CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Noting the performance of the Wrestling Falcons at the 2011 NAIA National Championships:

STARS AND STRIPES IN BLUE & WHITE: The NAIA awarded All-America status to the top eight finishers in each of the 10 weight divisions, so Notre Dame will leave town with nine All-Americans aboard its team bus. NDC's 2011 All-Americans: #Dante Rini# (champion, 125 pounds), #Brett Freeman# (seventh place, 141), #Jeffrey Pelton# (third place, 149) #Ashtin Primus# (runner-up, 149), #Thomas Straughn# (runner-up, 157), #Kevin Hardy# (third place, 165), #Jon Bittenger# (third place, 174), #Derek Foore# (runner-up, 197), #Orlando Scales# (champion, Hwt.). … Pelton and Straughn are now three-time All-Americans. Primus, Foore and Scales are two-time honorees. … As a program, Notre Dame Wrestling has now produced 26 All-Americans.

SOUTH EUCLID -- TITLETOWN: Falcon grapplers combined to win 27 individual tournament titles in 2010-11, led by Orlando Scales' five titles (Nov. 7 Buffalo Open, Nov. 14 Binghamton Open, Nov. 20 National Catholic Invitational, Jan. 16 Purple Raider Open, March 5 NAIA National Championship). Including the National Championships, as a team Notre Dame won four tournaments during the season (Nov. 20 National Catholic Invitational, Jan. 9 NAIA National Duals, Feb. 19 East Regional).

QUICK ASCENT FOR FALCONS: In its inaugural 2006-07 season, Notre Dame placed 20th at the 2007 NAIA National Championships. The Falcons improved their place of finish to 13th in 2008 and then fifth in 2009. … In five seasons, Notre Dame has produced 68 national qualifiers and seven individual national champions.

FRANK-LY SPEAKING: Wrestling Falcons Head Coach Frank Romano -- “Both [national championships] are special, very special, but maybe the first one is a little bit more special. I hoped that we would wrestle well here and we did. I knew that we were ready and we were prepared. The guys were fresh and those are key factors.”

FALCONS-LIONS: Champion Notre Dame and Runner-Up Lindenwood (Mo.) have established themselves as the NAIA's most elite programs over the last five years. The Falcons have won the last two NAIA titles; Lindenwood captured the champions' banner in the three previous years (2007-09). The Falcons and Lions were also the No. 1 and No. 2 teams at the 2011 NAIA National Duals in January. The Blue & White defeated Lindenwood, 31-16, in the championship match (Jan. 9). … During the national championships, Notre Dame went 5-0 in five bouts against Lindenwood wrestlers.

NICE FINISH: Dante Rini is a four-year member of the NDC program and a three-time national qualifier. Prior to his win in Cedar Falls, Rini's best finish at the national tournament was seventh-place (2008). The former standout at Massillon Jackson High School closed out his collegiate career on a 12-bout winning streak. … Rini was one of three NDC seniors closing out their collegiate careers on the national stage in Cedar Rapids. Brett Freeman and Derek Foore are also seniors. The three Falcon veterans went a combined 13-3 at the national championships. … Foore went a combined 54-3 in his two seasons on College Road, winning a national championship as a junior and finishing as a runner-up as a senior.

MIGHTY DANTE: Romano on Rini -- “I thought Dante Rini [stood out for us], even though he didn't wrestle a whole lot of matches this year, he really came on in the last month of the season. He was able to defeat [Johnny] Papesh in the [East Region] tournament and tonight. Papesh is a great wrestler, and Dante was able to get by him in both matches.”

ADDING IT ALL UP: Notre Dame's 12 qualifiers went a combined 46-13 in the tournament, with 10 falls, five technical falls and six major decisions. NDC had eight wrestlers earn top-3 finishes; no other team had more than four. … Falcon grapplers have won a combined 93 bouts at the NAIA tournament over the last two years.

SECOND CITY: The Falcons had three second-place finishers in Cedar Rapids -- Ashtin Primus (149 pounds), Thomas Straughn (157) and Derek Foore (197). In his title bout, Primus fell behind, 4-0, to No. 3 Matt Burns of Grand View (Iowa) and fell by an eventual score of 5-3. The NAIA's No. 2 at 149 finished the season with a 20-6 mark; he had won 10 in a row prior to Saturday's loss. … No. 3-ranked Thomas Straughn dropped an overtime 4-3 battle to No. 2 Corey Bleaken (Cumberland-Tenn.). Straughn finished his season at 21-4, with his four losses being by a combined six points. … Foore lost 3-2 in his championship match, which was against top-ranked Andrew Sanchez of McKendree University (Ill.). Sanchez was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association/NAIA Wrestler of the Year at the conclusion of the tournament on Saturday.

CB GETS HIS A's: The NAIA announced its Scholar-Athlete wrestlers on Saturday, and NDC's #Cody Butzer#, a junior from Canal Fulton, Ohio, made the list. In order to qualify for the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status. Butzer went 1-1 in the national tournament and finished the season with 18 wins and six losses.

NOTABLE: The Falcons became the ninth team to win back-to-back national titles and their championship marked the 16th time that a team has won consecutive titles in the event's 54-year history. … In addition to repeating as national champs, Notre Dame has now also pulled off a “four-peat” of sorts -- NDC also won the last two NAIA National Duals titles. The Wrestling Falcons are the first NAIA team to claim victories in both the National Championships and the National Duals in consecutive years. The NAIA has been part of the National Duals since 2006. … The Falcons also accomplished something not seen before in the annals of Ohio collegiate wrestling -- winning a second national title. John Carroll won the NCAA Division III title in 1975, and Findlay won the NAIA crown in 1995; those were the only two championships by Ohio programs before Notre Dame's back-to-back performance the last two seasons.

QUOTEABLE: Frank Romano -- “Coming into the tournament after winning last year, we wanted to repeat. I thought we wrestled really well and we had a tremendous day today (Saturday), other than this evening. In the morning session we won every bout, going 7-for-7, and last night we had a tremendous round, which is the reason that we won. Putting five men into the finals; that sealed it for us.”


Won-loss records noted are for collegiate bouts except where noted otherwise. Collegiate bouts do not include those against junior college foes, club opponents and unaffiliated amateurs.