(Results) (Brackets) (Standings)
ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- No. 7 Notre Dame traveled to the East National Qualifying Group Tournament on the campus of Lindenwood University with 12 team members competing, and 10 of them placed to lead the Falcons to a second-place finish in the event. The Blue & White finished with 130 points, 40 behind the host Lindenwood Lions, who came into the tournament ranked No. 1 in the NAIA. No. 2-ranked McKendree (Ill.) finished third with 110 points.
NDC was led by two tournament champions: freshman #Jeffrey Pelton#, the No. 4-ranked wrestler at 149-pounds, and sophomore #Thomas Straughn#, ranked No. 4 at 157-pounds.
Pelton went 3-0 on the day, including victories over the No. 3- and No. 1-ranked wrestlers in the NAIA in back-to-back bouts - in the semifinals and finals. Pelton picked up a 6-2 decision over Lindenwood's Ryan Moyer in the semis, and then followed that with an 8-3 decision over Sam Schmitz, also from Lindenwood, to take the 149-pound title. The title marked Pelton's third tournament crown of the season, adding to his victories in the National Catholic Championships (Nov. 18) and R.I.T. Tournament (Dec. 6). Pelton's overall record is now 27-1.
Straughn needed one more victory than Pelton to claim his title. After winning by pin in his first two bouts of the day, Straughn also found himself having to go through two ranked Lindenwood wrestlers in the semifinals and finals. Straughn first took down No. 5 Brian Oeschner in the semis with a 5-3 decision before besting No. 8 Jeremy Powell, 8-3, in the title bout. Saturday also marked the third title on the season for Straughn, whose record now stands at 28-3. Straughn also has the first-place hardware from the National Catholic Championships and R.I.T. Tournament, like Pelton.
Notre Dame had a pair of second place finishers as well. Sophomore #Dante Rini# was the runner-up in the 125-pound weight class, while freshman #Don Stocum# took home second in the 285-pound division.
Rini finished 3-1 with two pins and one major, which upped his overall record to 8-3. Stocum went 2-1 to raise his record to 13-8.
Junior #Adam Koballa#, who came into the tournament ranked No. 1, finished in third place in the 141-pound group. Koballa dropped a tough 6-5 decision to No. 4 Mikey Davis from Cumberland (Tenn.) before rebounding to defeat Lindenwood's Alptekin Ozilik, ranked No. 8, in the third-place bout. Koballa is now 25-5.
The Falcons had three fourth-place finishers, one fifth, and one sixth as well.
The fourth place finishers were No. 6-ranked sophomore #Tyler Savage# in the 125-pound class, senior #Jason Spencer# at 165-pounds, and sophomore #Kurt Wolff# at 174-pounds.
Freshman #Alex Denman# came up one place short in his bid to qualify for Nationals, finishing fifth in the 184-pound tournament.
Junior #Brett Freeman# finished sixth at 149-pounds.
“I think we proved we are one of the top teams in our region,” said head coach #Frank Romano#. “Now, we look to prove that again at Nationals.”
NDC now has two weeks to prepare for their final bouts of the season, at the NAIA National Championships in Oklahoma City on March 5-7.
NOTES FROM THE NEST…
VAST IMPROVEMENT: The Falcons improved three spots from their fifth-place finish in last year's tournament. NDC also more than doubled their points as well (70.5). … Notre Dame had no first- or second-place finishers last year. Koballa and Spencer placed third to lead the way.
NATIONALS NEXT: The 52nd Annual NAIA National Championships will be held at the Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University. Representing Notre Dame will be: Rini and Savage at 125-pounds, Paul Rose at 133, Koballa at 141, Freeman and Pelton at 149, Straughn at 157, Spencer and Jared King at 165, Wolff at 174, and Stocum at 285. Tournament information can be found by visiting the NAIA and Oklahoma City websites.
