Going into the weekend, we were the third seed in the NAIA bracket and drew Montana-State Northern first round. Although we beaten them earlier this season in a dual at Las Vegas, we knew they would be ready to wrestle. Any team that is rooted with such tradition as they are will always be ready to go, and you have to be prepared. It was a closer dual than last time, but we prevailed, moving on to face Southern Oregon in the quarterfinals.
Dana College celebrates after winning the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals title over the University of the Cumberlands, 22-13.In the last five years I have been at Dana College, we have only beaten Missouri Valley College one time in a dual, which was last year. You can always count on a very interesting and intense dual when we get together. Whatever it says on paper you might as well throw in the trash because it never even comes close to the actual results. This was another one of those duals.
We started off a little slow but picked up victories at 125 and 141 pounds. We were down 12-6 in the team score heading into my match. We knew we had to get it going in the last four matches if we were going to make it to the finals to face the winner of Lindenwood and the University of the Cumberlands, and that is exactly what we did. I held on to win 6-4 after a slight setback in the second period where I was choked out, but seniors Willie Parks and Blair Alderman were the real men of the meet, picking up bonus points to set us seven points ahead. Parks looked like a man on a mission, pinning his opponent in the second period, and Alderman was not going to be stopped, as he used an arsenal of takedowns to score a major decision and put the dual out of reach for Missouri Valley.
We watched in awe as the University of the Cumberlands upset the previous seemingly untouchable Lindenwood University, and the finals were set. We were to dual the University of the Cumberlands for the National Dual Team Championship. We were hyped, as we were attempting to do something no other sport has ever achieved at our school, winning a national team title.
The dual started off with a bang as unranked junior Craig Trampe (125) downed the top-ranked wrestler, 3-2. It looked as if the University of the Cumberlands was going to pull away, winning the next three matches and going up 10-3, but senior Ben Henderson (157) started a rally with a huge overtime victory. After a victory from senior Trent Leichleiter at 165 pounds, I knew I had to win to keep us in the dual meet and our championship hopes alive. I was ecstatic after picking up a fall in the first period against one of their former All-Americans, and it only contributed to the momentum of our team. We picked up wins at 184 and heavyweight to seal the deal.
Steve Costanzo and the Dana College coaching staff rejoice.A dual team championship is a great thing, but now we look to the future, to March. I think the best thing that came out of this weekend besides bring the National Title to Blair, was that we now know that we can compete with the best of the best, as we have been telling ourselves all year. However, if we settle now, you will not see us at the top in March, but we don't plan on settling, and I am sure that none of the other teams do either.
I am looking forward to a great national tournament, but we still have a few obstacles in our way over the next month and a half, and that is what we are focused on for the time being.
Until next time, keep getting better.
Marshall Marquardt
Past Entries:
Entry 8 (1/5/06)
Entry 7 (12/28/05)
Entry 6 (12/7/05)
Entry 5 (11/23/05)
Entry 4 (11/9/05)
Entry 3 (10/26/05)
Entry 2 (10/13/05)
Entry 1 (10/1/05)
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