Gardner, a senior heavyweight, was named Outstanding Wrestler of Wartburg’s Dick Walker Invitational posting a 4-0 record with three falls. The Invitational featured five schools ranked in the NCAA Division III Top-25 and two of the nation’s top ranked junior colleges. Gardner, ranked first in his weight class in the NWCA Brute-Adidas Poll, pinned Augsburg’s Lucas Johnson at the 20 second mark in the opening round. In the second round, he pinned Iowa Central’s David Paniccia at 1:48 followed by a pin of Coe’s Chris Harrison at 3:00. Gardner won by major decision (8-0) in the finals over Loras’ Pat Thomas, who is ranked second in the heavyweight class of the Brute-Adidas Poll.
