Coe duo has emotional day at Div. III wrestling championships

CEDAR RAPIDS - Tears didn't come easily for Coe sophomore Nick LeClere after Saturday's consolation round of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Barely anything could squeeze out of LeClere's swollen right eye, which sported a shiner that looked more rat than mouse after a close encounter with an opponent's knee Friday.

Despite his impaired vision and an 11-9 semifinal loss to Augsburg's Orlando Ponce, LeClere battled back to claim fourth place at 165 pounds. He is one of five Kohawk All-Americans.

What moisture that could escape LeClere's eye was saved for senior teammate Tyler Burkle, a friend since childhood and former North Linn teammate. Burkle, a national champion two years ago at 165, rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to post four wins in the consolation bracket and finished third at 184.

“It probably hit me hardest to see (Burkle) wrestle his last match - probably the last time he'll wrestle - and see him win but not go out the way he wanted. That hit me harder than my losses,” said LeClere, who lost 3-2 to top-seeded Dubuque junior Josh Terrell to get fourth.

Burkle finished as a three-time All-American, but the emotion that crossed his face as he left the mat for the last time was more rueful resignation than elation.

“I thought about winning the national title since last summer,” Burkle said after beating UW Stevens Point junior Ben Engelland, 9-3. “That's all I thought of and when I got beat in the quarterfinals, that dream was shattered.”

Burkle and LeClere built their bond in childhood.

“We'd go up to his place and roll the wrestling mats out in the front yard,” Burkle said.

Success has been a family affair for both clans. LeClere's younger brother Chris is a Coe freshman and qualified for the nationals at 141 but failed to place. His older brother, Dan, is a senior at Iowa and was a four-time state prep champ at North Linn. Burkle's younger brother Alex is a freshman heavyweight on the Coe squad. His older brother, Kyle, is an assistant coach at Cornell and wrestled at Upper Iowa.

“They are really focused young men,” Coe Coach John Oostendorp said. “Their pride and work ethic are the reason why they came through on the backside.”

Coe senior heavyweight Mitch Sander, a former North Cedar prep, and junior Seth Rehn finished seventh, helping Coe to its third straight fourth-place finish.

Area roundup

Neither Cornell nor Luther had wrestlers in last night's championship.

Cornell had two All-Americans. Junior Kevin Donahue finished fourth at 141, dropping an 8-5 decision to Wartburg senior Matt Kelly. Kelly is a three-time All-American from Dubuque Hempstead. Cornell senior Nicholas Nothern was fifth at 133.

Luther had three All-Americans and all finished sixth: junior Jayson Swanson at 125, junior Jason Pyle at 149 and senior Allyn Plattner at heavyweight.

Former Don Bosco prep standout Adam Weber, a Wartburg junior, finished sixth at 157. Ex-Montezuma prep Cory Ferguson, a junior for UW La Crosse, was flattened by Wartburg's Carrington Banks in the 165 seventh-place match.

- By Mike Koolbeck, Correspondent

Photos by Julie Koehn

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