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Results

Feb. 11, 2010 - Buoyed by a superior team effort that saw all 10 of its competitors advance to the final round, the North Central College wrestling team picked up its third straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championship on Thursday at Gregory Arena.

Though the runner-up Elmhurst College Bluejays claimed six of the 10 individual conference titles, the 10th-ranked Cardinals returned to the top of the podium by virtue of its four first-place and six second-place finishes, totaling 100.5 points to the Bluejays' 95. Elmhurst had just one other wrestler in the finals.

"I thought the team did a great job," said North Central head coach Kevin Bratland, who was voted the CCIW's Coach of the Year for the third straight season. "We wanted to make sure we fought in every match. More than winning or losing, I want wrestlers who will go out and compete from start to finish in every single match.

"We told the team yesterday that one of our goals was to have all 10 guys in the finals. I'm not sure if they all believed we could really do it, but they started to as we got going. That's one of the things we always try to get them to do, believe in themselves that they can go out and win."

The 18th-ranked Bluejays claimed the first individual title of the evening at 125 pounds, as Jake Oster won his third CCIW title in a 5-2 decision over Joe Norton. Norton trailed by just a single point late in the third period, but ran out of time chasing a takedown.

North Central countered with Nathan Fitzenreider's victory at 133, as he turned in a 9-1 major decision over Augustana College's Steve Poffenberger.

"We wrestled earlier in the season, and it was pretty close," Fitzenreider said. "I wanted to get the major for myself as well as my team. It was a close match and I wanted to help the team out any way I could."

Andrew Zobac followed with a first-place finish at 141, narrowly edging out Elmhurst's Ryan Earley, 4-3, in the final. The Bluejays, however, won the next three weight classes as Charlie Curran defeated Trent Reinoehl by major decision, 14-2, at 149, Dan Hamilton topped Tim Gingerich by major decision, 14-4, at 157, and Jack Lewis outpointed Joby Bodi, 4-0, at 165. Gingerich had qualified for the final by racking up five points in the final 10 seconds of his semifinal match to negate a one-point deficit.

The Cardinals picked up an individual title at 174, as Cowan Brown won his second CCIW championship with an 8-5 decision over Augustana's Alex Vavra, and Gabe Youel became a four-time conference champ at 184 with a 6-1 decision over Wheaton College's Justin Marble.

The Bluejays collected first-place medals in the final two weight classes, as Joe Rau pinned Vinnie Sapienza at 197 and Mark Corsello defeated Rodney Knowlton by major decision, 12-2. Knowlton also turned in a clutch semifinal performance to advance to the championship round, beating Augustana's Jeff Daisy in double overtime, 3-2.

Corsello, ranked No. 1 in the nation at 285, was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, as voted on by the CCIW's coaches.

The Cardinals return to the mat Saturday, Feb. 20, when they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships.