Kohawks prove worthy adversary for D-I Falcons

CEDAR RAPIDS - It was a special dual against a special opponent.

The Kohawks hosted an NCAA Division I team for the first time and wanted to provide a show for the home fans.

Coe, ranked fifth in Division III, proved it can be competitive, but the Air Force Academy edged the Kohawks, 19-18, Friday night in front of an estimated 1,500 fans at Eby Fieldhouse.

“There were some exciting matches for the crowd,” Coe Coach John Oostendorp said. “From a coach's standpoint there was three or four matches where we didn't do as good enough as we needed to at the end of them.”

Air Force Academy Joel Sharratt, a former Iowa teammate of Oostendorp's who won an NCAA title for the Hawkeyes, was impressed by the atmosphere.

“We couldn't be happier,” said Sharratt, whose Falcons open Western Wrestling Conference competition at 2 p.m. Sunday at Northern Iowa. “We're a Division I team, wrestling a Division III team, (and) that's more fans in the stands than a lot of places we go.”

The crowd produced a thunderous ovation when Coe's Scott King made lightning strike twice.

For the second straight year, he trailed against his Air Force foe before winning by fall. He was behind 7-6 in the final minute and appeared to be giving up a late takedown when he flipped the Falcons' Clayton Gable to his back for a pin in 6:33 at 174.

“With it being close like that at the end of the match, having the crowd behind you the entire time you're able to get up for a big move like that,” said King, calling the crowd the biggest for a home dual in his three years at Coe. “He was driving, he had his head on the outside and I was able to elevate his hips and roll him through.”

Top-ranked 165-pounder Nick LeClere scored five takedowns for a 12-4 major decision over Colby Kluesner. Former Western Dubuque prep Jimmy Gotto opened the dual with a 16-1 technical fall over Mengyuan Qiu.

The difference in the dual came in a late scoring situation when Air Force's scored a takedown with less than four seconds left for a 13-5 major decision at 197. Dylan Hyder (133), Carter McElhany (141), fifth-ranked Cole VonOhlen (149) and 157-pounder Josh Kreimeier scored four straight wins to build a 12-5. Greg Isley added a decision at 184 for the Falcons (1-0).

Sharratt said a goal of the Falcons' program is to develop the wrestlers to be well-trained officers in service. The battle with Coe was a good teaching tool.

“Give credit to Coe,” Sharratt said. “They came out and wrestled awfully strong.”

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