Lindenwood hosted the 2016 MIAA Wrestling Tournament on Sunday which featured wrestlers from Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma, Central Missouri, Fort Hays State, and Newman. The Lions came away with four wrestlers finishing second place in their weight classes while seven placed.
Hunter Haralson earned a bye into the second round before defeating Blake Dauphin of Central Oklahoma. He faced Daniel DeShazer in the finals and fell by a final score of 7-1.
At 141 pounds,
Jared Mestas had a big day. He won his first round by major decision against Garrett Whitson of Newman then took down Joshua Ailey of Fort Hays State by technical fall. He earned a second-place finish after falling short against Keith Surber of Nebraska-Kearney.
Colton Orlando patched up a third-place finish in the 149-pound weight class. He got a bye into the second round before losing a tightly-contested decision against Devin McCauley of Nebraska-Kearney. Orlando rebounded in the consolation with two pins over Forlanda Parker of Newman and William Homalon of Fort Hays State to seal third place.
As the lone 165-pound wrestler to receive a bye,
Kyle Jolas advanced to the finals after beating Isaac Deaton of Nebraska-Kearney. In the finals, Jolas competed through the entire match, but was nearly edged out by Devin Aguirre of Nebraska-Kearney.
Batchka Zulkhuu won three matches for the day to gain the third-place award in the 174-pound pool. He won his first round over Dylan Harmon of Central Oklahoma, but lost a tough battle against Archie Williams of Central Missouri in the semi-finals. In the consolation bracket, Zulkhuu registered a one-point decision over Dylan Wiesner of Fort Hays State then cruised to the third-place finish with a win over Mason Thompson of Central Oklahoma.
Jake Landals lost his first round in the 184-pound class, but he would not lose again. He stormed through the consolation with three victories including a 7-1 decision win over Brock Warren of Central Oklahoma for a third place finish.
Dillon Archer capped off the Lions' placing for the day with a runner-up finish. He won by decision in the first round then an in-match injury forfeit to reach the finals. He went up against Romero Cotton of Nebraska-Kearney in which Archer lost. Archer was the fourth Lion to finish second in a weight-class.
As for team results, Nebraska-Kearney came out on top with 110.5 points while the Central Oklahoma came in second with 71 points. The Lions followed with 57.5 points then Fort Hays State placed fourth with 39 points. Newman finished fifth with 34.5 points, and Central Missouri came in sixth with 17.5 points.
The NCAA Division II Super Regional is up next on the schedule for the Lions. The tournament is set to start on Saturday, February 27 at 9 a.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.
