February 16, 2006

PELLA, IOWA . . . For the second time in three years, Wartburg College crowned eight individual champions as the Knights won their 14th consecutive Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) wrestling Championship at Central College. Wartburg totaled 208 points, bettering their total of 206.5 points from the 2004 IIAC Championship. Luther College finished second for the sixth time in the last seven years with 131 points followed by Loras College (151 points), Coe College (101), Simpson College (94.5) and the University of Dubuque (94).

Wartburg sophomore Jacob Naig (Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) was named Dick Walker Outstanding Wrestler. The #3-seed at 149-pounds went 3-0 with a technical fall and a major decision. He defeated Loras’ Andrew Sloan by technical fall in the quarterfinals (16-0, 2:59) and the #2-seed Kyle Forness of Buena Vista by major decision in the semifinals (10-2). In the Championship match, Naig defeated defending Conference and national Champion Matt Pyle of Luther (9-4).

Other individual champions include Wartburg’s Tyler Hubbard (125-pounds), Luther’s Mike Lopez (133-pounds), Wartburg’s Dustin Hinschberger (141-pounds), Loras’ Brad Bishop (157-pounds), Wartburg’s Dustin Bliven (165-pounds), Wartburg’s Scott Kauffman (174-pounds), Wartburg’s Akeem Carter (184-pounds), Wartburg’s T.J. Miller (197-pounds) and Wartburg’s Blake Gillis (heavyweight).

Hinschberger, Carter and Gillis each won their third consecutive Conference title becoming the first IIAC wrestlers to win three straight titles since Wartburg’s Tom Smith won 126-pounds from 1995-97. Hubbard and Kauffman both won their second straight Conference titles, having won 133 and 184-pounds, respectively, last year.

After leading his team to a 27-0 dual mark, including 8-0 against Conference foes, Wartburg’s Jim Miller was named IIAC Coach of the Year. The Knights sent nine wrestlers to the finals, marking the fourth straight year they had at least eight wrestlers in the finals. It is eighth time Miller was named Coach of the Year.

Complete Conference Championship results are here.

The Championship finals will be televised by Mediacom Cable on its Connections channel across the state of Iowa. The broadcast will air on Saturday, February 18, at 11:00 a.m., Sunday, February 19, at 11:30 a.m., and Monday, February 20, at 8:30 p.m. Mediacom Cable subscribers should check their local listings for the Mediacom Connections channel in their area.

Thirty-two wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships to be held March 3-4 at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J. The winner and runners-up in each of the ten weight classes along with 12 wildcards will represent the Conference at the National Championships. The Iowa Conference national qualifiers are:

Buena Vista (3) – Jestin Hulegaard (133), Kyle Forness (149), Ben Strandberg (197)

Coe (3) – Niles Mercer (141), Jared Creason (149), Mike McCabe (197)

Cornell (2) – Chris Heilman (125), Dave Paramski (141)

Dubuque (1) – Cole Williams (165)

Loras (5) – Terry Morgan (125), Brad Bishop (157), Ryan Hagerty (174), Mitch Hager (184), Jay Figgins (197)

Luther (6) – Nate Hansen (125), Mike Lopez (133), Matt Pyle (149), Nate Van Dyke (157), Alec Bonander (197), John Miller (Hwt.)

Simpson (3) – Dustin Brewer (141), Cody Downing (174), Brett Christensen (Hwt.)

Wartburg (9) – Tyler Hubbard (125), Zach McKray (133), Dustin Hinschberger (141), Jacob Naig (149), Dustin Bliven (165), Scott Kauffman (174), Akeem Carter (184), T.J. Miller (197), Blake Gillis (Hwt.)

-30-