Notre Dame knocks off Maryville & St. Cloud State to claim another Div. II Duals title

Notre Dame made a national statement that the Falcons could once again return to the top of the NCAA Division II level as the school from Solon, Ohio, — ranked No. 5 before the 2016 NWCA National Duals in Ft. Wayne, Ind. — scored big upsets over No. 1-ranked Maryville and No. 2 St. Cloud State to win this year’s duals title.

          One of the biggest keys for the Falcons was seeing unranked wrestlers score big upsets over ranked foes.

In Notre Dame’s 22-12 win over top-ranked Maryville in the semifinals, Cobey Fehr upset top-ranked Nate Rodriquez, 5-4, at 141 pounds to help the Falcons win five of the first six weight classes to take a 16-3 lead.

Then in a 21-15 championship victory over St. Cloud State, Notre Dame’s Jacob Goodwin — wrestling in place of sixth-ranked teammate Ivan McClay — stunned St. Cloud State’s top-ranked Tim Prescott for a 6-5 victory at 125 pounds. The Falcons would go on to win four of the first six weights, including unranked Juwan Edmond’s 6-4 overtime win over top-ranked Clint Poster at 165 pounds.

NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals

NCAA Div. II Tournament Results

First Round

No. 1 Maryville (Mo.) defeated No. 12 Findlay (Ohio), 38-0

No. 11 Upper Iowa defeated No. 14 Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.), 24-15

No. 5 Notre Dame (Ohio) defeated Minnesota State, 27-9

No. 4 Mercyhurst (Pa.) defeated No. 16 Indianapolis, 23-19

No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney defeated No. 12 Tiffin (Ohio), 26-19

No. 7 Pitt-Johnstown defeated McKendree (Ill.), 41-0

No. 9 Lake Erie College (Ohio) defeated Central Missouri, 47-1

No. 2 St. Cloud State (Minn.) defeated No. 18 Newberry (S.C.), 43-3

Quarterfinals

Maryville defeated Upper Iowa 33-10

Notre Dame defeated Mercyhurst, 24-15

Pitt-Johnstown defeated Nebraska-Kearney 37-7

St. Cloud State defeated Lake Erie, 32-6

Semifinals

Notre Dame defeated Maryville, 22-12

St. Cloud State defeated Pitt-Johnstown, 30-7

Championship

Notre Dame defeated St. Cloud State, 21-15

3^rd-Place Match

Pitt-Johnstown defeated Maryville, 19-18

5^th-Place Match

Upper Iowa defeated Nebraska-Kearney, 21-20

7^th-Place Match

Lake Erie College defeated Tiffin, 19-18

NCAA Div. II Championship Dual — No. 5 Notre Dame (Ohio) 21, No. 2 St. Cloud State (Minn.) 15

125 — Jacob Goodwin (Notre Dame) dec. No. 1 Tim Prescott, 6-5

133 — Jarred Oftedahl (St. Cloud State) dec. No. 5 David Bavery, 5-1

141 — Cobey Fehr (Notre Dame) pinned Matt Nelson, 3:57

149 — Jay Hildreth (St. Cloud State) dec. Isaac Dulgarian, 12-8

157 — No. 1 Jonatan Rivera (Notre Dame) dec. Larry Bomstad, 11-5

165 — Juwan Edmond (Notre Dame) dec. No. 1 Clint Poster, 6-4, sv

174 — Clayton Jennissen (St. Cloud State) dec. Roberto Rivera, 4-3

184 — No. 1 Joey Davis (Notre Dame) dec. Uthman Rabiu, 8-3

197 — No. 4 Garrett Lineberger (Notre Dame) dec. VJ Giulio, 8-2

Hwt — No. 1 Austin Goergen (St. Cloud State) won by forfeit