OKLAHOMA CITY -- No. 7 Notre Dame proved they are one of the top programs in the NAIA with their fifth-place finish at the 52nd Annual NAIA National Championships held at the Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University. The Falcons were led by junior #Adam Koballa#, who improved on his second-place finish in 2008, to become the program's second National Champion. Koballa went 5-0 in Oklahoma City to capture the 141-pound title. NDC finished with 84 points. Lindenwood (Mo.) captured their third straight National Championship with 167 points. Southern Oregon finished in second with 125.5 points.
By virtue of their top-eight finishes, Koballa, sophomore #Tyler Savage#, freshman #Jeffrey Pelton#, sophomore #Thomas Straughn#, and sophomore #Dante Rini# all earned All-American status for 2009.
Koballa, ranked No. 5 going into Nationals, beat four ranked wrestlers on his way to the top. After an opening round tech fall victory, Koballa defeated No. 8 Ethan Hall from California Baptist by score of 8-4. The junior from Twinsburg then won a hard fought 3-2 decision over Dickinson State's (N.D.) Eli Zuniga, ranked No. 6, in the quarterfinals. Another one-point win followed in the semis, this time over No. 4-ranked Jon Henslee from Grand View (Iowa). The 7-6 decision over Henslee set-up Koballa's championship showdown with Zach Flake, the No. 2-ranked wrestler from Campbellsville (Ky.). Koballa and Flake battled for three periods, with Koballa victorious in the end by 4-2 decision. Koballa's final record is 30-5.
The Blue & White also picked up two third-place finishes, one fourth, and one seventh, which beat the program's previous best of two placers at Nationals in 2008.
Savage rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to win the third-place crown at 125-pounds. Overall, Savage went 6-1 in the tournament with one tech fall. Savage won his second round bout over No. 4 Angel Olea from Dickinson State before dropping his only bout of the tournament to Southern Oregon's Mitchell Lofstedt, who entered Nationals ranked No. 2. In the consolation bracket, Savage defeated another ranked opponent, No. 6 Sam Fragoza from California Baptist, before winning the third-place bout over Campbellsville's No. 2-ranked Jon Papesh, 6-4. The Savage-Papesh bout was a rematch of a Papesh victory at the East Regionals (2/21). Savage ends his 2009 campaign with a record of 27-10.
Pelton ranked No. 1 at 149-pounds, concluded his sensational debut season with a third-place finish in Oklahoma City. Pelton went 5-1 with two pins and one major in his first trip to Nationals. After dropping a 6-3 decision to No. 5 Matt Burns from Grand View (Iowa) in the quarterfinals, only his second defeat of the season, Pelton rebounded to win three straight bouts, including a 13-2 major decision over No. 4 Brian Graham from Missouri Valley, to advance to the third-place bout. The product of Bellevue, Ohio, dominated Southern Oregon's Seth Roy, ranked No. 3, in a 6-0 victory to capture the bronze. Pelton wrapped up his season with a record of 32-2.
No. 2 Straughn went 4-2 in the tournament, placing fourth in the 157-pound weight class. Straughn came up on the short end of the score in a 6-4 defeat to No. 4-ranked Tommie Hooper from Southern Oregon in his quarterfinal bout. Straughn rallied to make it to the third-place match, but, unfortunately, came up short again, this time to No. 8 Matt Collum from Missouri Baptist by a score of 6-5. Straughn finished the season 32-5.
Rini was the fifth Falcon to place in Oklahoma City. Rini, ranked No. 8 at 125-pounds, went 4-2 to finish in seventh-place. Rini won the 11-4 decision in the seventh-place bout over No. 6 Sam Fragoza, his second loss to a member of the Blue & White on the day. Fragoza lost an earlier bout to Tyler Savage. Rini finished his sophomore campaign with a record of 12-5.
Sophomore #Kurt Wolff# went 2-2 in the 174-pound bracket, dropping two tough decisions to No. 2 Tom Eaton from Northwestern (Iowa) and No. 3 C.J. Knowland from California Baptist. Wolff finished with an overall record of 21-12.
Other Falcons to win bouts in Oklahoma City included freshmen #Paul Rose# at 133-pounds (1-2), #Jared King# at 165 (3-2), and #Don Stocum# at 285 (2-2).
Sophomore #Brett Freeman# (141) and senior #Jason Spencer# (165) also competed, but both went 0-2 in the tournament.
“I am obviously very excited about our top-five team finish, and our five overall placers,” said head coach #Frank Romano#. “Adam (Koballa) wrestled like a true champion this weekend, as did all of our placers. I am very proud of the entire team on a great season.”
NOTES FROM THE NEST…
FINAL NUMBERS: Pelton and Straughn tied for the team lead this season with 32 wins each. ... Pelton and Straughn also tied for the most major decisions with six. … Pelton led the team with 11 pins, with Koballa and Straughn tying for second with nine each. … Koballa and Savage tied for the team lead in tech falls with four apiece.
FALCON LEADERS: Along with leading the team in several statistical categories, Koballa, Pelton, and Straughn have each placed at several tournaments adding to their finishes this weekend. Koballa placed first at the R.I.T. Tournament (12/6), along with third-place finishes at the National Catholic Championships (11/8) and at the East National Qualifying Group Tournament (2/21). Pelton and Straughn each had three first-place finishes this season, including at the N.C.C.'s, R.I.T., and the East Regionals. Pelton and Straughn also placed third at the Purple Raider Open (1/18). … Koballa, Pelton, and Straughn each also had winning streaks of ten or more this season. Koballa won ten straight (1/10 – 2/10) and Straughn won 13 in a row (1/18 – 3/7). Pelton had two separate double-digit streaks, including 12 straight (11/8 – 1/10), and 16 in a row (1/10 – 3/7).
ON THE RISE: NDC has increased their finish in each of the last three years at Nationals. In 2007, the Falcons finished 20th with one eight-place finisher. Last year, the Blue & White finished 13th with two individual placers, including Koballa's second-place finish at 141-pounds. Notre Dame's year-by-year improvement culminated in their program-best fifth-place finish and five individual placers in Oklahoma City.
DYNASTY: Lindenwood's team title was not only their third straight, but also their fifth overall. The Lions had three National Champions, along with two runner-ups and three fifth-place finishers for the most of any team.
