Lule, Smith go 2-0 on day one at Missouri Valley Invite

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 15, 2016 in Wrestling

MARSHALL, Mo. – A week after his squad earned seventh place at the National Duals, fourth-year head coach Dana Vote’s Bulldogs combined for seven victories on day one of two at the annual Missouri Valley Invite held in Marshall, Mo. Eighth-ranked Concordia’s Jr Lule and Dmitri Smith both went 2-0 on Friday to advance to the quarterfinals of their respective brackets.

Five of the 10 Bulldogs who competed notched at least one win. As a team, Concordia (14 points) sits in a tie for 15th place among the field of 28 teams. No wrestlers were eliminated on the event’s first day.

“We were all right. It’s a tough tournament,” Vote said. “We had some tough matches. This is the grind of the season. Jr and Dmitri looked solid. Some of our young guys wrestled some tough kids. We just have to find ways to win more matches.”

Smith, a junior 125-pounder, racked up the most team points – five – by collecting victories by pin over John Altieri of William Penn University (Iowa) and by decision (6-3) over Cumberland University’s (Tenn.) Sean Nguyen. At 157 pounds, Lule posted three team points thanks to decisions over Benedictine College’s (Kan.) Alek Mitchell (5-4) and over Truman State University’s (Mo.) Roark Whittington (7-4).

Two team points were earned by three Bulldogs, who each recorded a victory by decision: Cooper Bailey (141), Foster Bunce (149) and Josh Nelson (174).

NAIA National Wrestler of the Week Andrew Schulte, ranked eighth nationally at 141 pounds, is taking the weekend off along with other standouts such as Matt Atwood (184), Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197) and Ceron Francisco (285). All will rest up in preparation for Thursday’s (Jan. 21) GPAC home dual with Doane.

Day two from the Missouri Valley Invite will pick up at 9 a.m. CT on Saturday. Live results will be available via TrackWrestling.com.

Team scores after day one
1. Indiana Tech  42.0
1. Montana State University Northern 42.0
3. Life University 40.0
4. Williams Baptist College 37.5
5. Grand View University 33.5
6. Cumberland University 33.0
7. Missouri Valley College 30.5
8. Baker University 27.5
9. Oklahoma City University 21.5
10. Dickinson State University 20.5
11. Briar Cliff University  19.5
12. Menlo College 17.5
13. Northwestern College 17.0
13. Truman State University 17.0
15. Concordia University (Neb) 14.0
15. Midland Lutheran University 14.0
15. William Penn University 14.0
18. Graceland University 13.0
18. Hannibal LaGrange University 13.0
18. Maryville University 13.0
18. St Catherine College 13.0
22. Ottowa University 11.0
23. Bacone College 10.0
24. Missouri Baptist University 9.0
25. Benedictine College 5.0
26. Waldorf College 4.0
27. University Central Missouri 3.0
28. Lindenwood University Belleville 0.0