CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today its 2020-21 All-Conference wrestling team and major awards winners. Headlining the announcement as American Rivers Conference Co-Most Valuable Performers (MVP) are Coe's Brock Henderson (Jr., 133lbs., Coggon, Iowa/North Linn), Wartburg's Kyle Briggs (Sr., 174lbs., Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson), and Loras' Shane Liegel (So., 184 lbs., Spring Green, Wis./River Valley). Coe College Head Coach, John Oostendorp was voted A-R-C Coach of the Year and Loras' Jalen Schropp (141 lbs., Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) was selected Freshman of the Year. 

All major awards were voted on by the league's head coaches. In a year where NCAA Championships are held, the 30-member all-conference team is composed of the top three A-R-C place-winners at the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional Championships. Due to the covid-altered postseason, this year's 30-member All-Conference team is made up of the top three A-R-C place-winners at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Championships.  

Co-Most Valuable Performer - Brock Henderson, Jr., 133lbs., Coe College
As the No.2 seed in the NWCA National Tournament, Henderson posted three technical falls and a major decision on the way to an overtime victory in the national title bout. In the first round, the Kohawk junior posted a 20-2 technical fall (6:45) over Cornell College's Evan Husko. With a 16-1 technical fall (5:08) over Charlie Gruen of Milwaukee School of Engineering, Henderson advanced to the quarterfinals. He continued his dominance with a 16-0 technical fall (3:21) against Alma's Austin Wieczorek, securing All-American honors. In the semifinals Henderson defeated Greensboro's Joshua Wilson 11-1. The 133-pounder defeated top-seed Robbie Precin of North Central, 4-2 in the championship match. The North Linn prep did so in dramatic fashion. After a Precin escape in sudden victory-one, Henderson answered with an escape of his own and take down with 13 seconds to go. Henderson has now earned NWCA All-American honors in two-straight seasons. 

Co-Most Valuable Performer - Kyle Briggs, Sr., 174lbs., Wartburg College
The174lbs. third place finisher at the 2018-19 NCAA Championships, Briggs, climbed to the top of the podium in 2021. The senior dominated his way through this year's tournament field, collected falls in each of the first four rounds, and closing out the tournament with a major decision in the title match. Briggs' first round took a mere 10 seconds to pick up the pin against Floyd Miller of Buena Vista. His second round match didn't take much longer, sticking Augustana's Frankie Faasen to the mat in 16 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Briggs took slightly longer to find his pinning combination, earning the fall against Cornell College's John March in 2:12. The 174-pounder took out fourth-seeded Brian Shermeyer of Messiah by way of fall (5:23) in the semifinals, locking up a return to the national finals stage. Wrestling against second-seeded Solomon Nielsen of Augsburg in the championship, Briggs collected three takedowns, one escape, and a riding time point to earn an 8-0 major decision. Briggs closed out his senior campaign as a three-time All-American. 

Co-Most Valuable Performer - Shane Liegel, So.., 184lbs., Loras College
Loras' Liegel finished his sophomore season as the 184-pound National Champion. Liegel, who became the first Duhawk champion since 2014, cruised through the first two rounds, collecting a fall over Joel Kanagy of Greensboro (3:24), and a 15-0 technical fall (5:38) against Nevin Brittain of Elmhurst. The quarterfinal round saw Liegel earn an 11-5 decision over Brock Montford of North Central. After being tied at two points apiece in the third period against sixth seed Ira Kuehn of Luther, Liegel was able to turn Kuehn from the top position and pick of the fall at 5:35. In the finals, Liegel upended top-seeded Paul Detwiler of United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), 4-1. Liegel headed into the third period trailing 1-0. Choosing the down position to start the third, Liegel was able to escape in just four seconds. He followed the escape with a quick take down and earned his final point on riding time. Liegel has now earned NWCA All-American honors in two-straight seasons.

Freshman of the Year - Jalen Schropp, Fr., 141lbs., Loras College
First-year Loras College 141-pounder, Schropp claimed sixth at this year's NWCA National Championships. He started the tournament with a fall over Millikin's Jordan Carson in 2:45. Schropp dropped a hard fought 5-4 decision to A.J. Pagliarulo of USCGA in the second round. The first-year wrestler then made the long trek through the consolation bracket, starting with a fall over River Rogers of Carthage College (1:03). The next round saw Schropp record a 5-2 decision over Brandon Woody of Averett. In the "blood round," facing Augsburg's Brady Gross, Schropp earned a 7-0 decision to earn All-American accolades. The consolation quarterfinals saw Schropp take another step up the podium with a 4-2 decision over Luis Ramos of Central College. In the consolation semifinals Schroop fell short in a re-match against USCGA's Pagliarulo, falling 4-2. In the bout for fifth, last year's A-R-C Freshman of the Year, Riley Wright of Coe, defeated Schropp 10-3. 

Coach of the Year - John Oostendorp, Coe College
In his 20th season at the helm of the Coe College wrestling program, John Oostendorp was voted the league's Coach of the Year for the third time in his career (2021, 2008, 2005). Oostendorp, head assistant coach Jimmy Gotto, assistants Ethan Ball, Ted Drees, Mason Cook, Eric Casey, Jan Rosenberg, and Thopher Carton led Coe to a second place finish in the conference, the program's highest finish since 2013-14. The Kohawks finished the conference dual season 7-1, with their only blemish of the season coming on a two point loss to Wartburg on Jan. 30 (21-23). The national stage saw Coe crown a program-best three individual national champions and nine All-Americans. 

The proud tradition of American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) wrestling continued at the 2021 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Championships on Saturday, March 13 with seven wrestlers earning national titles and 37 garnering All-American honors. The NWCA announced the creation of the event three weeks after the NCAA announced the cancellation of the 2020-21 NCAA Division III winter championships. The event was hosted by the NWCA and took place at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. Twelve A-R-C wrestlers reached the national championship bout and three of the 10 weight classes featured an all American Rivers final.

This year's All-Conference team has 14-of-30 who are earning at least their second honor, while Wartburg's Briggs is the lone four-time award winner. 

The complete 2020-21 American Rivers All-Conference Wrestling team is as follows:

2020-21 All-American Rivers Conference Wrestling Team
Co-MVP - Brock Henderson, Coe College, Jr., 133lbs.
Co-MVP - Kyle Briggs, Wartburg College, Sr., 174lbs.
Co-MVP - Shane Liegel, Loras College, So., 184lbs.
Freshman of the Year - Jalen Schropp, Loras College, Fr., 141lbs.
Coach of the Year - John Oostendorp, Coe College
Name	Weight	NWCA National Finish	School	Year	Hometown/High school
Alex Friddle &	125 lbs. - NWCA Championships	National Champion	Coe	So.	Morris, Ill./Coal City
Brady Kyner !	125 lbs. - NWCA Championships	2nd	Wartburg	Sr.	Carlisle, Iowa/S.E. Warren
Dylan McChesney &	125 lbs. - NWCA Championships	5th	Simpson	Jr.	Northglenn, Colo./Northglenn
Brock Henderson $ &	133 lbs. - NWCA Championships	National Champion	Coe	Jr.	Coggon, Iowa/North Linn
Joe Pins	133 lbs. - NWCA Championships	3rd	Wartburg	So.	Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead
Eron Haynes !	133 lbs. - NWCA Championships	4th	Nebraska Wesleyan	Jr.	Omaha, Neb./Omaha Central
Kristian Rumph ! &	141 lbs. - NWCA Championships	2nd	Wartburg	Jr.	Portage, Ind./Portage
Riley Wright ~ &	141 lbs. - NWCA Championships	5th	Coe	So.	Denver, Iowa/Denver
Jalen Schropp	141 lbs. - NWCA Championships	6th	Loras	Fr.	Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg
Josh Gerke	149 lbs. - NWCA Championships	National Champion	Coe	Sr.	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier
Brady Fritz !	149 lbs. - NWCA Championships	2nd	Wartburg	Jr.	Tama, Iowa/South Tama
Zeke Smith	149 lbs. - NWCA Championships	4th	Loras	So.	Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie
David Hollingsworth	157 lbs. - NWCA Championships	National Champion	Wartburg	Jr.	Owings Mills, Md./Owings Mills
Brady Henderson	157 lbs. - NWCA Championships	2nd	Coe	So.	Coggon, Iowa/North Linn
Daniel Ruiz &	157 lbs. - NWCA Championships	7th	Loras	Jr.	Madera, Calif./Madera
Zane Mulder	165 lbs. - NWCA Championships	2nd	Wartburg	So.	Grimes, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes
Gabe Fiser	165 lbs. - NWCA Championships	4th	Loras	So.	Grundy, Va,/Grundy
Ryker Kurimski	165 lbs. - NWCA Championships	8th	Coe	So.	Epworth, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Kyle Briggs @ ! &	174 lbs. - NWCA Championships	National Champion	Wartburg	Sr.	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson
Jacob Krakow ! &	174 lbs. - NWCA Championships	3rd	Loras	Sr.	Marengo, Iowa/Iowa Valley
Tristin Westphal	174 lbs. - NWCA Championships	8th	Coe	So.	Washington, Iowa/Washington
Shane Liegel &	184 lbs. - NWCA Championships	National Champion	Loras	So.	Spring Green, Wis./River Valley
Ira Kuehn	184 lbs. - NWCA Championships	3rd	Luther	Sr.	DeWitt, Iowa/Central DeWitt
Ryan Schott	184 lbs. - NWCA Championships	6th	Coe	Jr.	Iowa City, Iowa/Regina
Donovan Corn	197 lbs. - NWCA Championships	4th	Luther	So.	Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton
Chris Nielsen	197 lbs. - NWCA Championships	7th	Dubuque	Sr.	Little Egg Harbour, N.J./Pinelands Regional
Don Phillips II	197 lbs. - NWCA Championships	8th	Buena Vista	Sr.	Las Vegas, Nev./Mojave
Wyatt Wriedt &	285 lbs. - NWCA Championships	National Champion	Loras	So.	Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott
Kaleb Reeves	285 lbs. - NWCA Championships	3rd	Coe	Jr.	Sigourney, Iowa/Sigourney
Jordon Brandon &	285 lbs. - NWCA Championships	6th	Wartburg	Sr.	Southgate, Mich./John Glenn
Previous Honors
& - 2019-20 All-Conference
~ - 2019-20 Freshman of the Year
! - 2018-19 All-Conference
@ - 2018-19 MVP
# - 2018-19 Freshman of the Year
$ - 2017-18 All-Conference
% - 2017-18 MVP
^ - 2017-18 Freshman of the Year

 

---