Team race tightens heading in the final day at the NAIA Championships

For the first time in years, the NAIA National Championship will seemingly go down to the wire after a very interesting second day. Defending champion Lindenwood University holds the lead with 116 points but, unlike previous years, four other teams are nipping at the Lions' heels.

The biggest move of the day was made by the University of Great Falls which vaulted from fifth to second place after day two. The Argonauts will send three wrestlers into the finals: Wayne French (157), Brendon DeCock (174) and Mike Kummer (184). Kummer downed defending national champion Jake Stevenson of Morningside in an overtime semi-final match while DeCock with face off with returning champ Matt Cauley in the only head-to-head finals meeting between the top two teams.

Cauley, Dennis Kakrah (125), Raymond Stephens (133) and Ryan Moyer (149) will lead the Lions in the finals. Five other programs will send two athletes apiece after a national championship, including Thursday's second-place McKendree University, which trails UGF by just 90.5-90.

Coach Caleb Schaefer's UGF squad's impressive performance on day two came after a less than stellar first round.

"Honestly, we came back from the depths. We came in hoping to place in the top five but yesterday was tough," stated the first-year head coach. "This just shows how the growth of this sport on the NAIA level has helped disperse the talent and the points. This is great for wrestling to have such a close contest going into the final day."

Dickinson State (84.5) has the most wrestlers still in the tournament with two finalists, brothers Stanton and Justin Schlecht, and five alive on the backside.

Justin Schlecht has his chance to become a three-time champion tomorrow while leading the BluHawks.

"This team has been solid all year. We were ready and focused coming in to this year's tournament with a goal to be right in the thick of things," said Head Coach Thadd O'Donnell. "After we had four regional champs lose in the first round, we could have gotten down. But we came back strong and had a very good morning."

Dana College (80.5), Menlo College (68.5) and second-year program Notre Dame College each also have two finalists.

Of the ten top-ranked wrestlers at the end of the season, seven have advanced to the finals. Three returning champions will not get the chance to defend their titles this year after dropping semi-finals; Zake Flake of Campbellsville, Hayden Harrison of Embry-Riddle and Stevenson.

Lindenwood coach Joe Parisi also sited the addition of new teams as an equalizer at this year's national finals.

"I feel like we wee dropped right into the middle of a battlefield because today was such an emotional roller coaster," noted Parisi. "The NAIA has been adding four to five new programs every year for the past few seasons and eight more colleges have inquired about starting programs next year.

"The parity is now showing in the quality of wrestlers and programs at this tournament. Last year we had 12 All-Americans, this year we only have six, but we are still leading."

Consolation action to determine third-, fifth- and seventh-places begins tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. in the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, IA. The finals are slated to start at 7:00 p.m.