1st round vs. No. 18 Jacob Koser (Navy): W – 14-4 (main decision)
Beard worked fast and took the takedown to win 2-0 at the start of the game. With an upset and near-fall points, Beard increased his lead to 6-0 at the end of the first period. In the second, with Beard starting low, he won the reversal and took the lead 8-0. Koser finally managed to escape and cut the lead 8-1. A Beard crash made it 10-1. Starting neutral in the third, Beard won another fall, while Koser went out for one, making it 12-2. Koser added to his total with a drop, making it 12-4. Beard managed another escape.
2nd round vs. No. 31 Owen Pentz (North Dakota): W – 17-8 (main decision)
Beard took the first takedown to take the lead 2-0 before giving up his escape. The same would happen again when Beard led 4-2. The first period continued with bursts while Beard built an 8-4 lead. Pentz escaped in the second period starting at the bottom to cut the lead 8-5. Another Beard fall followed by an escape resulted in a 10-6. Beard won another fall before the end of the period, making it 12-6. They started in neutral to start the third period. Another fall and escape switch made 14-7. It must be a fall party because it happened again, making it 16-8. Bear advanced to the quarterfinals with the win.
DAY TWO
Quarter-finals vs. No. 26 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma): L – 8-3 (decision)
Beard gave up on the first fall, but managed to escape and cut the lead by 2 to 1. An escape for Beard in the second tied the game, but Woodley managed another fall to take the lead 4-2. Woodley started the third period from below and managed to escape with a 5-2 advantage. Another combination of takedown and flight put Woodley 7-3 at the end of the game. Beard fell in the fight rounds with the defeat.
Round of blood vs. No. 13 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota): W – 9-1 (main decision)
Beard took the first drop of the match to a 2-0 lead. He also worked a curve to get four points of near fall and a 6-0 advantage in the second period. No scoring changes in the second, as Beard maintained his lead and accumulated more than four minutes of driving time going into the third. An escape to Sloan gave him a point, but Beard hit another crash and had more than five minutes of driving time. Beard achieved All-American status.
Consolation quarter-finals vs. No. 7 Rocky Elam (Missouri): L – 5-0 (decision)
Beard was unable to find his attack in the first period, as they finished goalless. Elam escaped and then dropped in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Elam pushed to a 5-0 lead with near-fall points. He kept the lead in the third period and managed to win, leaving Beard to compete for 7th place.
7th place game against No. 8 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming): W – 10-8 (decision, sudden victory)
At the start of the first period, Beard landed a fall and managed to put Buchanan on his back for near fall points. He had a 4-0 advantage. He ended up getting stopped calls to go up 5-0. Buchanan hit a reversal to cut the lead 5-2. At the start of the second period, Beard gave up on an escape and after a fall, as the game was tied at 5-5. At the end of the second, Beard made a reversal to go up 7-5, but Buchanan managed to escape quickly to make it 7-6. Beard escaped to start the third period, but Buchanan managed a late fall to draw 8-8 and send him to the sudden victory. In overtime, Beard attacked and finished with a nice drop to win and finish 7th.