by Skip Snow, Notre Dame College
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Notre Dame grapplers garnered three national championships and nine Falcons placed, as the mat men earned Notre Dame College's first national championship in any sport with a victory at the 53rd Annual NAIA National Championships on Saturday.
Sophomore Jeffrey Pelton (149 pounds, Bellevue, Ohio) and juniors Thomas Straughn (157, Massillon, Ohio), and Derek Foore (197, Wadsworth, Ohio) won national championships, as the fourth-year program from South Euclid, Ohio, steamrolled to a decisive team victory.
The Falcons, ranked No. 1 in the nation (NAIA Coaches' Poll) heading into the event, won in dominant fashion. NDC scored 179.5 team points, 59.5 points more than second-place Southern Oregon (120 points). That margin of victory is the second-largest at the NAIA National Championship tournament since 1982. Great Falls (Mont.) placed third, with 118.5 points. Three-time defending champion Lindenwood (Mo.) placed seventh.
Pelton earned his title with a 7-5 decision over third-ranked (NAIA Coaches' Poll) Byron Kuylen of Great Falls (Mont.). The junior grappler went 5-0 at the tournament to remain unbeaten (24-0) on the season.
Straughn followed that up in the next bout with an 11-7 victory over eighth-ranked James Casadaban (Cumberland University-Tenn.). The Massillon, Ohio, native and now two-time All-American also went 5-0 in Oklahoma City; his final record for 2009-10 stands at 27-3.
Foore defeated No. 3 Jake Kallestad from Dickinson State (N.D.) in a 3-1 decision to close out his remarkable season. The Wadsworth, Ohio, native went 5-0 at the tournament and 27-0 with 13 pins on the season.
Six more NDC grapplers placed in the tournament, which was held at Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City, from Thursday through Saturday. The NAIA awards All-America recognition to top-six finishers in each weight class, so nine Falcon student-athletes will return to Cleveland as All-Americans.
Freshman Orlando Scales (Cincinnati) was among those placers - he was the national runner-up in the heavyweight division. The Falcons' top 2009 recruit lost, 4-2, in a Saturday-night title bout that went into overtime.
"What an unbelievable performance," said Notre Dame Head Coach Frank Romano. "With all of the preparation that went into this, from our staff to every wrestler on the squad, to people at the College, it all makes this experience very gratifying. It's very special to be crowned as the national champs."
The win for Notre Dame closes out a remarkable season of dominance for the Falcon program, in just its fourth season since being instituted in 2006. The Wrestling Falcons were ranked No. 2 in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Poll (Oc. 20) and after winning the National Catholic Invitational (Erie, Pa.) on Nov. 7 and obliterating the competition by earning seven titles at the Harris Open (Ashland, Ohio) on Nov. 14, NDC was voted as the top team in NAIA wrestling in the first Coaches' Poll of the 2009-10 season, on Nov. 24. The Blue & White then retained that ranking throughout the season.
Notre Dame Wins First NAIA Wrestling National Championship; Winning and Bhullar repeat as national champs
by Amanda Dahl, NAIA
OKLAHOMA CITY - Notre Dame (Ohio) closed out its dominating run through the 53rd Annual NAIA Wrestling National Championships by winning the program's first-ever team title with 179.5 points on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University. Southern Oregon took runner-up honors for the second straight year with 120 points, followed by Great Falls (Mont.) in third at 118.5 points, Missouri Valley in fourth with 110.5 points and McKendree (Ill.) rounded out the top five with 109 points.
"We had a great year," Notre Dame head coach Frank Romano said. "This program was started only 3 ½ years ago and to ascend to the top of the NAIA in such a short amount of time…I find it so amazing. I didn't think it would happen this fast. We have a great coaching staff and have been building since we won the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in January."
The Falcons, who previously had two national champions, sent four wrestlers into the finals and emerged with three titlists to run the program's total to five. Notre Dame finished the event with 10 All-Americans and Ramano was named NAIA Wrestling National Coach of the Year for his team's accomplishments.
"When you enter the National Championships, you never know what is going to happen," Romano said. "Our guys are in great shape and we wrestled really well. I thought we were competitive in all our matches and we wrestled really well on our feet. That's what wins matches, performing on your feet, and our guys worked hard and did that. I've been in wrestling for 50 years and to come out of retirement to start this program and now win a national title, it's really special. It is something that is rare and unique in collegiate athletics."
Campbellsville's (Ky.) Tommy Pretty put on an offensive show en route to a 14-3 major decision over Myles Mazurkiewicz of Great Falls (Mont.) to take the 133-pound title. Pretty, who is just the second national champion for Campbellsville, opened up with a 9-3 lead in the first period scoring a two and a three-point nearfall.
The matchup between Southern Oregon's Barry Johnson and Kyle Wirkuty at 141 pounds marked only the ninth time in the event's 53-year history that wrestlers from the same school have gone head-to-head for an individual championship. Familiarity set up a tight match, with regulation ending in a 4-4 tie. Wrestling on the edge of the mat in sudden victory, Johnson took down Wirkuty to clinch a 6-4 decision and the championship.
Senior Aaron Winning capped off his McKendree career by capturing his second consecutive 165-pound crown and did so in dominating fashion with a 9-0 major decision of Lindenwood's (Mo.) Chris Chionuma. The three-time All-American opened with a takedown and three-point nearfall in the first period and tacked on another takedown in the third period. Winning is the only wrestler in the Bearcat program's history to win a pair of national titles.
Grand View's (Iowa) Glenn Rhees used a single-leg takedown on the edge of the mat to take a 3-1 decision in sudden victory at 174 pounds. Neither wrestler was able to generate any offensive scoring during regulation, but each tallied an escape at the beginning of the second and third periods, respectively, to deadlock the match at 1-1 and force an additional 60 seconds of action. Rhees is the second national champion in Vikings' two-year program history.
Sudden victory was again needed in the night's final match, but returning national champ Arjan Bhullar of Simon Fraser (B.C.)'s countermove of Notre Dame's Orlando Scales lifted the senior to his second straight title via a 3-1 decision. After a scoreless first period, Scales escaped from Bhullar, and Bhullar evened the score in the third period 1-1 with an escape of his own. Wrestling towards the edge of the mat, Scales took a shot on Bhullar, which he countered on with a single leg and converted to a double for the two points. With the win, Bhullar gave the Clan their 40th individual championship, which is tops in the NAIA.
For his efforts, Bhullar was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. Southern Oregon's Mitchell Lofstedt, who took top-honors at 125 pounds was named NWCA/NAIA National Wrestler of the Year.
Notre Dame's Ashtin Primus recorded the most pins in the least amount of time during the course of the championship, sticking five opponents in 4:57. His quickest fall came in 37 seconds.
Morningside (Iowa) received the Buffalo Funds "5-Star" Champion of Character Team Award.
NAIA Championships results
At Oklahoma City Abe Lemons Arena
provided by Rich Tortorelli, Oklahoma City Univ.
Team Standings
1. Notre Dame (Ohio), 179.5; 2. Southern Oregon, 120; 3. Great Falls (Mont.), 118.5; 4. Missouri Valley, 110.5; 5. McKendree (Ill.), 109; 6. Dickinson State (N.D.), 105.5; 7. Lindenwood (Mo.), 71.5; 8. California Baptist, 71; 9. (tie) Dana (Neb.), Grand View (Iowa), 61.5; 11. Cumberland (Tenn.), 48.5; 12. Missouri Baptist, 45; 13. (tie) Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Oklahoma City, 41; 15. Montana State-Northern, 39.
Championship Finals
125: Mitchell Lofstedt, Southern Oregon, dec. Chauncey Phillips, California Baptist, 5-2
133: Tommy Pretty, Campbellsville, maj. dec. Myles Mazurkiewicz, Great Falls, 14-3
141: Barry Johnson, Southern Oregon, dec. Kyle Wirkuty, Southern Oregon, 6-4 (SV)
149: Jeffrey Pelton, Notre Dame, dec. Byron Kuylen, Great Falls, 7-5
157: Thomas Straughn, Notre Dame, dec. James Casadaban, Cumberland, 11-7
165: Aaron Winning, McKendree, maj. dec. Chris Chionuma, Lindenwood, 9-0
174: Glenn Rhees, Grand View, dec. Enock Francois, California Baptist, 3-1 (SV)
184: Chad Williams, Missouri Valley, dec. Mark Peiffer, Dana, 7-6
197: Derek Foore, Notre Dame, dec. Jake Kallestad, Dickinson State, 3-1
285: Arjan Bhullar, Simon Fraser vs. Orlando Scales, Notre Dame, 4-2 (SV)
Third Place
125: Matt Chustz, William Penn, dec. Angel Olea, Dickinson State, 12-10
133: Colin Pierce, Missouri Valley, maj. dec. Brian Jacob, Southern Oregon, 10-2
141: Mikey Davis, Cumberland, maj. dec. Christian Martinez, Menlo, 13-3
149: Ashtin Primus, Notre Dame, pinned Ryan Jahn, McKendree, 1:24
157: Tyler Chang, Embry-Riddle, dec. Joe Cornejo, Missouri Valley, 5-4
165: Joe Sievert, Morningside, maj. dec. Bulla Tuzon, Dana, 23-11
174: Cody Butzer, Notre Dame, dec. Cameron Schrempp, Dickinson State, 3-1
184: Michael French, Great Falls, maj. dec. Evan Hinebauch, Montana State-Northern, 9-0
197: Alex Calvi, Great Falls, pinned Nic Leither, Northwestern (Iowa), 6:27
285: Frank Lopez, Dickinson State, dec. Tyler Porras, Lindenwood, 16-9
Fifth Place
125: Tyler Savage, Notre Dame, dec. Larone Madison, Cumberlands, 3-2
133: Anton Prater, Missouri Baptist, dec. Blake Hunter, Dickinson State, 3-2
141: Kyle Williams, McKendree, def. Adam Koballa, Notre Dame, by forfeit
149: Benjamin Garcia, California Baptist, dec. Sam Schmitz, Lindenwood, 6-3
157: Nik Turner, Oklahoma City, pinned Dustin Center, Cumberlands, 1:23
165: Brad Lower, Grand View, dec. Lamar Reed, California Baptist, 6-4
174: Jameon Rush, Hastings, dec. Josh Bryant, McKendree, 10-5 (SV)
184: Brett Owen, Dickinson State, dec. Alex Denman, Notre Dame, 7-3
197: Andrew Sanchez, McKendree, dec. Evan Mattingly, Montana State-Northern, 8-4
285: John Bates, Southern Oregon, def. Chas Maloch, McKendree, by default
Seventh Place
125: Jason Moorhouse, Menlo, dec. Zach Meury, Missouri Baptist, 3-0
133: Josh Rogers, Briar Cliff, dec. Joseph Michel, Jamestown, 6-5
141: Timothy Mitchem, Cumberlands, dec. Eric Graham, Missouri Valley, 4-0
149: Trace Billet, Embry-Riddle, dec. Levi Price, Northwestern (Iowa), 10-4
157: Ross Mosher, Great Falls, def. Tommy Norton-Hooper, Southern Oregon, by default
165: David Dwyer, McKendree, dec. Michael Hader, Great Falls, 6-4
174: Jon Bittenger, Notre Dame, def. Shane Bennett, Dickinson State, by default
184: Jesse Alter, Missouri Valley, dec. Jordaryl Logan, Grand View, 5-2
197: Charlie Gibbs, Missouri Valley, pinned Ronald Lee, Southern Oregon, 0:41
285: Corey Johnson, Oklahoma City, pinned Jeremy Colbert, Bacone, 4:15
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Notre Dame grapplers garnered three national championships and nine Falcons placed, as the mat men earned Notre Dame College's first national championship in any sport with a victory at the 53rd Annual NAIA National Championships on Saturday.
Sophomore Jeffrey Pelton (149 pounds, Bellevue, Ohio) and juniors Thomas Straughn (157, Massillon, Ohio), and Derek Foore (197, Wadsworth, Ohio) won national championships, as the fourth-year program from South Euclid, Ohio, steamrolled to a decisive team victory.
The Falcons, ranked No. 1 in the nation (NAIA Coaches' Poll) heading into the event, won in dominant fashion. NDC scored 179.5 team points, 59.5 points more than second-place Southern Oregon (120 points). That margin of victory is the second-largest at the NAIA National Championship tournament since 1982. Great Falls (Mont.) placed third, with 118.5 points. Three-time defending champion Lindenwood (Mo.) placed seventh.
Pelton earned his title with a 7-5 decision over third-ranked (NAIA Coaches' Poll) Byron Kuylen of Great Falls (Mont.). The junior grappler went 5-0 at the tournament to remain unbeaten (24-0) on the season.
Straughn followed that up in the next bout with an 11-7 victory over eighth-ranked James Casadaban (Cumberland University-Tenn.). The Massillon, Ohio, native and now two-time All-American also went 5-0 in Oklahoma City; his final record for 2009-10 stands at 27-3.
Foore defeated No. 3 Jake Kallestad from Dickinson State (N.D.) in a 3-1 decision to close out his remarkable season. The Wadsworth, Ohio, native went 5-0 at the tournament and 27-0 with 13 pins on the season.
Six more NDC grapplers placed in the tournament, which was held at Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City, from Thursday through Saturday. The NAIA awards All-America recognition to top-six finishers in each weight class, so nine Falcon student-athletes will return to Cleveland as All-Americans.
Freshman Orlando Scales (Cincinnati) was among those placers - he was the national runner-up in the heavyweight division. The Falcons' top 2009 recruit lost, 4-2, in a Saturday-night title bout that went into overtime.
"What an unbelievable performance," said Notre Dame Head Coach Frank Romano. "With all of the preparation that went into this, from our staff to every wrestler on the squad, to people at the College, it all makes this experience very gratifying. It's very special to be crowned as the national champs."
The win for Notre Dame closes out a remarkable season of dominance for the Falcon program, in just its fourth season since being instituted in 2006. The Wrestling Falcons were ranked No. 2 in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Poll (Oc. 20) and after winning the National Catholic Invitational (Erie, Pa.) on Nov. 7 and obliterating the competition by earning seven titles at the Harris Open (Ashland, Ohio) on Nov. 14, NDC was voted as the top team in NAIA wrestling in the first Coaches' Poll of the 2009-10 season, on Nov. 24. The Blue & White then retained that ranking throughout the season.
Notre Dame Wins First NAIA Wrestling National Championship; Winning and Bhullar repeat as national champs
by Amanda Dahl, NAIA
OKLAHOMA CITY - Notre Dame (Ohio) closed out its dominating run through the 53rd Annual NAIA Wrestling National Championships by winning the program's first-ever team title with 179.5 points on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University. Southern Oregon took runner-up honors for the second straight year with 120 points, followed by Great Falls (Mont.) in third at 118.5 points, Missouri Valley in fourth with 110.5 points and McKendree (Ill.) rounded out the top five with 109 points.
"We had a great year," Notre Dame head coach Frank Romano said. "This program was started only 3 ½ years ago and to ascend to the top of the NAIA in such a short amount of time…I find it so amazing. I didn't think it would happen this fast. We have a great coaching staff and have been building since we won the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in January."
The Falcons, who previously had two national champions, sent four wrestlers into the finals and emerged with three titlists to run the program's total to five. Notre Dame finished the event with 10 All-Americans and Ramano was named NAIA Wrestling National Coach of the Year for his team's accomplishments.
"When you enter the National Championships, you never know what is going to happen," Romano said. "Our guys are in great shape and we wrestled really well. I thought we were competitive in all our matches and we wrestled really well on our feet. That's what wins matches, performing on your feet, and our guys worked hard and did that. I've been in wrestling for 50 years and to come out of retirement to start this program and now win a national title, it's really special. It is something that is rare and unique in collegiate athletics."
Campbellsville's (Ky.) Tommy Pretty put on an offensive show en route to a 14-3 major decision over Myles Mazurkiewicz of Great Falls (Mont.) to take the 133-pound title. Pretty, who is just the second national champion for Campbellsville, opened up with a 9-3 lead in the first period scoring a two and a three-point nearfall.
The matchup between Southern Oregon's Barry Johnson and Kyle Wirkuty at 141 pounds marked only the ninth time in the event's 53-year history that wrestlers from the same school have gone head-to-head for an individual championship. Familiarity set up a tight match, with regulation ending in a 4-4 tie. Wrestling on the edge of the mat in sudden victory, Johnson took down Wirkuty to clinch a 6-4 decision and the championship.
Senior Aaron Winning capped off his McKendree career by capturing his second consecutive 165-pound crown and did so in dominating fashion with a 9-0 major decision of Lindenwood's (Mo.) Chris Chionuma. The three-time All-American opened with a takedown and three-point nearfall in the first period and tacked on another takedown in the third period. Winning is the only wrestler in the Bearcat program's history to win a pair of national titles.
Grand View's (Iowa) Glenn Rhees used a single-leg takedown on the edge of the mat to take a 3-1 decision in sudden victory at 174 pounds. Neither wrestler was able to generate any offensive scoring during regulation, but each tallied an escape at the beginning of the second and third periods, respectively, to deadlock the match at 1-1 and force an additional 60 seconds of action. Rhees is the second national champion in Vikings' two-year program history.
Sudden victory was again needed in the night's final match, but returning national champ Arjan Bhullar of Simon Fraser (B.C.)'s countermove of Notre Dame's Orlando Scales lifted the senior to his second straight title via a 3-1 decision. After a scoreless first period, Scales escaped from Bhullar, and Bhullar evened the score in the third period 1-1 with an escape of his own. Wrestling towards the edge of the mat, Scales took a shot on Bhullar, which he countered on with a single leg and converted to a double for the two points. With the win, Bhullar gave the Clan their 40th individual championship, which is tops in the NAIA.
For his efforts, Bhullar was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. Southern Oregon's Mitchell Lofstedt, who took top-honors at 125 pounds was named NWCA/NAIA National Wrestler of the Year.
Notre Dame's Ashtin Primus recorded the most pins in the least amount of time during the course of the championship, sticking five opponents in 4:57. His quickest fall came in 37 seconds.
Morningside (Iowa) received the Buffalo Funds "5-Star" Champion of Character Team Award.
NAIA Championships results
At Oklahoma City Abe Lemons Arena
provided by Rich Tortorelli, Oklahoma City Univ.
Team Standings
1. Notre Dame (Ohio), 179.5; 2. Southern Oregon, 120; 3. Great Falls (Mont.), 118.5; 4. Missouri Valley, 110.5; 5. McKendree (Ill.), 109; 6. Dickinson State (N.D.), 105.5; 7. Lindenwood (Mo.), 71.5; 8. California Baptist, 71; 9. (tie) Dana (Neb.), Grand View (Iowa), 61.5; 11. Cumberland (Tenn.), 48.5; 12. Missouri Baptist, 45; 13. (tie) Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Oklahoma City, 41; 15. Montana State-Northern, 39.
Championship Finals
125: Mitchell Lofstedt, Southern Oregon, dec. Chauncey Phillips, California Baptist, 5-2
133: Tommy Pretty, Campbellsville, maj. dec. Myles Mazurkiewicz, Great Falls, 14-3
141: Barry Johnson, Southern Oregon, dec. Kyle Wirkuty, Southern Oregon, 6-4 (SV)
149: Jeffrey Pelton, Notre Dame, dec. Byron Kuylen, Great Falls, 7-5
157: Thomas Straughn, Notre Dame, dec. James Casadaban, Cumberland, 11-7
165: Aaron Winning, McKendree, maj. dec. Chris Chionuma, Lindenwood, 9-0
174: Glenn Rhees, Grand View, dec. Enock Francois, California Baptist, 3-1 (SV)
184: Chad Williams, Missouri Valley, dec. Mark Peiffer, Dana, 7-6
197: Derek Foore, Notre Dame, dec. Jake Kallestad, Dickinson State, 3-1
285: Arjan Bhullar, Simon Fraser vs. Orlando Scales, Notre Dame, 4-2 (SV)
Third Place
125: Matt Chustz, William Penn, dec. Angel Olea, Dickinson State, 12-10
133: Colin Pierce, Missouri Valley, maj. dec. Brian Jacob, Southern Oregon, 10-2
141: Mikey Davis, Cumberland, maj. dec. Christian Martinez, Menlo, 13-3
149: Ashtin Primus, Notre Dame, pinned Ryan Jahn, McKendree, 1:24
157: Tyler Chang, Embry-Riddle, dec. Joe Cornejo, Missouri Valley, 5-4
165: Joe Sievert, Morningside, maj. dec. Bulla Tuzon, Dana, 23-11
174: Cody Butzer, Notre Dame, dec. Cameron Schrempp, Dickinson State, 3-1
184: Michael French, Great Falls, maj. dec. Evan Hinebauch, Montana State-Northern, 9-0
197: Alex Calvi, Great Falls, pinned Nic Leither, Northwestern (Iowa), 6:27
285: Frank Lopez, Dickinson State, dec. Tyler Porras, Lindenwood, 16-9
Fifth Place
125: Tyler Savage, Notre Dame, dec. Larone Madison, Cumberlands, 3-2
133: Anton Prater, Missouri Baptist, dec. Blake Hunter, Dickinson State, 3-2
141: Kyle Williams, McKendree, def. Adam Koballa, Notre Dame, by forfeit
149: Benjamin Garcia, California Baptist, dec. Sam Schmitz, Lindenwood, 6-3
157: Nik Turner, Oklahoma City, pinned Dustin Center, Cumberlands, 1:23
165: Brad Lower, Grand View, dec. Lamar Reed, California Baptist, 6-4
174: Jameon Rush, Hastings, dec. Josh Bryant, McKendree, 10-5 (SV)
184: Brett Owen, Dickinson State, dec. Alex Denman, Notre Dame, 7-3
197: Andrew Sanchez, McKendree, dec. Evan Mattingly, Montana State-Northern, 8-4
285: John Bates, Southern Oregon, def. Chas Maloch, McKendree, by default
Seventh Place
125: Jason Moorhouse, Menlo, dec. Zach Meury, Missouri Baptist, 3-0
133: Josh Rogers, Briar Cliff, dec. Joseph Michel, Jamestown, 6-5
141: Timothy Mitchem, Cumberlands, dec. Eric Graham, Missouri Valley, 4-0
149: Trace Billet, Embry-Riddle, dec. Levi Price, Northwestern (Iowa), 10-4
157: Ross Mosher, Great Falls, def. Tommy Norton-Hooper, Southern Oregon, by default
165: David Dwyer, McKendree, dec. Michael Hader, Great Falls, 6-4
174: Jon Bittenger, Notre Dame, def. Shane Bennett, Dickinson State, by default
184: Jesse Alter, Missouri Valley, dec. Jordaryl Logan, Grand View, 5-2
197: Charlie Gibbs, Missouri Valley, pinned Ronald Lee, Southern Oregon, 0:41
285: Corey Johnson, Oklahoma City, pinned Jeremy Colbert, Bacone, 4:15
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