Wabash finished fourth overall against the top teams in all of Division III at the 2019 National Wrestling Coaches Association Multi-Divisional National Duals, held Friday and Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
The Little Giants, ranked fifth in the nation coming into the dual-meet tournament, knocked off 16^th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater and fourth-ranked Ithaca on Friday to advance to Saturday's semifinal round. Wabash lost to top-ranked Augsburg University 26-9 in the semis before falling 27-13 to second-ranked Wartburg College in the third-place finals match.
 
Darden Schurg, the top-ranked wrestler among DIII competitors in the 174-pound weight class, finished the weekend with a spotless 4-0 record for the weekend by posting a pair of victories on Saturday. He scored the first team points for the Little Giants in their bout against Augsburg by defeating Tanner Vassar 12-5. Wade Ripple pinned Ethan Hofacker at the 2:21 mark of their heavyweight match to add six points to the Wabash team score.
 
Griffin Schermer earned a 6-2 victory in the 149-pound bout against Wartburg's Brady Fritz to score the first team points for the Little Giants in the third-place match against the second-ranked Knights. Schurg added an 11-4 victory in his final match of the weekend against Kyle Briggs, ranked fourth individually at 174 pounds. Maxwell Bishop closed out the tournament for Wabash by battling to a 2-1 victory in his heavyweight match versus Wartburg's Bowen Wileman.
 
The fourth-place finish is the best for Wabash at the National Duals since the Little Giants finished second to Wartburg at the 2016 event when the Knights were the number-one ranked team in the nation.
 
The Little Giants will compete next Saturday at the Manchester University Spartan Classic before wrestling against Millikin University on Monday, January 14 in a 7 p.m. dual meet as part of the team's Senior Night celebration.
 
Augsburg 26, Wabash 9
 
125                         Victor Gliva (Augsburg) over Carlos Champagne (Wabash) Dec 6-2
133                         Sam Bennyhoff (Augsburg) over Chris Diaz (Wabash) TF 15-0
141                         David Flynn (Augsburg) over Riley Lomenick (Wabash) Dec 10-4
149                         Alex Wilson (Augsburg) over Griffin Schermer (Wabash) Dec 7-3
157                         Ryan Epps (Augsburg) over Austin Bethel (Wabash) Dec 10-6
165                         Lucas Jeske (Augsburg) over Kyle Hatch (Wabash) Dec 7-6
174                         Darden Schurg (Wabash) over Tanner Vassar (Augsburg) Dec 12-5
184                         Solomon Nielsen (Augsburg) over Ethan Herrin (Wabash) Dec 6-1
197                         Lance Benick (Augsburg) over Levi Miller (Wabash) Dec 5-1
285                         Wade Ripple (Wabash) over Ethan Hofacker (Augsburg) Fall 2:21
 
Wartburg 27, Wabash 13
 
125                         Brady Kyner (Wartburg) over Carlos Champagne (Wabash) TF 21-4
133                         Brennen Doebel (Wartburg) over Chris Diaz (Wabash) Fall 0:38
141                         Brock Rathbun (Wartburg) over Owen Doster (Wabash) Fall 0:39
149                         Griffin Schermer (Wabash) over Brady Fritz (Wartburg) Dec 6-2
157                         Cross Cannone (Wartburg) over Jared Timberman (Wabash) Dec 7-3
165                         Mike Ross (Wartburg) over Kyle Hatch (Wabash) Maj 19-8
174                         Darden Schurg (Wabash) over Kyle Briggs (Wartburg) Dec 11-4
184                         Ethan Herrin (Wabash) over Isaiah Cox (Wartburg) Maj 10-1
197                         Kobe Woods (Wartburg) over Levi Miller (Wabash) Dec 5-1
285                         Maxwell Bishop (Wabash) over Bowen Wileman (Wartburg) Dec 2-1