert’s quarterfinal and semifinal victories were a 6-4 decision of Wisconsin-Madison’s Tyler Turner and a 7-3 decision over Minnesota-State Mankato’s Houston Hisek. His lone defeat, in the finals, was a 2-1 loss to Northern Iowa’s Jon Garvin.
