Wrestling News Releases

Nothern records runner-up finish at 133 pounds at NCAA Championships

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cornell College junior Nick Nothern (Salina, Kan./Salina South) fought his way to a runner-up finish at the 2009 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

The eighth-seeded Nothern (29-11) dropped a 6-0 decision to No. 6 seed Zac Bartlett (19-7) of Luther in the 133-pound championship match. Nothern became Cornell's first national finalist since 1996, when Ryan Reasland finished second at 190 pounds.

Nothern earned All-America honors for the second consecutive year, improving on a sixth-placing showing in 2008. He was seeking Cornell's first national title since 1990, when Shawn Voigt captured the 150-pound crown.

"Nick Nothern had a very strong performance," Cornell head coach Mike Duroe said. "But it's so hard for him as an athlete to be so close to becoming a national champion. He wrestled extremely well. He's got another year left and I think this will motivate him."

Nothern was one of three Rams to gain All-America accolades, awarded to the top eight finishers in each weight class. Senior Kyle Kehrli (Winthrop/East Buchanan) made the medal stand for the second consecutive year and sophomore Kevin Donahue (Mechanicsville, Va./St. Christopher's) garnered All-America recognition in his first trip to nationals. Kehrli took fifth at 174, climbing one place from last season. Donahue finished seventh at 141.

Nothern and Kehrli became the 17th and 18th wrestlers in Cornell history to earn All-America honors at least two years. The Rams have now crowned 10 All-Americans in head coach Mike Duroe's four seasons at the helm.

Cornell sophomore Ryan Mulnix (Coggon/North-Linn) finished 0-2 at 149 in his first national tournament appearance.

The Rams finished eighth in the team standings with 32 points. It is Cornell's second top-10 finish in as many years. The Rams took seventh in 2008 with 40.5 points.

"From a team perspective, we didn't perform to the best of our ability," Duroe said. "I'm not happy or satisfied where we are as a team or individually. It's disappointing, but we have to use that to get fired up for the future."

Nothern and Bartlett met for the fourth time this season with the Luther senior prevailing three times. In Saturday's final, Bartlett took a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape. Bartlett sealed the match late in the third period, countering a Nothern shot with a five-point move.

"Nothern was inches from scoring on that shot. Then all of a sudden, we're on our back," Duroe said. "He just got caught in a crazy position."

Nothern needed one of the Iowa Conference's three at-large berths to get into the tournament after placing fourth at the IIAC Championships last month. He made the most of the opportunity with three big wins this weekend, two of them against higher seeded opponents.

Nothern's strong run through the tournament included a 7-5 quarterfinal upset over Augsburg's top-ranked Travis Lang, who pinned Nothern in the fifth-place national bout a year ago. Nothern then survived a 6-5 marathon battle against No. 4 seed Matt Kelly of Wartburg in the semifinals, an overtime match that was decided in the second tiebreaker. It was Nothern's first career victory over Kelly, which owned a pair of one-point decisions in head-to-head matches this season. Nothern opened competition with a 6-4 win over Joshua Pauling of Wilkes.

Kehrli (46-6) finished a sensational season with the most wins in the country at the Division III level. He is Cornell's all-time leader for wins in a season. Kehrli compiled a career record of 114-65, ranking seventh on the school's career wins list.

Kehrli, the No. 5 seed, advanced to the semifinals with a third-period pin over Michael Reilly of Kings and an 8-6 sudden victory over Frank Heffernan of Wilkes. Kehrli dropped a 5-3 semifinal decision to No. 8 seed Evan Brown of Dubuque and fell 3-2 to Michael Schmitz of UW-LaCrosse in a consolation match. Kehrli bounced back with a 4-1 victory over No. 6 seed Zach Molitor of Augsburg in the fifth-place match.

Donahue, battling a severe ankle sprain most of the tournament, fought his way back through the consolation bracket after losing by technical fall in his first bout to No. 7 seed Tony Valek of Augsburg. He scored a 7-3 decision over MSOE's Virgil Pope and then secured All-America accolades with a 12-8 victory over Oswego's Derrick Smith.

Donahue lost by technical fall to Luke Baum of Rochester Institute in the next round, but finished strong with an 8-6 win over John Paxos of Ithaca in the seventh-place match. He wrapped up a solid sophomore season at 28-11.

"Donahue showed a lot of courage," Duroe said. "It was good for him to get on the podium as a sophomore. This will inspire him the next two years." 

Mulnix dropped an 11-6 decision to John Carroll's Dan Mizener in the first round and was pinned by Luther's Jason Pyle. Mulnix ended the season with a 30-14 mark. 

2009 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships
March 6-7
U.S. Cellular Center
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Final Team Standings
1. Wartburg 117.5, 2. Augsburg 105, 3. UW-LaCrosse 87, 4. Coe 78.5, 5. Delaware Valley 65.5, 6. Ithaca 39, 7. Elmhurst 34, 8. Cornell 32, 9. Luther 31.5, 10. Williams 30.5, 11. Dubuque 30, 12. Rochester Institute of Technology 28, 12. UW-Whitewater 28, 14. North Central 26.5, 15. St. Johns 26, 16. Olivet 18, 17. UW-Stevens Point 17.5, 18. Concordia Moorhead 17, 19. Cortland State 16, 20. UW-EauClaire 13.5, 21. Lakeland 11.5, 21. Ohio Northern 11.5, 21. Southern Maine 11.5, 24. Maranatha BBC 11, 25. Case Western Reserve 10, 26. UW-Platteville 8.5, 26. York 8.5, 28. Johnson and Wales 8, 28. The College of New Jersey 8, 28. Thiel 8, 31. Lycoming 7.5, 31. MIT 7.5, 31. Mount Union 7.5, 31. Wikes 7.5, 35. Muhlenberg 7, 36. Elizabethtown 6.5, 36. Messiah 6.5, 38. McDaniel 6, 39. Merchant Marine 5.5, 40. Wheaton 4, 41. Waynesburg 3.5, 42. John Carroll 3, 42. Rhode Island College 3, 44. Loras 1.5, 45. Heidelberg 1, 45. Hunter 1, 45. Kings 1, 45. Oswego State 1, 45. Rose Hulman 1, 45. Stevens Institute of Technology 1, 45. UW-Oshkosh 1, 52. Lawrence 0.5, 52. Wesleyan 0.5, 54. Baldwin Wallace 0, 54. Bridgewater State 0, 54. Concordia WI 0, 54. Gettysburg 0, 54. MSOE 0, 54. New York University 0, 54. Oneonta State 0, 54. Springfield 0, 62. University of Chicago -1. 

Cornell results
133 - Nick Nothern (second place) - dec. Joshua Pauling (Wilkes) 6-4; dec. Travis Lang (Augsburg) 7-5; dec. Matt Kelly (Wartburg) 6-5 TB2; lost dec. Zac Bartlett (Luther) 6-0.
141 - Kevin Donahue (seventh place) - lost tech fall Tony Valek (Augsburg) 17-2; dec. Virgil Pope (MSOE) 7-3; dec. Derrick Smith (Oswego State) 12-8; lost tech fall Luke Baum (Rochester Institute Tech) 15-0; dec. John Paxos (Ithaca) 8-6.
149 - Ryan Mulnix - lost dec. Dan Mizener (John Carroll) 11-6; pinned by Jason Pyle (Luther) 2:56.
174 - Kyle Kehrli (fifth place) - pinned Michael Reilly (Kings) 5:50; dec. Frank Heffernan (Wilkes) 8-6 SV1; lost dec. Evan Brown (Dubuque) 5-3; lost dec. Michael Schmitz (UW-LaCrosse) 3-2; dec. Zach Molitor (Augsburg) 4-1.