Dubuque, IA - Saturday two Trojan wrestlers braved the snow and the cold weather to travel to north-east Iowa for the Jim Fox Open which is hosted by the University of Dubuque. The rest of the team took advantage of the end of the semester and headed home for the holidays, but Ian Taylor and Dan Capp were rewarded by through their extra effort by placing third in a tough tournament. Both Taylor and Capp suffered losses in their first matches, but both fought back to their consolation final matches. At the end of the day both wrestlers commented that when HLGU’s campus became empty as a result of the end of the semester and the beginning of Christmas break that they were wishing they were home. However, after competing and finishing as high as only one other previous Trojan Wrestler finished, both Capp and Taylor expressed satisfaction in the fact that they made the choice to compete on this Saturday when other wrestlers chose not to compete. Congratulations Capp and Taylor!

Trojan Wrestling Signs 4 time State Qualifier

Hannibal, MO - The Hannibal-LaGrange University Wrestling program is pleased to have signed 2009 Fatima High School graduate Corey Strope.
After completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training for the Missouri National Guard Corey, Strope is starting out his education and college wrestling career with the Trojans. After a year off of wrestling and completing his military training Strope is chomping at the bit to get back in the circle of competition. Strope’s last match as a Fatima Comet ended in victory in the Missouri State Tournament’s consolation finals. Strope finished 3rd in MO State Tournament both his Junior and Senior seasons and was a qualifier both his freshmen and sophomore season.
“Strope was one of the first recruits who attended either our Trojan Wrestling Clinics or Trojan Wrestling Camps. I saw very quickly his competitive spirit and his desire to improve his technique. I was disappointed that Strope didn’t join us last season, but the path he chose before joining us in serving our state and country in the National Guard is an honorable one. Corey was a very competitive wrestler in high school, and I’m glad to have him now as compared to never! Corey knows college wrestling is a big step up, but we both believe he can come into our program and help make a difference in the coming years” said HLG Head Wrestling Coach Scott Hawes. Strope compiled an impressive overall record of 128-29 as a Comet. Strope’s Junior year record was36-6 and had a Senior season record of 38-1.Strope will be wrestling at 149 pounds next season for the Trojans.

Strope plans on majoring in Physical Education at HLGU.

Corey is the son of Michael and Irene Strope.

HLGU is a Division I NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) school and a member of the American Midwest Conference.

MSOE INVITE RESULTS -2 More Trojan Wrestlers Qualify for NAIA National Championships

Milwaukee, WI – The Hannibal-LaGrange University wrestling team competed in the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Invitational wrestling tournament last Saturday and had three wrestlers place in the tournament. Dan Capp (freshmen) took first place at 174 lbs, Zach Fish (sophomore) took 3rd place at 141lbs, and Mitch Burnaugh (freshmen) took 6th place at 184 lbs. Dan Capp started the day seeded first in the tournament. On his way to the finals he had a major decision over his first two opponents and won a close match 5-2 in the semi-finals over Joe Pesta from St. Olaf College. In the finals Capp had a major decision over the number 2 seed Collin Jergenson. This is the second time this year Capp has made it to the finals and the first tournament he has won this year. Unseeded Zach Fish had a hard road to travel to the 141 lbs consolation finals. Fish won his first match in the championship bracket then suffered a loss by fall in his second match. Fish came back with a vengeance and won 5 consecutive matches in a row to win the consolation final match over Nick Santana from Concordia University. Mitch Burnaugh started the day as the 8th seeded wrestler in the 184 lb weight class. He had a disappointing 9-7 overtime first round loss to MSOE’s Caleb Staub. Burnaugh didn’t let the loss keep him down and won three matches in a row back to the consolation semis where he suffered another loss which gave him the opportunity to wrestle for 5th place. Wrestling for 5th place Burnaugh faced the 4th seeded Greg Barner from Central College. Burnaugh lost the match in overtime 4-2 taking 6th place.
A highlight from Fish’s and Burnaugh’s placing at the MSOE Invitational is that both wrestlers join Ian Taylor, Dan Capp, and Bryce Alexander as NAIA national tournament qualifiers for the 2011 Championships in Cedar Rapids, IA. This give HLGU Trojans wrestling a total of 5 National Qualifiers this season.

Trojans Beat Crusaders 28-16

Watertown, WI - Hannibal-LaGrange University’s wrestling team captures its first dual meet victory of the season over the Maranatha Baptist Bible College Crusaders with a team score of 28-16. Trojan wrestlers with wins in the team victory were Zach Fish with a fall over Philip Hadley in 2:50, Dan Capp had a major decision over Russell Townsend with a score of 10-0, Mitch Burnaugh had a fall in :50 over Jesse Gjefli, and Jake Hare ended the night with a fall over Hiles Spillman in 1:15. Coach Scott Hawes stated, “I knew there would be a few close matches as we had a line up of all freshmen with the exception of one sophomore, Zach Fish. It was good to see Fish, Burnaugh, and Hare come up with the falls. We knew we were coming into the dual with a forfeit at HWT which put us down by 6 team points. So the falls were important to us in making up the forfeit points.” Coach Hawes is a alumnus of Maranatha Baptist Bible College and former head coach of Maranatha’s wrestling team. “This victory in many ways is bitter sweet. I spent four seasons working in the tradition of my college coach, Ben Peterson, to build Maranatha’s wrestling team up, and now I was back in town trying to beat them. Andy Peterson (Maranatha Head Coach) has been a friend of mine for many years and I’m glad to see what he is doing to keep the Maranatha tradition of wrestling alive. As a Christian institution wrestling against another Christian institution it was good for our teams to hear a challenge from the Bible from former Maranatha head coach and Olympic Champion Ben Peterson after weigh ins. Ben reminded us that we should not be competing just for ourselves, but for others who have invested in our lives and ultimately for the God who gave us the ability to do the things we can do,” said Hawes.
Hannibal-LaGrange University picks up competition again at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Invitational Tournament Saturday morning at 9 am.

Hannibal La Grange: 28
Maranatha Baptist : 16



133: Downs, Aaron (Maranatha Baptist ) DEC Feeler, Jesse(Hannibal La Grange) 5-0

141: Fish, Zach (Hannibal La Grange) FALL Hadley, Philip(Maranatha Baptist ) 2:40

149: Warren, Richard (Maranatha Baptist ) MD Chabela, Kyle(Hannibal La Grange) 10-2

157: Alexandar, Bryce (Hannibal La Grange) Forfeit (Maranatha Baptist ) -

165: Brendemuehl, Josiah (Maranatha Baptist ) DEC Taylor, Ian(Hannibal La Grange) 9-8

174: Capp, Dan (Hannibal La Grange) MD Townsend, Russell(Maranatha Baptist ) 10-0

184: Burnaugh, Mitch (Hannibal La Grange) FALL Gjefle, Jesse(Maranatha Baptist ) :50

197: Hare, Jake (Hannibal La Grange) FALL Spillman, Hyles(Maranatha Baptist ) 1:15

285: (Hannibal La Grange) Forfeit Savarino, Michael(Maranatha Baptist ) -