The No. 8 ranked Grand Valley State University men’s wrestling team traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa for their first ever appearance in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duels. The Lakers finished in sixth place, opening against the No. 7 Augustana University, followed by No. 13 University of Indianapolis and No. 18 Upper Iowa University. GVSU also took on the No. 20 University of Mary and closed against No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Now in their second season as a program, the Lakers have been able to find their footing through a pair of ranked wins the previous weekend against No. 2 Glenville State University and No. 8 Lander University. The Lakers’ five individually-ranked wrestlers have helped the team snatch these wins. These athletes include junior Josh Kenny, ranked third in the 173-pound class, and Division I Michigan State transfer, junior Carter Blough, who is ranked fourth in the 285-pound class. Junior Chris Donathan is ranked sixth in the 149-pound class, redshirt freshman Brayden Mirjavadi is ranked ninth in the 184-pound class and sophomore Jak Keller is ranked 12th in the 133-pound class.
Kicking the tournament off, GVSU and Augustana traded points back and forth early on. A 9-0 win by majority by Keller and a 5-4 win by decision from Donathan kept the Lakers close in points. Despite back-to-back wins by Kelly and Mirjavadi, and a final win by decision, 9-0, from Blough, the Lakers fell short in the first round of duels to Augustana, 17-20.
In the second round of matches, GVSU showed off their resilience against UIndy, winning 36-10, and taking eight straight matches out of 10. The Lakers finished the first day with another clutch win over Upper Iowa. With the score tied heading into the final two matches, a 14-13 win by decision from senior Wyatt Miller in the 197-pound class and a 2-0 win by decision from Blough secured his team the victory.
“It is nothing but fun,” said head coach Joey Simcoe. “It’s really the only word that comes to mind thinking of how this team has been in year two. Everything we do has become more fluid and we can see how much we have been able to grow now. I am beyond proud of what these guys have accomplished against these sizable opponents.”
Day two of the tournament began against UMary, where a win by GVSU would lock in a top six placing. UMary started strong, winning five out of the first six matches. However, GVSU rebounded with four straight wins on their own. An 8-0 win by majority decision from Kenny and a win by fall from Mirjavadi started the streak. A 6-1 win by decision from Miller and a final win by fall from Blough helped GVSU take a last-second, 20-17 lead. The Lakers went on to face Parkside for their final match. With a majority of starters out for GVSU, they fell 3-43 to the Rangers.
Walking out of their first ever NWCA Tournament in sixth place out of 16 teams, GVSU was the only unranked team heading into the tournament to place.
The Lakers are once again on the road, heading to Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Jan. 18, where they will take on Gannon University.
