Freshmen Nathan Downs led the way for Trojan wrestling at the Lindenwood University Open with 3 wins to qualify for the NAIA national tournament in Oklahoma City, OK in March. Downs’s 8-2 victory over John Gurule (Lindenwood University) put him in a position to face number one seed and defending NAIA national Champion Aaron Winning. Winning came out on top with a fall over Downs in 1:15. Downs did not lose his focus or resolve to continue his run toward qualifying for the national tournament. Downs’s first match in the consolation bracket matched him against senior Andrew Cheesman (McKendree College). It was evident that Downs’s conditioning came through for him as he outworked Cheesman. Downs won the match 8-6 over Cheesman. Downs’s freshmen initiation to college wrestling did not stop with Cheesman as he wrestled Colten Unzicker (Lindenwood University). Downs won in triple overtime with a score of 5-3. Downs was then finally stopped in the consolation finals by junior and third place finisher Robbie Hinkle (Lindenwood University). Downs’s only losses on the day were from the second and third place finishers of the tournament. Because Downs finished in the top 6 of 25 wrestlers he qualified for the national tournament. Freshmen Kyle Blankenship was one match away from qualifying when Senior Clint Arlis from the University of Illinois stopped Blankenship’s run. Fellow freshmen Josh Smith finished the day with two victories and junior Daniel Yuriatis and freshmen Jobi Hambrick both captured wins on the day. I believe history will show that the LU Open helped our young wrestlers realize that they can compete at a high level. Even though we lost some matches against some tough opponents and even to Big Ten and Big Twelve opponents our wrestlers were in positions to win. Some were even in position to win against D-1 opponents in a few of the matches. I’m not satisfied with the result that we saw this year at LU. I KNOW we can do better in the future! However, I’m encouraged by the prospect of success in the future of Trojan wrestling. I’m also encouraged by the desire of our wrestlers to get better. Several of the wrestlers told me today that they needed to be determined to hone their skills and work ethic in the wrestling room so they can see success against the tough opponents they know they can beat in the future. This season opener has proven to be more successful than our season opener last year in our first year of competition. I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season has in store for us!
Written by Coach Scott Hawes
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