EVENT: NCWA National Duals

LOCATION: Dalton, GA/NW Georgia Trade & Convention Center

DUAL RESULTS: Apprentice School 28, Wayne State 19

Apprentice School 22, Middle Tenn. State 13

Liberty 37, Apprentice School 9

RECORD: 17-5

IN BRIEF

A six-match winning streak came to an end on Saturday night as the wrestling team fell 37-9 to Liberty and finished second at the 2015 NCWA National Duals.

ON THE MAT – QUARTERFINALS v. Wayne State

• The Builders opened their quarterfinal match against the sixth-seeded Wayne State University winning five of the first six bouts.  Jacob Michael won at 125 pounds by fall in 1:21 to give the Builders a 6-0 lead.  Each team then took a six-point victory as Michael Holcomb won by forfeit for the Builders at 133 and the Builders lost by fall at 141 to hold a 12-6 early advantage.
• Tyrell Watkins got the Builders back on track with a 10-7 win at 149, while Patrik Foxworth (157 lbs/17-9) and Kyle Lowry (165/5-2) earned wins to give them a 22-6 lead heading into the final five bouts.
• Wayne State scored wins in the next four, with only a bonus point win at 174 to trail 22-19 heading into the heavyweight match.  Ian Jones won by fall for the Builders in 3:40 to give them a 28-19 win.

SEMIFINALS v. Middle Tennessee State

• In what has become a rivalry match for the Builders, a stretch of five wins in six bouts for the Builders helped propel them into the finals with a 22-13 win.
• Michael and Holcomb opened the match with a pair of decision wins to put the Builders up 6-0.  Holcomb won 8-6 at 133 pounds over top-ranked Eric Feuerbacher giving him his first loss of the year.
• MTSU won the next two bouts, with a bonus point win at 149 pounds to hold a 7-6 lead.  Apprentice School won five of the next six bouts as Foxworth scored a major decision at 157 for a bonus point win to start that run.  Kenny Lowry moved up to 235 pounds and earned a 4-2 win to ice the victory for the Builders.

FINALS v. Liberty

• The Flames used a four-bout run with three of those having bonus point wins as Liberty took the 2015 NCWA National Duals title.
• Holcomb scored a win by fall at 133 pounds in 3:54 over Tyler Siegler to put the Builders up 6-3.  Liberty won the next four bouts adding bonus points in three of those to take a 22-6 lead after 165 pounds. Freshman Landon Leithauser slowed the run with a win at 174 pounds over Josh Sturgill 10-7, but that was the final victory for the Builders.
• This was a rematch of an opening round match at the Virginia Duals two weeks ago that Liberty won 40-12.

MAT NOTES

• Holcomb went 6-0 to lead the Builders this weekend.  Three of his wins were by fall and he had a decision win over the top-ranked 133 pounder in the semifinals.    Ty Watkins was 3-0 at 149 pounds with a win by fall and decision.
• Leading the one-loss contingent was Michael and Kyle Lowry as each went 5-1.  Each had their lone loss coming in the final against Liberty as Michael fell in sudden victory and Lowry lost by a major decision.
• This is the second time the Builders have taken second place in the seven-year history of the event.  In 2010, the Builders lost to Marion Military Institute in the championship match.

NEXT UP

The wrestling team will host the Builder Duals on February 1 starting at 9 am in the Apprentice Athletic Facility.  Teams scheduled to wrestle are Penn State Mont Alto, James Madison University, Longwood University and East Carolina University.

RESULTS

Apprentice School 28, Wayne State 19

Apprentice School 22, Middle Tennessee State 13

Liberty 37, Apprentice School 9