Men's Wrestling Places 10th at NWCA National Duals

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Eighth-ranked Embry-Riddle secured key bonus points in the middle and upper weights to pull away from No. 11 Doane, earning a 24-15 victory Saturday at the NWCA/NAIA National Duals in the 9th Place match.

The Tigers struck first at 125 pounds as Isaac Gibbs delivered an early spark, edging Jaren Kimura 10-7 in sudden victory to give Doane a 3-0 lead. Embry-Riddle responded immediately at 133, where Landon Smith (No. 19 at 125) claimed a 4-1 sudden-victory decision over Anthony Harris to even the dual.

Momentum swung firmly toward the Eagles at 141. Sixth-ranked Yoshiya Funakoshi overwhelmed Asher Clayton with a 17-0 technical fall, pushing Embry-Riddle in front 8-3. Doane countered at 149 when Gavin Smith posted a 15-3 major decision over Adam Stanley, trimming the deficit to one.

Eighth-ranked Ben Miller continued Doane's push at 157, earning an 11-1 major decision against Jacob Briggs to give the Tigers an 11-8 edge. The lead was short-lived, however, as Peyton Proper edged Cooper Spaulding 7-5 at 165 to knot the score at 11-11.

The pivotal moment came at 174, where second-ranked Danill Gorshkov recorded a fall over Vincent Donatelle at the 4:31 mark, swinging the dual decisively in Embry-Riddle's favor. The Eagles added to the margin at 184 when No. 23 Wyatt Rewerts secured a 6-4 decision over Kolton Kammeyer.

Doane remained within reach at 197, as No. 25 Chase Stieb delivered a 16-4 major decision against Tauataina Tuikolongahau to cut the team score to 20-15. Any comeback hopes were sealed at heavyweight, where Trenton Blomquist (No. 11 at 197) earned a 12-1 major decision over Colton McCutcheon, finalizing the 24-15 result.

The dual featured three bonus-point victories for each side, but Embry-Riddle's fall and technical fall proved decisive in the neutral-site matchup. 

The Tigers are back in action on January 17 when they travel to Hastings to take on the Broncos at 3 PM in a conference dual.

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