INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Coe wrestling team earned five individual titles Saturday at the Simpson Invite, as they won the meet with 187 points.  Coe's five champions was the most of any school at the tournament.
Top-seeded junior Clayton Rush (Aledo, Ill./Aledo) won the 125 pound bracket, as he went 4-0 on the day.  Of his four wins, three came with bonus points.  He defeated Jared Wilmert of Dana 20-4 in 5:17 in the opening round before earning an 18-4 major decision over Taylor Louie of William Penn.  Rush defeated Wartburg's Gilberto Camacho 8-5 in the semifinals before beating Missouri Baptist's Zach Muery 23-10 in the championship match.

The Kohawks earned their second title at 149 pounds, where second-seeded senior Mark Carey (Raytown, Mo./South) won the championship.  Carey pinned Brice Gretch of Wartburg in 4:45 before defeating seventh-seeded teammate Jason Taylor-Ohmes (Kansas City, Mo./Rockhurst) 8-4.  In the semifinals, Carey won by major decision (20-8) over sixth-seeded Jesse Froehner of Wartburg.  In the championship match, Carey defeated fifth-seeded teammate James Locke (Minneapolis, Minn./South).  Taylor-Ohmes finished eighth after the defeat.

Sophomore Nick LeClere (Coggon, Iowa/North-Linn) continued his tear through the season with four more wins on Saturday, as he earned the title at 165 pounds.  The top-seed in the tournament, LeClere won by fall in :57 over Cody Osburn of Briar Cliff in the first round.  In the second round, he beat eighth-seeded Zach Hyland of Wartburg 11-3 before defeating Luke Evjen of Northwestern 11-6 in the semifinals.  In the championship match, LeClere beat third-seeded Ty Knoler of Grand View 11-7.

At 184 pounds, senior Tyler Burkle (Coggon, Iowa/North-Linn) inched closer to his 100th career win with a 4-0 record on the day and a championship.  Burkle beat Sal Barbuto of Dana 17-1 in 4:23 in the opening round before pinning eighth-seeded Ben Scott of Wartburg in 2:00.  Burkle reached the finals with another technical fall, this one a 16-0 win in 4:27 over Shea Klooster of Buena Vista.  In the championship match, Burkle beat second-seeded Mark Peiffer of Dana 9-6.

Top-seeded senior Rob Kramer (Swisher, Iowa/Prairie) earned his 100th career win with a third-place finish at 197 pounds.  Kramer won his first match by fall and second by technical fall before losing an 11-5 decision to eventual champion Byron Tate of Wartburg.  Kramer bounced back for two wins to take third place.

Senior heavyweight Mitch Sander (Clarence, Iowa/North Cedar) closed the tournament with a championship at heavyweight.  Sander, the top seed, earned his first two wins by fall.  Each win game in less than three minutes.  Sander reached the championship match with a medical forfeit win, then defeated second-seeded Derek Nightser of Grand View 10-6.

The Kohawks beat defending National Champion Wartburg for the team title.  Coe scored 187 points, while the Knights had 184. Dana was third with 107 points.

Coe will return to action next Saturday as they travel to Waverly for Wartburg's Dick Walker Invite.