Coe senior Will Esmoil wanted to make the most out of what could be his final season. He succeeded at the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional wrestling tournament, posting three pins and two technical falls to earn a berth back to the national tournament after a year hiatus.
Photos from the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional men’s college wrestling tournament at Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids on Friday.
Coe’s Matt Arsenault has transitioned from a part-time starter who didn’t participate in last year’s postseason to the seventh-ranked 197-pounder nationally. He will attempt to earn a national berth at the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional men’s wrestling tournament Thursday and Friday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse.
Upper Iowa swept Quincy University and University of Indianapolis on Sunday, earning a share of the conference dual title with McKendree and Maryville. Coe closed its regular season with a win over Dubuque. Plus some final thoughts from the IHSAA state wrestling tournament.
This week’s Pinning Combination podcast takes a look back at Penn State’s one-sided win over Iowa, Iowa State’s Super Bowl Sunday win over Northern Iowa and previews this week’s boys’ state wrestling tournament.
Iowa suffered consecutive losses for the first time since 2018, Iowa State beat UNI, Coe won the Bremner Cup dual against Cornell, Wartburg won the American Rivers Conference again and Tanner Sloan posted a notable win during the Wrestling Weekend That Was.
Coe followed up a fifth-place finish at the NWCA National Duals with a 4-0 mark at the American Rivers Conference Duals on Saturday at Luther in Decorah. The Kohawks improved to 10-1 this season. The A-R-C held its first women’s conference tournament, Iowa’s offense against Purdue and prep results in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.
The first weekend of wrestling tournaments in 2024 gave the Pinning Combination podcast plenty to discuss this week, from the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls to high school action returning around the state.
Wartburg captured its 13th title, while Coe and Upper Iowa rebounded after opening-round losses at the NWCA Multi-Divisional Dual Championships at the UNI-Dome. Life University got a title sweep. Iowa State swept out west, UNI got its 800th dual win and the Alburnett boys and Decorah girls impressed during the Wrestling Weekend That Was.
The NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals return to the UNI-Dome. The two-day event includes some of the top teams in NCAA Division II and III and NCAA women’s and NAIA men’s and women’s brackets. Here are a few notable items to watch this weekend in Cedar Falls.
Dustin Elsbury has been named head varsity football coach at Iowa City Regina. He had been an assistant at the school under Jason Dumont, who recently retired from coaching.
Coe College’s men’s basketball team had to win its final two regular-season games just to qualify for last season’s American Rivers Conference Tournament. The Kohawks then won three road games to capture the league title and qualify for the NCAA Division III tournament. That momentum has carried over to this season, as Coe is 10-1 approaching the holiday break.
Action from Wednesday’s men’s college basketball game between Cornell College and Coe College.
Action from Wednesday’s game between Cornell College and Coe College
Iowa dominated Columbia with some notable happenings on the periphery of competition. The Lions rebounded against UNI. Upper Iowa opened GLVC action successfully and Luther swept two duals at UW-Stevens Point in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.
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