Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec. 18, 2021) – The No. 4 Loras College wrestling team (6-0, 1-0 A-R-C) made their way south to compete in the annual Gator "Boots" Duals in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday. The Duhawks walked away with three dual victories on the day over Wilmington College, No. 16 University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, and Manchester University to remain undefeated on the season.

In the first dual of the day, the Duhawks met up with the Quakers from Wilmington College and got off to an immediate 12-0 lead on a pair of forfeits at the 125 and 133 lb. weight classes. From that point on, the Duhawks' domination was on display as No. 8/Contender Jalen Schropp picked up six more points for the Duhawks on a 30-second pin over Wilmington's Garrett Simmons in the 141 lbs. matchup.

No. 7/Contender Daniel Ruiz wrestled in the 149 lbs. match against Tyler Woods and took a 17-0 tech fall victory that paved the way for six straight pins by Loras. No. 8/5 Zeke Smith got the run of pins going at 157 lbs. with a 1:40 fall over Adrian Salomone followed by No. 11/7 Gabe Fiser who pinned Patrick Kelley in a mere 34-seconds.

In the 174 lbs. match, No. 3/4 Jacob Krakow took down Wilmington's Alex Hobbs with a pin in the second period before No. 1/1 ranked Shane Liegel made quick work of Skyler Cowgill with the quickest pin of the match in 22-seconds. No. 15/Contender Colin Murphy wrestled at 197 lbs. for the Duhawks and won by way of fall in 1:44 over Derrick Davidson before Dakoda Powell closed out the dual at 285 lbs. with a 3:20 pin over Shadrach Brausch, bringing the score to a near-perfect 59-0 in favor of the Duhawks.

The Duhawks then squared off against the No. 16 University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Blugolds in the second dual of the day, seeing No. 11/Contender Jared Hensley get things going with an 8-3 decision over Jack Marley in the 125 lb. match before Eau Claire forfeited the 133 lb. match. Schropp also recorded a victory by decision at 141 lbs. over Markus Brown, followed by Ruiz who walked away with a 3-2 decision win at 149 lbs.

Smith posted one of two pins of the dual at 157 lbs., taking down Adam Rients in 4:10 to add six points to the Duhawks' lead. Fiser met up with Tristan Massie in the 165 lb. bout where he took a 4-3 decision to bring up Krakow at 174 lbs., who also won by decision with a 7-2 final score over Contender Jared Stricker.

Liegel again asserted himself on the mat at 184 lbs. with a 1:13 fall over Chase Melton, followed by Murphy at 197 lbs. who won by a 4-2 decision over the Blugolds' Jackson Schichel. Brady Vogel wrestled at 285 lbs. for Loras and was narrowly edged by No. 9/6 Mason Hawkins by a 3-1 decision, bringing the final score to 36-3 to give the Duhawks their second victory of the day.

 The Duhawks closed out the day against the Manchester University Spartans, seeing Hensley pin Markus Roberts in just 55 seconds at 125 lbs. to set the stage for Aiden Evans, who kept the momentum rolling with a pin of his own over Joshua Stephenson in 1:36. Schropp won at 141 lbs. by way of forfeit to give Loras another six points before Daniel Meeker saw action at 149 lbs., picking up a 20-5 tech fall over Elijah Phillips.

A forfeit at 157 lbs. extended the Duhawks' lead even further before they closed out the dual with five straight pins with Fiser winning in 2:54 over Zach Morgan at 165 lbs. Krakow downed Joshua Lee in 2:55 at 174 lbs. while Liegel continued to show why he is in the No. 1 spot in the nation with a 50-second pin over Devontay Moore. Murphy wrestled in the 197 lb. matchup and walked away with a second period pin over Garrett Deaton before Powell closed out the dual with a 2:41 pin over Nico Torres to solidify their second 59-0 win of the day.

The Duhawks' three wins on the day see them improve to an undefeated 6-0 in dual action. With the cancellation of the Flash Flanagan Open on New Years Day, the Duhawks are back in action on Jan. 6 as they compete in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III National Duals in Louisville, Ky.