SEASON REVIEW
The Lindenwood wrestling squad had a banner season in 2020-21, as the Lions claimed the GLVC title with a perfect 5-0 mark in conference competition.  Lindenwood compiled an overall record of 7-1 on the year, and closed out the season with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
The Lions registered a 44-0 victory in their first dual of the season, before facing longtime foe in No. 5 McKendree.  Lindenwood edged out the Bearcats as the dual ended in a tie, but the Lions won on the extra tiebreaking point to move to 2-0 on the season.  The Lions rolled through their next two opponents, and went to Ames, Iowa to take on NCAA Division I No. 13 Iowa State.  The late-January dual would be the only blemish for the Lions as they proceeded to win their next two duals by a combined score of 108-3.  In the final competition of the regular season, Lindenwood handled No. 10 UIndy in a 32-8 victory to win its first GLVC Championship.
 
In the slugfest against McKendree, the Lions fell behind immediately, but bounced back as Tanner Hitchcock earned a 3-2 decision at 133 pounds.  At 141 pounds,  Colby Smith did not put up many points, but he controlled the match to earn a 4-0 shutout win.  Gavin Londoff put together a quality match at 149 pounds, posting a 6-0 decision.  The 157-pound bout was a dogfight, but Gentile came out on top with a 4-2 sudden victory over No. 6 Nate Smalling.  In the 165-pound match, Nate Trepanier was in a battle with lots of action.  Trepanier picked up key points when he needed, and eventually scored the winning takedown in overtime to post an 8-6 decision.
 
Abner Romero fell behind early in his 174-pound match, but handled his opponent for the remainder of the bout.  Romero defeated No. 2 Joshua Jones by a final of 7-2, giving the Lions an 18-6 lead with three matches remaining.  McKendree won the next three matches to tie the contest at 18-18, but the Lions earned the extra tiebreaker point to win 19-18 over the Bearcats.
 
Lindenwood entered the NCAA Division II Super Regional on a mission with a lot of fire power.  The Lions tallied four regional champions out of the 10 weight classes, as Lindenwood took second place in a controversial scoring method.  Hitchcock, Smith, Londoff, and Romero each won Super Regional IV Championships in Edmond, Okla.  Lindenwood qualified five wrestlers for the 2021 NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championships, as all four winners plus Ronnie Gentile earned automatic invitations to the championships.  The Lions were focused heading into the final weekend of the season, as the tone was set from day one.
 
On the first day, Hitchcock won two of his fist three matches to earn All-American status, as he took seventh place.  Londoff fell by one point in the semifinal match, before taking third place in the 149-pound weight class.  In a similar way, Smith dropped his semifinal match by a point, but responded with a win in the consolation final to finish in third place.  Gentile advanced to the finals after a 4-3 win over No. 2 Dawson Combest in the 157-pound weight class.  Gentile fell behind early in the championship match, and could not climb back as he took second place.
 
Romero was full go from the start of the championship match, as the Buchanan product powered his way to a takedown just 14 seconds into the match.  Romero controlled the entire first period, and carried that over to the second frame.  After choosing bottom position, Romero recorded a reversal with 1:35 to go as he continued to pile up riding time.  Romero capped off his bout with a takedown with just 12 seconds remaining to solidify the championship crown.  Romero outscored his four opponents in the tournament by a combined score of 44-4 en route to a National Championship.
 
Lindenwood brought five wrestlers to the national championships, as no other team that finished inside the top five this year had fewer wrestlers.  All five Lions claimed All-American status, as Romero brought home the first individual title since Carlos Jacquez won the 125-pound title in 2019.
 
QUOTEABLE | Head Coach Jimmy Rollins
"I am so proud of this coaching staff and this team.  To bring five guys to nationals and put together the performance they did was amazing.  They wrestled for the team and not just themselves.  After how the NCAA handled things at our regional these guys went out with something to prove and brought back the first team trophy to Lindenwood in the NCAA era."
 
AWARDS
NWCA All-American | Abner Romero, Ronnie Gentile, Colby Smith, Gavin Londoff, Tanner Hitchcock
NWCA Scholar All-American | Alec Bailey, Tim Bogar, Zach Carr, Keaton Fogler, Tanner Hitchcock, Xavien Jackson, Isaac Jacquez, McKinley Kemper, Nick Lindley, Gavin Londoff, Anthony Michaels, Colby Smith, Austin Stofer, Jack Tangen
First-team all-GLVC | Tanner Hitchcock, Colby Smith, Gavin Londoff, Abner Romero
Second-team all-GLVC | Cevion Severado, Ronnie Gentile, Nate Trepanier
Third-team all-GLVC | Kyle Dickhaus, Keaton Fogler, Michael Kramer
GLVC Wrestler of the Week | Ronnie Gentile
Final Rankings | Tanner Hitchcock (6), Colby Smith (2), Gavin Londoff (1), Ronnie Gentile (3), Abner Romero (1)