Alexander, Downs Qualify for NAIA Championships for the Third Time in Their Career!

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Both junior Bryce Alexander (165 lb.) and junior Nathan Downs (174 lb.) earned at-large bids into the NAIA National Wrestling Championships as each fell short of an automatic berth. The two came away with fifth and sixth place finishes in their respected weight classes at the Central Qualifying Tournament, but needed a top four finish to automatically qualify for nationals.
Alexander finished the day 4-2 to place fifth at the tournament. The Maryville, Mo. native won his first match of the day in an 8-6 decision over Trevor Dice (Bethany) before falling into the consolation bracket with a second round loss to Zach Skates (Oklahoma City) by way of a 12-6 decision.
Alexander followed the loss with consecutive wins to find himself just two wins away from a third place finish. The junior pinned Tylor Pitcher (William Penn) in 2:16 and pinned William Lutz (Bacone) in 1:03 before losing for the second time in the tournament by a 4-3 decision to Gian Traverso (Missouri Valley).
Again, Alexander followed the loss with a win as he defeated Nathan Sommer (Baker) by a 7-0 decision to finish in fifth.
Downs finished with a 3-3 record to finish sixth at the tournament. The Troy, Mo. native pinned his first opponent, Alvaro Zermeno (Bacone), in 2:54 before losing a 3-2 decision, in his second round match, against eventual champion Thomas Moman (Grand View).
After falling into the consolation bracket, Downs pinned Jose Hernandez (Bacone) in 4:56 and defeated Stephen Loosbrock by way of an 8-0 major decision to draw within two wins of a third place finish. However, the junior fell to Parker Owen (Baker) in an 8-1 decision and was pinned by Teagan Franco (Oklahoma City) in 2:45 to finish with in sixth.
Both Alexander and Downs will participate as at-large selections in the NAIA National Wrestling Championships on March 1 and 2 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Hannibal-LaGrange University is a Division I NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) institution and a member of the American Midwest Conference.
-Jordan Argo, HLGU, SID

IOC Drops Wrestling From the 2020 Olympics

Many of you have seen that the IOC has decided to drop wrestling from the 2020 Olympics. I think this a terrible decision.  I hope that the IOC reconsiders and reestablishes wrestling. I remember hearing Dan Gable warning that IOC decision was a possibility as he spoke at Camp of Champs back in 2006. His message then as it is now is that we need to educate people concerning the sport of wrestling.  Mike Moyer is the executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association, which I am a member of along with every other college wrestling coach in America. Mike Moyer has been striving to do just what Dan Gable says need to be done, “educate”.  Mike has been proactive in educating wrestlers, coaches, and fans of wrestling about the dangers facing the future of wrestling. He has been an outspoken advocate for wrestling in America.  I know Mike and he is a good man who eats, drinks and sleeps wrestling. I will be praying for Mike and others as they seek to represent the sport that God has used to develop character and discipline in my life and the lives of wrestlers all over the world. I don’t think the IOC’s decision will be quickly overturned. In the meantime I will continue to stay positive about wrestling, work to educate others about our sport, and be committed to making wrestlers and the sport of wrestling better.

Here are some facts that Mike Moyer shared this morning.

1. High school participation has grown by over 40,000 over the past decade

2. 95 new college wrestling teams (at all levels) have been established since 1999

3. Wrestling is the 6th most popular high school boys sport with over 272,000 participants

4. There are now over 8,200 young women who wrestle in high schools and we have 21 intercollegiate women's wrestling teams 

5. The 2012 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships sold an unprecedented 112,000 tickets and wrestling is among the top 5 NCAA revenue producing championships (4 consecutive sellouts)

6. Wrestling is one of the original Olympic sports and has been included in all but one Olympic competition since 1896. Only four other sports -- track and field, cycling, gymnastics and swimming -- have been in more Games.

7. There is no doubt that a strong Olympic wrestling team is helpful in our efforts to increase participation at the grass roots, high school, and college levels.   Young wrestlers need to be able to dream of being an Olympic Champion as they develop.  For this reason, we will fully support USA Wrestling’s efforts to make sure wrestling remains as an Olympic sport.

 

Central Qualifier and NAIA Championship Information

This year the way NAIA wrestlers will qualify for the NAIA national tournament will be different than in previous years. In the past wrestlers could qualify for the national tournament prior to the end of the year qualifying tournament. This year the only way to qualify for the national tournament is at the qualifing tournament. Hannibal-LaGrange University wrestling will competing in the Central National Qualifying Tournament which will be hosted Saturday, February 16, 2013 at Baker University in Baldwin, City, KS. Here is a list of details concerning the Central Qualifyer.

CENTRAL NATIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT

DATE:                                                   Saturday, February 16, 2013

SITE:                                                     Baker University

                                                                Collins Gymnasium
                                                                6th and Fremont St.
                                                                Baldwin City, Kansas  66006

TEAMS: Bacone College, Baker University, Bethany College, Benedictine College, Central Baptist College, Grand View University, Hannibal-LaGrange University, Missouri Valley College, Oklahoma City University, Wayland Baptist University, William Penn University

OFFICIALS: Randy Steen, Jeron Quincy, J.R. Blose, Paul Viterisi, Glenn Rosario

 

WEIGH-IN TIMES: Skin Checks begin @ 6:50 a.m.

Weigh-in begins at 7:00 a.m.  Facility will open @ 6:00 a.m.

SESSIONS:                                     Preliminary Rounds begin @ 9:00am on 3 mats.  Tournament will run straight through with post qualifying meeting to follow.

 

AWARDS:                                      Individual Awards for top three (3) places, Awards for Regional Championship & Runner-Up teams, Coach of the Year, & Most Outstanding Wrestler.
RULES:                                               
NCAA Rules with the following exceptions:
1.       12 entries total
2.       No more than (2) entries per weight class
3.       National Tournament Qualifiers must participate in the Qualifying competition

Click here for the NAIA National Wrestling Tournament Information!