FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 2-ranked Indiana Tech wrestling team took second at the NWCA National Duals on Friday as they took down No. 16-ranked Life University, 21-13, before falling to No. 1-ranked and five-time defending duals and NAIA National Champion Grand View, 30-8, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Tech took six of the first seven matches against Life in the semifinals, with
Erique Early scoring a 17-5 major decision at 133-pounds while
John Weldon notched a 16-0 technical fall at 165-lbs.
Robert Humphrey knocked off 13
th-ranked Dallas Brown in an 8-5 decision.
In a rematch of last year's National Duals finals, Grand View took an early 11-0 lead after three matches, but back-to-back major decisions from
Thomas Garty (8-0) and
Mitch Roadruck (15-7) at 149 and 157-lbs. would cut the Vikings deficit to three with five matches to go.
The top-ranked team in the country would respond with five straight wins however, to take their sixth consecutive National Duals title by a 30-8 score and hand the Warriors the runner-up spot for the second year in a row.
Tech (11-4) returns to action on Saturday, January 14, when they head south to North Manchester, Indiana for the Spartan Mat Classic at Manchester University.
