The Loras College Duhawk men's wrestling team competed this Saturday at the annual American Rivers Conference Duals in Decorah, Iowa.

The Duhawks started the day by blanking Nebraska Wesleyan, 55-0, in their first dual. Wiley Jessup (125 lbs), Aiden Evans (133 lbs), Jalen Schropp (141 lbs), Aiden Rice (197 lbs), and Garvin Crews (285 lbs) all collected falls in their bouts. Eric Kinkaid (149 lbs), Gabe Fiser (157 lbs), and Dustin Bohren (165 lbs) won by tech falls at their respective weight classes. Kam Royster (184 lbs) beat his opponent by an 11-1 major decision. Zeb Gnida's opponent at 174 lbs couldn't continue due to injury and injury defaulted out of the match.
 
Going up against #5 Coe College in the second round, the Purple and Gold battled the whole dual, but ultimately came up short, losing 21-19. After dropping the first two matches, the Duhawks strung together three consecutive wins. Schropp (141 lbs) and Fiser (157 lbs) pinned their opponents within the first period while Kinkaid (149 lbs) amassed a 15-7 major decision win. After losing at 165 lbs, Loras responded with Gnida (174 lbs) winning a 9-2 decision. However, wins by the Kohawks from 184 lbs through heavyweight ultimately claimed Coe the dual.
 
The Duhawks rebounded from their loss by beating Simpson College, 40-9. Kolby Heinz (133 lbs) and Kolten Crawford (141 lbs) compiled pins over their competitors. Aiden Cartwright (165 lbs) and Allen Catour (174 lbs) racked up points in their matches, winning by technical fall. Nosa Egbon (149 lbs) and Chase Fiser (157 lbs) assembled decision wins. Carter Anderson (125 lbs) and Landry Barker (184 lbs) received forfeits.
 
The Purple and Gold wrapped up the day by taking on Luther College in a highly anticipated rematch. These two teams competed against each other two weeks ago at the NWCA National Duals, with Luther coming out on top in a close dual, 23-20. This time, however, it was the Duhawks claiming a close win, 20-19. The Norse took the first match, but Aiden Evans (133 lbs) secured a fall to put Loras up 6-3. Back-to-back wins by Schropp (5-0 decision at 141 lbs) and Kinkaid (tech fall at 149 lbs) pushed the score to 14-3 in favor of the Duhawks. Decision victories by Bohren (5-0 at 165 lbs) and Gnida (14-8 at 174 lbs) drove the team score to 20-6. Luther closed the dual by winning the last three weights, but it was too little too late.
 
The Duhawks compete again in one week as they host the Pat "Flash" Flanagan Open on Saturday, January 27.