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Johnson and Wales Dual Results
Cornell Dual Results

Jan. 8, 2016 (Fort Wayne, Ind.) – Drawing the short end of the stick in the tournament, the North Central College wrestling team dropped two straight duals to nationally ranked opponents, losing their first to 11^th ranked Johnson and Wales followed by a tie breaker loss to 9^th ranked Cornell.

The Cardinals traveled to Fort Wayne, Ind. for the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals held at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and faced Johnson and Wales University in their opening dual. The 11^th ranked Wildcats proved why they are nationally ranked as they defeated North Central 33-6. The Cardinals lost the first three weight classes until Ben Williamson defeated Thomas Grippi by a 6-5 decision. North Central lost the next five weight classes and went into the heavyweight down 33-3. Casey Greenberg salvaged some points and defeated Andrew Cavanna with a 2-0 decision. They would end up dropping the match 33-6.

The matchups would not get easier for the Cardinals (1-3) as they moved into the consolation bracket to take on 9^th ranked Cornell College. North Central showed that they can compete with the best programs as they lost a 19-18 tie breaker that came down to the 285 weight class matchup. North Central forfeited the 125 class and lost the 133 by decision. The Cardinals would take the next three matches as Layten Binion won a 4-3 decision and Josh Tardy won a 3-2 decision. Ben Williamson dominated in his match as he took a 19-4 technical fall win over Nathan Shank. The 174 weight class was won by Eric Kirkman as he took a 14-6 major decision. The Cardinals would take a 15-12 advantage with three weight classes left. Unfortunately, Cornell would take the next two matches by decision, giving them the 18-15 lead heading into the final match. Emonte Logan would win the heavyweight class to tie the dual but Cornell would eventually win thanks to a forfeit point being awarded to Cornell.

Despite the losses, North Central demonstrated they can compete at a high level and have exhibited some great developments from different individuals. Certainly they will look to build from this and use it to become a better team.

North Central travels to Elmhurst to partake in the Elmhurst College Invitational as well as the Wheaton College Duals on Saturday, Jan. 16. The invite is scheduled to start at 10 am with the duals starting at 1 pm.