Wabash scored two wins on the opening day of the 2018 National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals taking place in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
 
The wins move the Little Giants into Friday's second day of competition in the Division III tournament bracket. Wabash will face Coe College at 9 a.m. with a chance to compete for fifth place in the team finals Friday afternoon.
 
Wabash opened the tournament Thursday with bye as the sixth-seeded team before facing North Central College in the second round. The Little Giants jumped out to a quick lead with a tech fall (18-0) from Sunny Nier at 125 pounds. North Central captured the next two bouts before Austin Bethel scored a 12-4 major decision over Ben Williamson at 149 pounds. Kyle Hatch won the 157-pound bout 3-2, followed by a 16-6 major decision by Jared Timberman at 165 pounds.
 
Darden Schurg battled to a 3-2 victory at 174 pounds to put Wabash in front 19-6 in the team scoring. North Central came back to win the 184- and 197-pound bouts heading into the 285-pound match. The Cardinal picked up a pin in the final bout to tie the match at 19-19, claiming the win in the tiebreaker with the only pin of the match for 20-19 final score.
 
The loss sent Wabash to the consolation bracket to face Heidelberg. The Little Giants fell behind early after Heidelberg scored a tech fall at 125 pounds. Wabash rallied for three consecutive pins, starting with Chris Diaz earning a fall 53 seconds into his 133-pound match. Brice Everson followed with a pin at 1:16 in the 141-pound weight class match. Austin Bethel picked up a pin at the 1:04 mark of his 149-pound bout.
 
Hatch kept the string of wins rolling with a 16-6 major decision at 157 pounds. Timberman scored a technical fall by a score of 17-2 in his 165-pound bout. Schurg moved to 2-0 on the day with an 18-4 major decision at 174 pounds. Heidelberg scored a pair of wins before Max Bishop ended the round with a pin at 6:31 for Wabash at 285 pounds to secure a 38-11 win for the Little Giants.
 
Wabash closed out Thursday's first day of competition with a 30-10 victory over Concordia-Moorhead. Nier opened the round with a shutout 18-0 tech fall versus Jake Nohre at 125 pounds. Concordia answered with a major decision at 133 pounds before the Little Giants posted five consecutive wins to move in front decisively. The run began with Everson's 16-0 tech fall at 141 pounds. Bethel added a12-9 decision at 149 pounds, followed by a pin by Hatch at the 2:15 mark of his 157-pound match.  Timberman earned a 7-2 win at 165 pounds prior to Schurg's third victory of the day in a 21-6 technical fall in his 174-pound bout. Bishop finished the day with a 6-2 decision at heavyweight to send Wabash into Friday's final day of the tournament.
 
A victory over Coe College Friday morning would send Wabash into the consolation semifinals to face the winner of the Wisconsin-Whitewater versus Wisconsin-La Crosse match. The winner of Friday's second round will compete for fifth place in the team standings with the loser moving into the seventh-place match in the finals.
 
 
                  North Central 20, Wabash 19
 
125            Sunny Nier (Wabash) over Moe Mitchell (North Central (IL)) TF 18-0
133            Marc Fleenor (North Central (IL)) over Chris Diaz (Wabash) Dec 6-5
141            Anthony Rink (North Central (IL)) over Brice Everson (Wabash) Dec 4-2
149            Austin Bethel (Wabash) over Ben Williamson (North Central (IL)) Maj 12-4
157            Kyle Hatch (Wabash) over Egan Berta (North Central (IL)) Dec 3-2
165            Jared Timberman (Wabash) over Danny Harris (North Central (IL)) Maj 16-6
174            Darden Schurg (Wabash) over Matt Marcotte (North Central (IL)) Dec 3-2
184            Joshua Bouie (North Central (IL)) over Hunter Bates (Wabash) Dec 8-3
197            Tyler Vittal (North Central (IL)) over Grant Gough (Wabash) Maj 13-5
285            Audel Ochoa (North Central (IL)) over Wade Ripple (Wabash) Fall 2:28
Tie Breaker                1 point for North Central            
 
 
                  Wabash 38, Heidelberg 11
 
125            Mason Brainard (Heidelberg) over Sunny Nier (Wabash) TF 20-3
133            Chris Diaz (Wabash) over Richard Bogetich (Heidelberg) Fall 0:53
141            Brice Everson (Wabash) over Slade Todd (Heidelberg) Fall 1:16
149            Austin Bethel (Wabash) over Hayden Bates (Heidelberg) Fall 1:04
157            Kyle Hatch (Wabash) over Noah Messerall (Heidelberg) Maj 16-6
165            Jared Timberman (Wabash) over Chris White (Heidelberg) TF 17-2
174            Darden Schurg (Wabash) over Jeremiah Slagle (Heidelberg) Maj 18-4
184            Patrick Brown (Heidelberg) over Hunter Bates (Wabash) Dec 11-7
197            Tyler Hammack (Heidelberg) over Grant Gough (Wabash) Dec 3-2
285            Max Bishop (Wabash) over Christian Climer (Heidelberg) Fall 6:31
TECH FALL                 1 point for Wabash    
 
                  Wabash 30, Concordia-Moorhead 10
 
125            Sunny Nier (Wabash) over Jake Nohre (Concordia-Moorhead) TF 18-0
133            Aaron Dick (Concordia-Moorhead) over Chris Diaz (Wabash) Maj 21-8
141            Brice Everson (Wabash) over Cole Kubesh (Concordia-Moorhead) TF 16-0
149            Austin Bethel (Wabash) over Ty Johnson (Concordia-Moorhead) Dec 12-9
157            Kyle Hatch (Wabash) over Cole Sladek (Concordia-Moorhead) Fall 2:15
165            Jared Timberman (Wabash) over Joseph Heinz (Concordia-Moorhead) Dec 7-2
174            Darden Schurg (Wabash) over Jake Johnson (Concordia-Moorhead) TF 21-6
184            Ricky Briggs (Concordia-Moorhead) over Hunter Bates (Wabash) Dec 6-5
197            Ethan Kimber (Concordia-Moorhead) over Grant Gough (Wabash) Dec 9-4
285            Max Bishop (Wabash) over Kody Vandeneykel (Concordia-Moorhead) Dec 6-2