The No. 15 Alma College Wrestling team made program history on Friday, traveling to Fort Wayne, IN to participate in the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals. The Scots performed well at their first-ever national championship appearance, amassing a 3-2 record, including a 30-12 over No. 18 Johnson & Wales (RI).
Entering the tournament as the 12th seed, Alma faced off against St. Johns (MN) in its first match of the afternoon. The Scots would find themselves down 8-3 after the first three bouts, before consecutive victories by Sr. James Carey (Ithaca/Ithaca) at 149 and Jr. Shawn Brewer (New Boston/Huron) at 157 would give Alma the 10-8 advantage. The Johnnies would regain the lead at 14-13 but the Scots would claim victory in three of the next four matches to seal the 23-17 first-round win.
After deafeating St. Johns in the opening match, Alma advanced to take on #5 University of Mount Union (OH). The Raiders came out ready to wrestle, jumping out to a 17-0 lead after the first five bouts. No. 7 Sr. Matt Tuttle (Reading/Reading) would put the Scots on the board with a fall and No. 7 Jr. Jamie Jakes (Dearborn/Divine Child) would follow with a 3-1 decision to cut the deficit to 17-9. Sr. Jared Groeneveld (Allendale/Allendale) would earn a 9-2 decision at 197 but the Scots would ultimately fall to Mount Union 24-12 and head to the consulation bracket.
The road would not get any easier in the consolation bracket as Alma would face off against the University of Dubuque (IA) in its opening match. After the first eight bouts, the Scots were down 15-9 with just two matches remaining. Groeneveld would get a huge 8-0 major decision at 197 to bring Alma within two at 15-13. The Scots would call on Jr. Trevor Maresh (Northville/Northville) at 285 to claim the win, Maresh would respond with a 1-0 decision to give Alma the 16-15 victory.
Next up for Alma was Johnson & Wales (RI), the No. 18 team in the country. The Scots would find themselves down 6-3 after the first three matches before catching fire and winning the next six-straight bouts. The Wildcats would win at 285 but Alma would take the match convincingly 30-12 to advance in the consolation round and guarantee a top 12 finish.
No. 10 Augsburg College (MN) waited for the Scots in the next round, with the winner advancing to Saturday and earning a top eight finish. The Auggies jumped out to an early 13-0 lead but Alma would quickly respond with 12 straight points to bring the score to 13-12 with just three bouts remaining. Augsburg would take the final three bouts to claim the 23-12 win.
Jakes has a monstrous day for the Scots in Indiana, he finished Friday as the only wrestler in any division to go 5-0 at 174. Not to be outdone, Tuttle finished the day as the only wrestler in any division to go 4-0 at 165.
Alma's final position will not be determined until the action at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum concludes tomorrow.
