Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Direct of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

(Written by Simon Schuler, Athletic Communications Student Assistant)

Results vs. Simpson
Results vs. Dubuque
              
Dubuque, Iowa (Feb. 6, 2021) – Fresh off of two dominant performances over American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) foes, the No. 9 Loras College wrestling team kept the wins coming by compiling two conference victories over Simpson College and crosstown rival University of Dubuque on Saturday.

The Duhawks began their second conference triangular of the year against Simpson College. After a Storm victory at 125 lbs., junior and No. 10 ranked Zach Licht kick started a slew of Duhawk triumphs by only needing a minute to record a fall over Cael Cunningham of the Storm at 133 lbs. At 141 lbs., honorable mention Mason McMillen rolled against his opponent, scoring seventeen points to score a technical fall victory while Prairie Du Sac, Wis. native Zeke Smith scored the second fall of the day in 3:56 at 149 lbs.

Adding three more points to the board for the Duhawks was No. 5 Daniel Ruiz at 157 lbs. Ruiz, collecting three takedowns, cruised to a 14-8 decision. The 165 lbs. contest between Matt Connolly and Dalton Cockman produced fireworks in a back-and-forth contest but Connolly prevailed by pinning Cockman in the second period. All-American Jacob Krakow pushed the pace at 174 lbs. by scoring a major decision, followed by yet another dominant technical fall victory for fellow All-American Shane Liegel at 184 lbs. Brady Vogel put six team points on the board by recording a first-period fall and No. 8 Wyatt Wriedt closed the dual out with a 7-0 victory over Colton Kinnison, making the final score 44-3 for the Duhawks.

The second dual of the day featured a rivalry matchup between conference rival University of Dubuque. After a tightly contested first period, freshman Aiden Evans scored a plethora of points to record a technical fall victory over Cade Hornback of the Spartans. No. 10 Licht prevailed at 133 lbs., scoring a last second reversal to defeat Carson Sauriol while freshman Jalen Schropp and junior Zeke Smith both scored major decisions over Spartan foes.

In an action packed 157 lbs. bout, No. 5 Ruiz sent the Duhawk faithful to their feet with an overtime victory via fall against Liam Corbett. Using a series of takedowns and a high pace, No. 5 Krakow maneuvered opponent Pilo Perez to his back for a fall in the third period. Liegel recorded yet another technical fall victory at 184 lbs to push the team score to 33-6 heading into the 197 lbs. bout featuring Vogel against Spartan Chris Nielsen. After being deadlocked at four through the third period, Vogel secured an overtime victory courtesy of a takedown against Nielsen. A late Spartan victory at heavyweight proved not enough as the Duhawks defeated the Spartans 36-9.

The Duhawks will return to the mat on Saturday, Feb. 13 in a pivotal conference matchup against No. 2 Wartburg College and Nebraska Wesleyan University. Wrestling will begin in Waverly, Iowa at 12:30 P.M.