WAVERLY, Iowa (Feb. 11, 2023) – Another highly-anticipated battle between two of the elite programs in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) went down to the wire on Friday night, but the seventh-ranked Loras College wrestling team fell just shy to the top-ranked Wartburg College Knights in a 22-15 battle.

The Duhawks (16-4, 7-1 A-R-C) end their season with just once loss in A-R-C action, again falling to the Knights (14-1, 8-0 A-R-C) as the home team claimed its second consecutive conference title on Friday night.

Wartburg got off to a hot start in front of their home crowd that came out to the title match. The Knights claimed each of the first four bouts on the evening with two of those wins earning bonus points.

Loras graduate student Mason McMillen fired off the line in the 133-lb bout and nearly tallied a takedown to start his bout against Wartburg's No. 4-ranked Joe Pins. The takedown was never awarded, and Pins quickly turned the tables for a takedown of his own that ignited his 8-2 decision over the 13^th-ranked Duhawk wrestler.

Multiple stoppages for dangerous plays put halts to the 149-lb bout between Loras junior Jalen Schropp and Warburg's Kris Rumph. Eighth-ranked Rumph ultimately came away with a 14-7 decision win over No. 13 Schropp, and the Duhawks also lost a team point during the bout, which left them with a negative point heading into the 157-lb round.

Top-ranked Loras senior Zeke Smith put the Duhawks on the board with a 6-3 win by decision in that round as he defeated No. 3 David Hollingsworth to make it 15-2 in favor of the Knights heading into the intermission.

Smith's win created some momentum for the Duhawks as freshman Dustin Bohren pulled off the upset of the night in the 165-lb bout. Bohren completed a pin in the first round against Wartburg's fourth-ranked grappler Nathan Fuller. That upset ignited the Loras bench and crowd and pulled the Duhawks back into the match as they trailed by just seven points at 15-8.

After a Wartburg win by decision ta 174, Loras senior and No. 2-ranked Shane Liegel again did his part to keep the Duhawk hopes alive as he methodically worked his way to a major decision win over No. 10 Jordan Bushey at 184-lb.

Despite the late charge, another major decision win put the match on ice ahead of the heavyweight bout. With the win already in hand for the Knights, 12^th-ranked Loras senior Wyatt Wriedt delayed the Wartburg celebration and capped the match with a 1-0 decision win over #15 Damari Dancy.

In total, the Duhawks came away with four head-to-head wins, but fell short of recapturing the A-R-C crown in a 22-15 defeat.

Loras now sets its sights on the NCAA Regionals, which are being hosted by Millikin University in Springfield, Ill. on Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 25-26.