Takedown Report

NWCA National Duals

Life doubles up and makes history; Central Oklahoma, Wartburg, Iowa, Bellarmine come away from Cedar Falls as team champions
Cedar Falls, Iowa – The first National Duals kicked off back in the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia back in 1989 and featured just 16 Division I programs.
When action concluded on Saturday evening in the UNI-Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa, 93 teams across six different divisions did battle and six came away with team championships, including two first-time winners at the NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships presented by A Better Way Athletics, Capital Construction and Defense Soap hosted by NUWAY.  
Life University became the first school to claim championships in two divisions in the same year as the top-seeded Running Eagles defeated second-seeded Menlo 25-21 to win the NAIA women’s division, while the men’s team upended 11-time champion and top-seeded Grand View 24-17 to claim its first NAIA men’s championship.
In the process, Life broke Grand View’s stranglehold on the National Duals title and snapped the Vikings 162-match dual meet win streak over NAIA opponents that dates back to January 2011 – more than 4,730 days ago. The women’s championship was school’s second NAIA women’s title in three years.
“It shows when an administration is dedicated to a sport, the sport can do anything,” said Life women’s coach Ashley Flavin, speaking highly of the school’s athletics director Jayme Pendergast. “She was probably biting her fingernails off watching it all unfold.”
“It’s a testament to Life University’s athletic department,” said Life men’s assistant coach Cole Manion, who was thrust into the primary coaching role this weekend as head coach Omi Acosta didn’t make the trip as his family is expecting another child at any moment. “(Jayme) has been nothing but supportive and it just shows we’re doing the right things.”
The championship on the NAIA men’s side of things was the first for Life in school history, which finished second in four previous finals appearances – losing all of them to Grand View.
Things didn’t start off peachy for Marietta, Georgia-based Life University as Grand Views started strong at 125 with Aden Reeves scoring a major decision over two-time national champion Brandon Orum at 125 pounds. Life got one back immediately as Thaddeus Long upended fifth-ranked Jackson Cockrell of Grand View in a dominant manner, earning a 19-3 technical fall. Life pulled ahead after winning four of the next five bouts with victories from top-ranked returning champion Brevin Balmeceda at 157 pounds and top-ranked Riley Smucker at 174.
The big momentum-shifter though came at 165 when Jaden New’s threw Jovon Mitchell with a headlock to get a first-period fall. No. 10 Demarco Lee of Life upset top-ranked returning national champion Owen Braunghart 4-2 at 197 pounds to cement the dual victory. … story at … NWCAonline.com/National-wrestling-coaches-association-life-doubles-up-and-makes-history-central-oklahoma-wartburg-iowa-bellarmine-come-away-from-cedar-falls-as-team-champions

10 Big Things That Happened At The NWCA National Duals
The NWCA National Duals wrapped up Saturday in Cedar Falls with a series of drama-packed championship showdowns, highlighted by Iowa’s down-to-the-wire win
North Central coach Joe Norton says he’ll lose sleep over the 109-pound match between Jaslynn Gallegos and Iowa’s Ava Bayless during the National Duals finals. Gallegos, the 2023 NCWWC (NCAA) champion at 116 pounds got the nod over teammate Kendra Ryan — even though Ryan teched Bayless at US Nationals a few weeks prior. 
Bayless trailed with 30 seconds remaining when she secured a takedown and a caution and one when Gallegos shuffled out of bounds while her back was exposed. The Cardinal star could have won the match with a takedown but, as Norton learned later, Gallegos thought she was winning 5-5 on criteria. 
Iowa won the dual 21-20 even though North Central won six of 10 matches. “We want to have 109 back,” Norton said. “We should win that match but we didn’t. Our women wrestled so great. You’re upset that you lost the dual but it’s hard to be upset with the women when they wrestled that well.”  Second-seeded Iowa showed its resolve against the top seed. Sterling Dias (101 pounds) defeated the 2023 NCWWC champion Maddie Avila 11-0, Marlynne Deede (155 pounds) secured a fall over London Houston, and Kylie Welker (170 pounds) won the match of the tournament: an 11-3 victory over three-time NCWWC champion Yelena Makoyed who returned for her final semester of eligibility. 
More importantly, Iowa earned a team point in every match — even the losses. Freestyle doesn’t use traditional college folkstyle scoring, so a technical point during a loss means one point for your team. And that’s what ultimately decided the dual. North Central’s Traeh Haynes won 6-1 over Iowa’s Jaycee Foeller in the final match. An activity clock point was awarded to Foeller late in the second period. North Central would have won if the dual was 20-20 since the Cardinals won more matches (6-4). … story at … Flowrestling.org/10-big-things-that-happened-at-the-nwca-national-duals

Vikings Historic Dual Win Streak Caps at 162, Fall Short to Running Eagles in Title
CEDAR FALLS, IOWA – Top-ranked Grand View competed on day two of the NWCA Multi-division championship bracket yesterday, January 6^th. The Vikings met with Menlo College as the final checkpoint before their 12^th straight championship appearance. The Vikings picked off No. 3 Menlo, 33-10, advancing to the final round versus second-ranked Life University. The dual would come down to the last three matches – an upset would draw the Vikings into falling short to the Running Eagles by a score of 24-17. Despite the shortcoming, the Vikings will have hit their 162^nd consecutive dual-win milestone in addition to their second placing. Grand View defeated (RV) William Penn University 49-0, (10) Ottawa University 45-3, (3) Menlo College 33-10, and fell to Life University by inches, 24-17. 
Although the shortcoming, the Vikings now hold the longest dual win streak in the NAIA. Grand View wrestling built its dynasty on 162 straight dual wins against NAIA opponents, Dating back to January 2011 – more than 4,730 days ago. 
SEMIFINALS VERSUS (3) MENLO COLLEGE
No. 1 ranked Grand View opened day two of the NWCA Multi-division Duals, participating in their 12^th straight semifinals appearance. The Vikings met with 3rd-ranked Menlo College Oaks; the Vikings saw an early lead highlighted by a battle from 3rd-ranked Cockrell as he took on Jeremiah Steele, the usual 133-pounder. Cockrell controlled the match through and through to finish with a well-deserved decision win. Tony Mendoza fell in the following match, opening the door slightly for the Oaks to creep back into things. The next bout would comfort the Viking’s lead as undefeated on the weekend and top-ranked at 149; Blake Gonzalez picked up a scrappy win over 16^th-ranked Ezekiel Lara via tech fall, 19-4. Menlo would once again give the Vikings a run, picking up the following two bouts by major and a decision. … story at … GVvikings.com/Vikings-historic-dual-win-streak-caps-at-162-fall-short-to-running-eagles-in-title

January 14, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized