The Wabash College wrestling team scored two victories in the opening rounds of the 2024 National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals held at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday. The Little Giants knocked off Aurora University 36-12 in the preliminary round, followed by a 25-16 victory over the seventh seed from The College of New Jersey. Wabash dropped its final two matches to number-two seed Wartburg (54-0) and Coe College (20-18) to complete the first day of competition.
 
Wabash started the competition against Aurora in the morning prelim session. The Little Giants fell behind in the first bout but rallied behind Arlie Benson's 11-2 major victory at 133 pounds for a 4-3 lead in the team scoring. After a loss at 141 pounds, Wabash scored wins in the next six bouts, starting with a 19-4 tech fall by Daniel Uribe at 149 pounds.
 
Tim Smith pinned his opponent 51 seconds into their 157-pound match. Jesse Herrera added a pin at the 2:29 mark of the 165-pound bout. Ray Arebalo earned a 5-1 victory at 174 pounds ahead of another Little Giant pin, this time by Sammy Saunders at 2:24 in the 184-pound contest. Neil Johnson closed out the six-match stretch for Wabash with a pin at 1:05 at 197 pounds.
 
The victory over Aurora moved Wabash into the championship bracket against the seventh-seeded Lions from TCNJ. James Day started the match with an 8-3 victory for the Little Giants at 125 pounds. Evan Burge scored a pin at the 1:56 mark of his 141-pound bout to give Wabash a 9-3 lead in the team score. Smith picked up a 12-3 major victory at 157 pounds to boost the Little Giants to a 12-6 lead in the match. Ray Arebalo won 5-1 at 174 pounds, followed by a lightning pin by Chase Baczek just 22 seconds into his 184-pound match. Caden Friedt earned the final points for Wabash with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at 197 pounds to provide the 25-16 win, sending Wabash into the quarterfinals.
 
The Little Giants faced number-two-ranked Wartburg in the quarterfinal round. Wabash could not score a win against the second-seeded Knights in a 54-0 defeat to move into the consolation portion of the bracket to face Coe College. Wabash scored victories in four of the first five matches, beginning with a 9-7 win by Benson at 133 pounds. Burge earned an 8-5 victory at 141 pounds, and Uribe won by pin at 1:56 of his 149-pound bout. Tyson Nisley won 7-3 at 157 pounds to complete the four-bout scoring run for Wabash. Coe picked up a win at 174 pounds, but Baczek kept the Little Giants in front with an 11-2 major victory. The Kohawks rallied for wins in the final two matches to edge out Wabash 20-18.
 
The Little Giants wrap up the 2024 event with two matches on Saturday. Wabash competes in a rematch against The College of New Jersey at 9 a.m. and faces either Dubuque or Baldwin Wallace in its final match at 1 p.m.
 
             Wabash (36) vs Aurora (12) - Match Summary                                                                           
125       Zane Ely (Aurora University) over Andrew Punzalan (Wabash) Dec 11-8                 
133       Arlie Benson (Wabash) over Tyler Evitts (Aurora University) Maj 11-2                  
141       Jake Penzato (Aurora University) over Blake McGee (Wabash) Dec 6-1                  
149       Daniel Uribe (Wabash) over Austin Abitua (Aurora University) TF 19-4                     
157       Tim Smith (Wabash) over Jeff Sorich (Aurora University) Fall 0:51                               
165       Jesse Herrera (Wabash) over Emanuel Diaz (Aurora University) Fall 2:29                  
174       Raymond Arebalo (Wabash) over Christian Komitas (Aurora University) Dec 5-1     
184       Sammy Saunders (Wabash) over Kyus Root (Aurora University) Fall 2:24                  
197       Neil Johnson (Wabash) over Angel Jaimes (Aurora University) Fall 1:05               
285       Elijah Osit (Aurora University) over Tim Stohl (Wabash) Fall 4:15                           
 
              Wabash (25) vs The College of New Jersey (16) - Match Summary            
125       James Day (Wabash) over Matt Griffin (TCNJ) Dec 8-3                            
133       Kyle Nase (TCNJ) over Arlie Benson (Wabash) Dec 8-1                          
141       Evan Burge (Wabash) over Sam Kotch (TCNJ) Fall 1:56                                       
149       Mayson Harms (TCNJ) over Daniel Uribe (Wabash) SV-1 4-1               
157       Tim Smith (Wabash) over Ryan Datz (TCNJ) Maj 12-3                           
165       Nicholas Sacco (TCNJ) over Jesse Herrera (Wabash) Maj 8-0               
174       Raymond Arebalo (Wabash) over James Romaine (TCNJ) Dec 5-1     
184       Charles Baczek (Wabash) over Austin Raynor (TCNJ) Fall 0:22        
197       Caden Friedt (Wabash) over Chris Stavrou (TCNJ) Dec 2-0          
285       Peter Wersinger (TCNJ) over Tim Stohl (Wabash) Fall 3:23          
 
              Wabash (0) vs Wartburg (54) - Match Summary                                                      
125       Brett Birchman (Wartburg) over James Day (Wabash) Inj 1:48              
133       Joe Pins (Wartburg) over Arlie Benson (Wabash) TF 17-1                                   
141       Kyler Romero (Wartburg) over Blake McGee (Wabash) Inj 0:47                   
149       Charlie Dojan (Wartburg) over Daniel Uribe (Wabash) Dec 8-1                    
157       Blain Christie (Wartburg) over Tim Smith (Wabash) Fall 4:24                   
165       Nathan Fuller (Wartburg) over Jesse Herrera (Wabash) Fall 2:18                    
174       Zane Mulder (Wartburg) over Elorm Nevis (Wabash) Fall 2:46             
184       Kasey Ross (Wartburg) over Sammy Saunders (Wabash) Fall 2:21                
197       Massoma Endene (Wartburg) over Neil Johnson (Wabash) TF 15-0     
285       Mitch Williamson (Wartburg) over Tim Stohl (Wabash) TF 17-2                 
 
Wabash (18) vs Coe (20) - Match Summary                                                     
125       Cade Hornback (Coe) over James Day (Wabash) SV-1 8-5     
133       Arlie Benson (Wabash) over Bryce Parke (Coe) Dec 9-7           
141       Evan Burge (Wabash) over Dresden Grimm (Coe) Dec 8-5         
149       Daniel Uribe (Wabash) over Dylan Grigsby (Coe) Fall 1:56             
157       Tyson Nisley (Wabash) over Gabe McGeough (Coe) Dec 7-3        
165       Will Esmoil (Coe) over Jesse Herrera (Wabash) TF 19-2              
174       LJ Richardson (Coe) over Raymond Arebalo (Wabash) Dec 5-2                  
184       Charles Baczek (Wabash) over Jared Voss (Coe) Maj 11-2                            
197       Mathieu Arsenault (Coe) over Caden Friedt (Wabash) Maj 16-3                    
285       Damari Dancy (Coe) over Tim Stohl (Wabash) TF 18-3                    
              Wabash - minus one point team penalty - unsportsmanlike conduct