Wartburg edges Coe to win Iowa Conference; Dubuque's Terrell named OW

STORM LAKE, IOWA -- Five schools crowned two individual champions at the 2010 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Wrestling Championships, but No. 2-ranked Wartburg College advanced eight wrestlers to the finals and held off No. 3 Coe, 176.5-167, to win its 18th consecutive title Tuesday at Buena Vista University. The Knights collected their 28th title overall. Cornell, with 120 points, edged Luther (115), and Dubuque (113.5) for third place. The 9.5-point margin was the closest since Central edged Buena Vista 138.5-135 for the title in 1989.

Coe, which posted the highest point total for a runner-up team in Championship history, kicked off the championship session on a strong note as junior Clayton Rush defended his 2009 title with a 5-1 win over Wartburg's Mark Kist at 125 pounds. Tyler Burkle captured his second Kohawk title in three years with a 7-5 sudden victory win over Wartburg's Todd Becker at 184 pounds.

Sean White gave the Knights their first individual title of the night with a 3-0 win over Cornell's Nick Nothern at 133 pounds, Kevin Donahue responded for the Rams at 141 pounds with a 7-5 victory over Coe's Chris LeClere. A subsequent title from Nicholas Loughlin at 157 marked the first time since joining the Iowa Conference that Cornell has had more than one champion at a single IIAC Wrestling Championships.

Luther's Jason Pyle made it four schools with champions with an 11-5 win over Wartburg's Jacob Groth at 149 pounds, before Josh Terrell and Evan Brown gave Dubuque back-to-back titles at 165 and 174, respectively. For Terrell, it was his second consecutive title, while for Brown, it meant an IIAC title to match the NCAA title he earned last season.

Wartburg's Byron Tate captured the 197 title with a 7-3 win over Coe's Rob Kramer, while Luther's Allyn Plattner closed out the championship festivities with a thrilling 6-5 win over Wartburg's John Helgerson in a rematch of the 2009 IIAC heavyweight final won by Helgerson.

For his efforts, Terrell was honored as the 2010 recipient of the Dick Walker Outstanding Wrestler Award. Terrell became the fourth Dubuque to win at least two titles and the first to do so since 1968. Seeded third, he posted a 13-2 major decision over sixth-seed Adam Rave of Luther in the quarterfinals before dispatching of second-seeded Nick LeClere, 6-3, in the semifinals. With 113.5 points, Dubuque posted the highest point total by a Spartan wrestling squad at the Championships. It was the first Outstanding Wrestler honor captured by a UD wrestler.

Van Kley and Duroe Share Coach of the Year Honors: Central's Eric Van Kley and Cornell's Mike Duroe were named Iowa Conference co-Wrestling Coaches of the Year for the 2009-10 season. Van Kley led the Dutch to their first winning dual season since 2000-01 and their best finish at the Conference meet since 2004. Duroe led Cornell to a school-best third place finish at the 2010 Championships and posted the school's second-highest point total (123 in 2009)

Thirty-three wrestlers qualified for the 2010 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships hosted by Coe College, Cornell College, and the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on March 5-6, at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. The top-three finishers in each of the ten weight classes along with three at-large selections will represent the Conference at the national meet.

National qualifiers from the Iowa Conference are:

Buena Vista (2) "" Austin Mogg (125), Brian Broll (197)

Coe (10) "" Clayton Rush (125), Drew Hinschberger (133), Chris LeClere (141), Mark Carey (149), Dale Handley (157), Nick LeClere (165), Seth Rehn (174), Tyler Burkle (184), Rob Kramer (197), Mitch Sander (Hwt.)

Cornell (3) "" Nick Nothern (133), Kevin Donahue (141), Nicholas Loughlin (157)

Dubuque (3) "" Ryan Warcynski (157), Josh Terrell (165), Evan Brown (174)

Luther (5) "" Jayson Swanson (125), Kevin Bokoski (141), Jason Pyle (149), Nic Barclay (184), Allyn Plattner (Hwt.)

Wartburg (10) "" Mark Kist (125), Sean White (133), Matt Kelly (141), Jacob Groth (149), Adam Weber (157), Carrington Banks (165), Dylan Azinger (174), Todd Becker (184), Byron Tate (197), John Helgerson (Hwt.)