March 6, 2008

By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is hoping for a great and dramatic escape from the fourth and final NAIA national wrestling tournament in Sioux City.

The meet, expanded from two to three days this year, gets under way tonight (7 o'clock) at the Tyson Events Center with several preliminary matches in the double-elimination competition.

"Our intent is for no wrestler to be eliminated Thursday night,'' said tournament co-director Doug Manley. "The schedule will fluctuate according to that plan.''

Sioux City is hosting the meet for the fourth and last time. The national tourney moves to Oklahoma City for a two-year run beginning next year.

Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., is the defending champion after scoring 177 points in winning the title last year, 67 more than runner-up Embry-Riddle of Arizona.

"Repeating as champions will not be easy,'' said Joe Parisi, who also guided Lindenwood to team titles in 2005 and 2002. Dana won the 2006 crown at the Tyson Events Center, scoring a tourney record 193 points.

"We're looking forward to this exciting tournament, but, as always, it is going to be extremely competitive,'' added Parisi, who has coached 21 individual national champs. "But, you can bet that when the whistle blows the Lions will be ready to go.

"We only wrestled four duals this season, all in the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, and we've been in regular-season tournaments that I hope will prepare us for nationals.''

Among the returning individual national champs is Morningside senior Jake Stevenson, the winningest wrestler in school history with a 125-24 record.

Injuries have shortened Stevenson's season and he takes a 24-4 record into the meet.

Eleven other Morningsiders have qualified, including fifth-ranked 141-pounder Jared Pickett. The senior from David City, Neb., is 38-8 this season and ranks second in career victories with 111.

Stevenson defeated Joffre Lander of Embry-Riddle 3-1 in the finals last year.

The Morningside standout was ranked third going into the tourney last year and that's the case again this year for the senior from St. Petersburg, Neb.

He's in a loaded weight class that includes No. 1 Mike Kummer of the University of Great Falls, No. 2 Calvin DeVault and No. 5 Travous DeGroat of Embry-Riddle and No. 4 Jeremiah Toavs of Dickinson State.

Toavs was named the outstanding wrestler in the recent North Regional after beating Stevenson in the finals, 4-2.

The West Regional in Great Falls, Mont., also featured a major upset at 184 pounds when Kummer took DeVault down in the opening seconds, but the Embry-Riddle senior reversed the Argo to his back and scored a stunning fall in just 1:21.

In a mid-February dual, Dickinson State upset Great Falls 28-11, when Kummer beat Toavs 6-0.

Along with Stevenson, Zach Flake of Campbellsville (Ky.) Hayden "Hurricane'' Harrison of Embry-Riddle and Justin Schlecht of Dickinson State are back seeking more gold.

Flake, though, is just 3-1 after sitting out the majority of the campaign with injuries. He's unranked at 141 pounds after winning at that weight last year.

Harrison, after winning at 157 last season, is now at 174 pounds and ranked fourth behind Matt Cauley of Lindenwood, John Wilcox of Oklahoma City and Enock Francois of Northwestern.

Schlecht, a senior from Whitewood, S.D., is back to defend his 197-pound crown and is the school's career leader with 137 wins.

Friday's action begins at 9 a.m. and the finals on the elevated stage at the Tyson Saturday night will start at approximately 6 o'clock.


NAIA CONTENDERS

LINDENWOOD: Coach Joe Parisi's powerhouse from St. Charles, Mo., has won three national titles, including its second in three years last season. The Lions are ranked No. 1 and have qualified a full contingent of 12 grapplers. Lindenwood, the winner of the NAIA portion of the National Wrestling Coaches Assocation National Duals in Cedar Falls earlier this season, whipped four opponents in the duals, the only four duals the team wrestled all season. Ryan Moyer (30-6) and Matt Cauley (36-4) are ranked No. 1 at 149 and 174 pounds, respectively.

MCKENDREE: The Bearcats of Coach James Kisgen finished ahead of Lindenwood in the East Regional tournament and entertain hopes of claiming the school's first title. Kyle Jahn (25-7), top-ranked at 141 pounds, and Aaron Winning (36-7), ranked third at 157, will lead the Illinois collegians. McKendree finished eighth last year when Lindenwood won with 177 points, 67 more than runner-up Embry-Riddle and 70 more than third-place Dickinson State. Freshmen Wade Lowe at 133 (36-12) and Ryan Jahn at 149 (30-20) are potential placers.

DICKINSON STATE: The Blue Hawks of Coach Tadd O'Donnell are itching to improve on last year's third-place finish and could get the job done with a 12-man contingent led by reigning 197-pound national champ Justin Schecht, who sports a 24-4 record and is ranked No. 1 nationally. His younger brother Stanton, a junior, is 26-9 and ranked second at 165 and Cory Johnston (21-8) and Eli Zuniga (24-8) are ranked third, respectively, at 125 and 133 pounds. Also, Jake Toavs is 23-5 in a loaded 184-pound division.

UNIVERSITY OF GREAT FALLS: First-year Coach Caleb Schaeffer hasn't missed a beat with the top-notch program after Rock Valley, Iowa, native Eric Van Kley stepped down after last season to become the head coach at NCAA Division III Central College in Pella, Iowa. The Argonauts are led by Wayne French (30-6), top-ranked at 157 pounds, Mike Kummer (24-8) No. 1 at 184 and Brad Fraser (18-13), who is ranked second after finishing fifth last year. Kummer was third at 174 last year after beating Northwestern's Enock Francois in the third-place match, while French was third last year at 157, pinning Oklahoma City's Benson in the consy.

OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY: Coach Archie Randall, an Oklahoma high school coaching legend who guided El Reno High to 21 state championships, has the two-year program going great guns. The Stars are ranked fifth and showcase the two winningest grapplers in the meet in John Wilcox at 174 and Brandon Benson at 165. Wilcox is 41-11 and Benson 40-10. Of the 11 OKC qualifiers, nine are from Oklahoma, one from Pennsylvannia and one from Missouri. Clint Swango is ranked third at 149 and Wilcox second at 174.

EMBRY-RIDDLE: The Eagles of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., continue to soar in NAIA wrestling. Coach Ken Ramsey, a two-time national placewinner as an undergraduate at Ohio State, brings an eight-man crew to the Tyson, including last year's 157-pound champ Hayden "Hurricane'' Harrison, who is now competing at 174 pounds. Calvin DeVault could contend for the title at 184 pounds and phenom freshman Tyler Chang at 141 was a three-time state prep champ in Cottonwood, Ariz.

OTHERS IN THE HUNT: Dana's Great Plains Athletic Conference powerhouse is ranked sixth and won the 2006 national title in Sioux City. Burke Barnes, the national runner-up at 133 last year, leads the Vikings....Campbellsville (Ky.) has 12 qualifiers led by defending 141-pound national champ Zach Flake, who is unranked with a 3-1 record after being sidelined most of the season with injuries....Seventh-ranked Missouri Valley (tie) is led by fifth-ranked Billy Exline (125) and fifth-ranked Jon Gerhold (133)....Montana State-Northern, coached by two-time Iowa State All-American and wrestling hall of famer Dan Troupe, features last year's 125-pound runner-up Cory Borges who is top-ranked at that weight....On strength numbers, five of 12th-ranked Northwestern's nine qualifiers have 30 or more wins, led by third-ranked Enock Francois at 174 (30-5), but the Orange City collegians would probably have to win at least five first-round matches to create potential top 10 numbers....No. 15

Morningside has 12 qualifiers led by reigning 184-pound national champ Jake Stevenson and Jared Pickett, fourth at 141. the two rank 1-2 in career victories at the school, but Coach Tim Jager's contingent probably needs two strong rounds to eventually contend for a top 10 finish.