LOUISVILLE (Duhawks.com) - Following a 2-0 start to its weekend, the No. 4 Loras wrestling team concluded action on Saturday at the 2020 NWCA National Duals at the Kentucky Expo Center. The Duhawks' bid for a national championship came up short, falling to top-ranked Augsburg in the semifinals, 20-12. In the third place match, Loras left little doubt, cruising to a 36-9 dual victory over No. 3 Wabash.

No. 1 Augsburg 20, No. 4 Loras 12
Matt Randone continued his consistent approach on the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Justin Staffacher for an early 3-0 lead. Trailing 10-3 heading into 157#, fifth-ranked Brandon Murray put the nation on notice with an 8-4 win over Augsburg's Ryan Epps, a two-time national champion and three-time All-American. It was Murray's four-point near fall that opened a sizeable lead over Epps that proved to be the difference. At 174#, Jacob Krakow dominated in another top-10 showdown with Solomon Nielsen, who entered ranked No. 7 by NWCA. Krakow made a statement on the mat with a major decision, 14-3. Facing last year's national champion at 197#, Brady Vogel pushed Augsburg's Lance Benick to the brink before conceding a takedown in sudden victory.

No. 4 Loras 36, No. 3 Wabash 9
With their hopes of a national championship dashed, the Duhawks had no choice but to leave their semifinal loss in the rearview window, returning to the mat a mere 20 minutes later to take on Wabash for third place. The hangover from the loss was essentially non-existent, as Loras raced out to a 12-0 lead after the first three bouts, highlighted by a fall by Brice Everson at 133# over Evan Doster, who was ranked No. 6 coming into the weekend. Murray, Krakow, Shane Liegel and Slade Sifuentes all scored bonus point victories, three of which were falls.

Notables
• Saturday's third place finish at the NWCA National Duals was the best performance by a Loras team in program history
• Liegel improved to 17-3, holding the team lead for wins this season
• Murray's weekend finished 3-1, with a 2-1 record against ranked opponents, including wins over No. 1 and No. 3 in the latest NWCA rankings
• Krakow and Randone both went 4-0 ... Krakow's weekend included wins over the No. 3 and No. 7 ranked opponents
• Filling in for Clint Lembeck at 141#, Mason McMillen made the most of his opportunity, going 1-1 on Saturday, which inculded a 6-2 setback to top-ranked David Flynn of Augsburg, who is the returning national champion at 141#