CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - After the first session of the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the Kohawks have a five point lead in the team race. All 10 Kohawks are still alive, with six of them in Friday night's quarterfinal round. Five of Coe's six wins earned bonus points in the team standings.
Junior Clayton Rush (Aledo, Ill./Aledo) kicked things off with a bang for the Kohawks with a fall in 2:58 over Merchant Marine's Jordan Alfaro. Rush held a 2-1 lead before earning his 18th win in row to improve to 29-2. Rush will face Wesleyan's Dan Bloom in the quarterfinals.
The Kohawks suffered all four of their losses in a row from 133 to 157 pounds. Freshmen Drew Hinschberger (Belle Plaine, Iowa/Belle Plaine) and Chris LeClere (Coggon, Iowa/North-Linn) both lost to seeded wrestlers. Hinschberger fell 7-0 to fifth-seeded Chad Winowich of Ithaca. Hinschberger will face Corey Brown of Thiel in the consolation round.
LeClere lost by major decision 12-3 to fourth-seeded John Starzyk of North Central. In the consolation second round, LeClere will face fifth-seeded Ben Anderson of Concordia. Anderson defeated LeClere 4-2 at the NWCA National Duals earlier this season.
Senior Mark Carey (Raytown, Mo./South) lost 15-2 to fourth-seeded Matt Mauseth of Wis.-La Crosse. In his first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2005, Carey bounced back for a first round consolation round win over Tye Boyer of Elizabethtown. With his 16-6 major decision win, he'll face Ursinus' Connor McCormick in the consolation second round.
Coe's last first round loss came at 157 pounds. Sophomore Dale Handley (Toddville, Iowa/Alburnett) lost for the second time this year to Delaware Valley's Jesse Harrington, the tournament's top seed. Following his 6-3 loss to Harrington, Handley bounced back for a 6-4 win over Kings' Taylor Green in the consolation round. Handley will face eighth-seeded Frank Cammisa of Bridgewater State in the consolation second round.
Third-seeded Nick LeClere (Coggon, Iowa/North-Linn) earned the first of Coe's five straight-wins to end the first round. LeClere was a 16-4 major decision winner over Wisconsin-La Crosse's Cory Ferguson. LeClere will face sixth-seeded Matt Baarson of St. John's in the quarterfinals.
After going 0-2 at the 2009 NCAA Championships, junior Seth Rehn (Oceanside, Calif./Vista) opened this year's tournament with a quick fall in 1:54 over seventh-seeded Mike Ciaburri of SUNY-Cortland. It was Rehn's 10th win in his last 11 matches. Rehn will face second-seeded Zach Molitor of Augsburg in the quarterfinals. Molitor pinned Rehn in 4:30 in their only previous meeting.
Top-seeded Tyler Burkle (Coggon, Iowa/North-Linn) won his school-record 26th match by major decision with a 10-1 win over Trine's Nicholas Kraus. Following his 29th-straight win, Burkle will face eighth-seeded Brennan Ward of Johnson and Wales in the quarterfinals.
Seventh-seeded Rob Kramer (Swisher, Iowa/Prairie) won his school-record 61st win by fall with a pin of William Meaney of Elizabethtown in 5:45. Kramer will face second-seeded Ryan Malo of Williams in the quarterfinals.
Heavyweight Mitch Sander (Clarence, Iowa/North Cedar) won his 19th match in 21 tries with a 4-1 decision over The College of New Jersey's Ed Broderick. Sander, the tournament's seven seed, will face second-seeded Kyle Bilquist of Delaware Valley. Bilquist defeated Sander twice last season, winning 3-2 at the NWCA National Duals and 4-2 in a dual match between the two teams.
At the conclusion of the first round, Coe had 19 points as a team to lead the meet. Augsburg and Wartburg, winners of the last 15 NCAA Championships combined, are tied for second with 14 points apiece. Delaware Valley and Wisconsin-La Crosse are tied for fourth with 13 points each. Augsburg has all nine wrestlers in the quarterfinals, while Coe and Wartburg have six in the quarterfinals and four in the consolations apiece.
Wrestling resumes with second round consolations at 6 p.m. tonight, followed by the championship quarterfinals.
rfinal round. Five of Coe's six wins earned bonus points in the team standings.
