Schulte places second to lead sixth-place team finish at MO Valley
MARSHALL, Mo. – A trio of Bulldogs reached the semifinals and six concluded the two-day Missouri Valley College Invite with place finishes as the action came to a close in Marshall, Mo., on Saturday afternoon. The 14th-ranked Concordia University wrestling team totaled 95.5 points to place sixth among the 24 squads at the weekend tournament.
Third-year head coach Dana Vote’s group, led by Andrew Schulte’s second-place finish at 141 pounds, pushed its season tournament place finish count to 24.
“It was a good weekend. We’re making strides,” Vote said. “I thought this was one of our best performances of the year. We had some guys step up and win big matches. Our guys are feeling good and confident. We’re in great shape and headed in the direction we need to be in come February and March.”
Competing in his second tournament as a Bulldog, sixth-ranked Schulte (9-2) breezed to the 141-pound title match by taking major decisions from both Maryville’s Keygan Foster (12-2) and Grand View’s Walker Marshall (12-4) on Saturday following his two wins Friday night. Vying for the Bulldogs’ first tournament title of the season, Schulte fell, 6-4, to Maryville’s James Krischke in the championship bout.
“Schulte’s been outstanding in the classroom and on the mat,” Vote said. “He’s been dominant. He has yet to lose to an NAIA opponent. He’s solid and you know he is always going to compete hard.”
At 133 pounds, No. 4 Emilio Rivera (22-7), a fourth-place finisher, made his own bid for a tournament championship. He won 10-4 over Oklahoma City’s Adrian Gains in advancing to the semifinals. That’s where the native of Escondido, Calif., had his seven-match win streak snapped by second-ranked Bryce Shoemaker of Baker University in a narrow 1-0 decision. Rivera, now 45-15 in his Concordia career, was later pinned by Grand View’s Jacob Colon in the third-place bout.
While Jr Lule dropped down to the consolation bracket after a 6-0 loss to Menlo’s Christian Franks, he recovered by winning his next two matches by decision and finished his day with a 12-4 major over Dickinson State’s Seth Ehlang to lock up fifth place at 149 pounds. Included in his run was a 9-3 decision over sixth-ranked Thomas Garty of Indiana Tech.
Sophomore Ken Burkhardt Jr. (22-14), ranked 12th nationally, collected his third tournament place finish of the season by going 4-2 in the 197-pound bracket. His Saturday ledger included wins over Montana State-Northern’s Garrett DeMers (D, 3-2) and William Penn’s eighth-ranked Kyle Soderblom (D, 9-4).
Sophomore Kodie Cole, who had a big Friday performance that saw him pin both of his opponents, salvaged a seventh place finish after dropping two of his first three matches on Saturday. The 133-pounder from Palmdale, Calif., pinned Oklahoma City’s Adrian Gains in the seventh-place bout to finish the tournament with a 4-2 record.
In the heavyweight bracket, freshman DJ McIntyre (19-12) completed a strong weekend effort with a fifth-place claim. After upsetting 10th-ranked Abram Reynolds of Briar Cliff on Friday, McIntyre picked up another win over a ranked foe on Saturday. He took out Baker’s 12th-ranked Beau Bennett with a third-period pin. McIntyre’s only loss of the day came at the hands of No. 1 Gabi Musallam of host Missouri Valley.
Four different Bulldogs started the day in the consolation. Among them, sophomores Dmitri Smith (125) and Ceron Francisco (285) both notched a pair of wins on the weekend.
Concordia’s sixth-place team finish put it in front of a quintet of NAIA squads ranked in the top 20 of the most recent coaches’ poll: No. 8 Midland, No. 13 Oklahoma City University, No. 15 Baker University, No. 16 William Penn University and No. 17 Benedictine College. Three-time defending NAIA national champion Grand View won the tournament with 177 team points.
The GPAC-leading Bulldogs (3-0 GPAC) return to dual action on Thursday when they travel to Sioux City, Iowa, to take on perennial conference powerhouse Morningside at 7 p.m. The Mustangs (1-0 GPAC) defeated Hastings, 29-12, on Friday to extend their GPAC dual winning streak to 31. Morningside has not lost a conference dual since the 2008-09 season.
Concordia place finishers
2nd – Andrew Schulte (141)
4th – Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197)
4th – Emilio Rivera (133)
5th – Jr Lule (149)
5th – DJ McIntyre (285)
7th – Kodie Cole (133)
Team Scoring
1. Grand View 177.0
2. Missouri Valley 137.5
3. Maryville 124.5
4. Montana State-Northern 109.5
5. Indiana Tech 107.0
6. Concordia 95.5
7. Menlo 87.0
8. Baker 78.5
9. Dickinson State 74.5
10. Oklahoma City 72.5
11. Northwestern 60.0
12. Midland 55.5
12. William Penn 55.5
14. Briar Cliff 48.5
15. Benedictine 37.0
16. Doane 36.0
17. Missouri Baptist 26.0
18. Lindenwood-Belleville 21.5
19. St. Catharine 20.5
20. Truman State 13.5
21. Ottawa 8.0
22. Graceland 7.0
23. Bacone 6.5
24. Hannibal LaGrange 4.0