FORT WAYNE, Indiana - Number 1-ranked Wartburg College and No.3 Augsburg University collided in the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals Championship bought for the 12th time in history, with Augsburg coming away the victor in 2018. After a quarterfinal loss to Wartburg, No.11 Coe College wrestled through the consolation bracket to earn 6th-place.
In search of the programs eighth-straight National Duals title, Wartburg began day two with a 32-15 win over No.4 Ithaca before falling short against Augsburg in the championship. The Knights dropped the title contest 17-21. Eleventh-ranked Coe took home 6th-place, the second-highest possible finish on the consolation side of the bracket. The Kohawks picked up day two wins over No.7 Wabash and No.6 UW-Whitewater before dropping the fight/sixth-place dual to No.8 Baldwin Wallace.
After receiving an opening round bye, the top-ranked Knights kicked off the 2018 NWCA National Duals with a 46 - 3 win over Olivet in round-two. Wartburg's
Brock Rathbun (133lbs),
Martine Sandoval (141lbs),
Jacob Krakow (174lbs) and
Kyle Briggs (184lbs) picked up falls in the second-round victory.
Mike Ross (165lbs) kept his undefeated season (13-0) alive with a 16-0 technical fall over Olivet's fifth-ranked Tyler Grimsley. Also picking up tech. falls for Wartburg were No.1
Logan Thomsen (157lbs), and No.2
Kyle Fank (197lbs).
The Knights met Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) foe, Coe College in the quarterfinal-round. Wartburg came away with a convincing 42 - 4 victory in the match-up to advance to Saturday's semifinal-round where they will face fourth-ranked Ithaca at 11:00 a.m. EST. Second-ranked Fank (197lbs) and Rathbun (133lbs) recorded pins for Wartburg in their quarterfinal team victory. Picking up tech. falls for Wartburg were top-ranked
Cross Cannone (149lbs) and No.1 Thomsen (157lbs.). At 141lbs.
Brady Ruden solidified the lone win for the Kohawks with a 23-13 major decision over Sandovial. At 174lbs. Wartburg saw top-ranked and returning national champion
Eric Devos return to the line-up for an IIAC showdown against Coe's No.5
Jake Voss. Devos showed why he is ranked No.1, coming away with a 10-4 decision.
On day two of the National Duals, Wartburg picked up where it left off, defeating No.4 Ithaca 32-15 in the semifinals. Top-ranked Cannone (149lbs.) and Devos (174lbs) collected six team points for the Knights with pins. Cannone's win came over fourth-ranked Sam Schneider. Fank (197lbs) and Rathbun (133lbs.) racked up tech. falls to each add five points onto the board for Wartburg. In top five match-up No.2
Lance Evans defeated No. 5 Jake O'Brien 2-1. Ross pushed his winning streak to 14 with a 6-2 decision over second ranked Nick Velez and Thomsen extended his streak to 19 with a 12-3 major decision.
Meeting for the second-straight year in the National Duals Championship, Augsburg came away with the tightly contested dual 21-17. At 149lbs. Cannone defeated Augsburg's sixth-ranked Alex Wilson 9-2. Thomsen recorded a 7-4 decision over No.6 Ryan Epps at 157lbs and Devos picked up an 11-5 decision over Tanner Vassar at 174lbs. Thomsen improved to 20-0 with the victory and Devoss moved his winning streak to 23. Fank tallied bonus points for the Knights at 197lbs with a 18-1 tech. fall over Jonathan Zarnke. The tech. fall was Fank's 26th of his career.
Bowen Wileman followed that performance up with an 11-0 major decision over Ethan Hofacker at 285lbs. Wartburg and Augsburg will square off again on Thursday, February 1 in Waverly, Iowa.
Coe started off the National Duals with a 43 - 6 opening round win over Manchester University. All eight of the Kohawk's wins came by way of bonus points.
Fletcher Green (133lbs.), Ruden (141lbs.),
Romello Hidalgo-Monjares (157lbs), No.5 Voss (174lbs) and
Brennan Koerperich (285lbs.) all collected falls in the first-round team win.
In second-round action, No.11 Coe picked up a 37 - 6 win over ninth-ranked Ferrum College. Top-Ranked Voss tallied a 16-0 technical fall to add five points to the team score. Recording pins for the Kohawks in the team victory were Ruden, Hidalgo-Monjares,
Josh Edel and
Andrew Holladay.
After droping the championship quarterfinal dual to Wartburg, Coe bounced back with a 15-18 victory over No.7 Wabash in the consolation quarterfinals.
Brock Henderson (125lbs.) tallied six team points with the Kohawks lone fall of the dual.
Brady Wilsie (133lbs.) was the next highest point scorer, collecting a 17-1 tech. fall and five team points. Edel (184lbs.) and Holladay (197lbs.) picked up bonus points for the Kohawks with major decisions. Winning by decision for Coe were Ruden (141lbs.) and Erickson (157lbs.). Erickson's win came over No.4 Kyle Hatch.
The Kohawks kept with the theme of upending higher ranked teams, defeating No.6 UW-Whitewater 21-15 in the consolation semifinals. After dropping the first three matches of the dual and trailing Whitewater 12-0, Coe rallied off four-straight wins to even the score at 12 all. At 149lbs. The 184lbs. bought would go to Whitewater but Coe bounced back at the final two weights to seal the dual. Holladay collected a fall at 197lbs. and
Brennan Koerperich put the finishing touches on the team victory with a 3-1 sudden victory 1 win at 285lbs.
The fifth-place battle between No.11 Coe and No.8 Baldwin Wallace came down to the wire. Heading into the final two weights Coe held a 17-13 advantage but Baldwin Wallace stormed back and secured wins in the final two contest to claim the dual 22-17. Wilsie (133lbs.) and Erickson (157lbs.) collected major decisions to earn the Kohawks only bonus points of the dual. Picking up decisions for Coe were Ruden (141lbs.), Voss (174lbs.) and Edel (184lbs.).
