In the 125 pound weight class, Tyler Mumbulo (#6 NCAA DII / #3 N. Central Region) was battling a bad case of the flu, but won his first match by pin and then was withdrawn from the tournament by the UIU coaching staff. Bruce Bearman was the second Peacock at 125. Bearman lost his opening match to the #5 seed by decision, 15-9, but won by technical fall in his first consolation match and then lost 2-0 to the Southwest State starter by decision, 2-0. Head Coach Heath Grimm said, "I wanted Tyler to get a match in while he wasn't feeling 100%, so that he knows what it is like to perform under those conditions."
In the 133 pound weight class, Nate Naumann (#3 N. Central Region) won his first match by decision, 9-6, over the St. Cloud starter and won in the quarterfinals by technical fall. In the semis, Naumann lost to the #2 seed in a very close match, 7-3. In the consolation semi-finals, he lost 2-1, but finished his day with a victory over the #5 seed, 9-5, in the tournament to claim 5th place. The second Peacock in this class was Layne Greedy, who lost two very close matches 7-6 and 4-3. "Nate is so close to breaking out for us and Layne is right on the edge too. They both just need to learn how to win the close matches," Grimm stated.
In the 141 pound weight class, John Gamble (#6 NCAA DII / #2 N. Central Region) won his first three matches with three pins. In the semi-finals Gamble defeated Efrain Ayala (#5 NCAA DII / #1 N. Central Region) from Mankato by decision, 9-4. Gamble lost in the finals to Travis Elg, 8-3, and finished as the runner-up. Elg earned the Outstanding Wrestler honor for his performance on the day. Jacob Pederson also wrestled at 141 pounds and did quite well. Pederson lost his first match 15-10, but then rattled off five straight wins only to be stopped in the consolation finals by the #1 seed Quincy Osborn (Augsburg / University of Minnesota transfer), 13-5. Pederson finished in 4th place for the tournament. Grimm said, "John and Jacob both wrestled very well. John's three pins to begin the day was special and Jacob really turned the corner in his preparation and training this past week."
In the 149 pound weight class, Andy Norton was the lone competing Peacock. He won his first match 14-7, but then lost 4-3 to the #4 seed and 13-3 in his final match of the day.
In the 157 pound weight class, Sean Washington began his tournament with a loss by pin to Brandon Girtz (#7 NCAA DII), but then picked up four wins in a row in the consolation brackets. Washington won by major decision 17-3, by pin, by major decision 17-6, and by decision 10-7. In the consolation semi-finals, Washington was leading 3-0 and in control of the match when a rib popped out and he had to default the match due to injury and had to forfeit the following match with unattached, UIU wrestler Travis Eggers to finish in 6th place. Brett Hakeman was the second attached wrestler at 157. Hakeman won his first match 12-6, but lost his second match, 10-0, to eventual champion, Jeremy Anderson (Augsburg). In two consolation matches, Hakeman won by pin and then lost to Eggers by decision, 4-3. Grimm said, "Sean really wrestled with some fire after his opening loss. I really think he would have finished in third or fourth had he not gotten injured."
In the 165 pound weight class, Mitch Norton (#4 N. Central Region) was unseeded in the tournament, but he proved to be one of the two best wrestlers at 165. Norton won his first match 6-3 over the #4 seed, Tim Palmer (LaCrosse, returning DIII All-American). He won his second match 8-2 and advanced to the quarters where he pinned the #5 seed after trailing 5-1. In the semis, Norton was once again trailing, 10-3, but found a way to pin the #1 seed, Scott Glasser, from the University of Minnesota. "Mitch was awesome. It's always great to see an unseeded wrestler go far into the brackets, but I think he was physically spent by the time he got to the finals," said Grimm. In the finals, Norton lost by decision 5-1 to the #6 seed, but he earned a 2nd place finish and a lot of respect from those in attendance.
In the 174 pound weight class, Brady Hakeman (#4 N. Central Region) was the lone Peacock. In his opening match, Hakeman won by pin to advance to the quarterfinals where he won by major decision, 14-2. Hakeman won by an injury default during the semi-finals, but lost in the finals by decision, 8-3, to the #1 seed, Josh Chelf (LaCrosse), and finished as the runner-up. "Brady continues to impress more and more as the season continues," said a proud Grimm.
In the 184 pound weight class, Phil Bruschuk (#3 N. Central Region) won his first match 7-3 and was leading his second match 8-3 in the 3rd period when his opponent defaulted due to injury. Bruschuk then was withdrawn from the tournament by the coaching staff as he was also battling a bad case of the flu. Tony Gehling was the second Peacock at 184. Gehling won his first two matches by major decision 13-1 and 11-2, but lost his quarterfinals match in overtime 8-6 to the #2 seed, Robbie Gotreau, a returning DIII All-American. Gehling then won his next three matches to reach the consolation finals, but lost to Gotreau again, 8-5. Gehling earned 4th place. "Tony and Phil both did a good job today. Phil battled the sickness and it was important for him to perform today. Tony wrestled with a lot of heart and lost two close matches to a very good wrestler," stated Grimm.
In the 197 pound weight class, Ryan Phillips won by technical fall, 17-1, to advance to the quarters where he won by decision, 9-2, over the #7 seed from Augustana College to reach the semi-finals. Phillips won by decision, 6-4, over Ben Janike (Mankato, #3 N. Central Region, defending national qualifier). In the finals, Phillips defeated the #1 seed from the University of Mary, Jesse Labor, a two-time NAIA All-American and the defending NAIA National Champion at 197, by decision, 3-2. Matt Norton was the second Peacock at 197. Norton was pinned by the #6 seed, Justin Bronson (Minnesota), but won by pin in his first consolation match. In his third match of the day, Norton won by decision, 9-5, over unattached teammate Alex Schmidt. In his final match of the day, Norton lost 12-7. Grimm exclaimed, "Ryan was great and I couldn't be happier that he is going to get some recognition for all the hard work he puts in."
In the heavyweight division, Josh Johns won his two opening matches with pins, but lost in the quarters as he faced off against teammate Dan Goodson. Johns lost his one consolation match by pin. Dan Goodson finished in 4th place in the bracket. In his opening match, Goodson won in overtime 3-1, and then beat Johns in the quarterfinals. Goodson lost in the semis 6-0 to the #2 seed in the weight class. He won by pin in the consolation semi-finals, but lost 10-3 in the consolation finals.
After the tournament, Grimm added the following thoughts, "Today we performed at the highest level of the year. We knew we'd have to come into this tournament prepared so we concentrated our efforts in four areas this past week. We pushed harder with conditioning; we took care of ourselves nutritionally both before and during the competition; we adjusted our training intensity levels from high at the beginning of the week and lowered them as the week progressed; and we focused on our style of wrestling and made sure that we were the aggressors in each match. I am very pleased with where this team is at right now. We are looking forward to our first home dual meet this Friday."
The wrestling team will host Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville on Friday, December 15th, in the Peacock's first home dual meet of the year. The meet is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m.
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