NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals bracket released
The bracket for the 2017 National Wrestling Coaches Association Multi-Divisional National Duals Thursday and Friday, Jan. 5-6 at the War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been released.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The bracket for the 2017 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Multi-Divisional National Duals Thursday and Friday, Jan. 5-6 at the War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been released.
The Comets will face University of Wis.-Oshkosh in a preliminary match Thursday morning at 9 a.m. The winner will advance to wrestle Wabash (Ind.) College at 11 a.m. The loser will drop into the consolation bracket and face a school in a pod of three schools (Alma; Ferrum, Va. and Concordia-Moorhead, Minn.) at 1 p.m. The winner of the preliminary match and Wabash will face the winner of a pod of three schools (The College of New Jersey; Concordia, Wis.; and Johnson & Wales, R.I.) at 3 p.m.
Olivet enters the national duals with a 6-5 dual match record. Five of the six wins were against NCAA Division III competition, with three of the five losses coming against teams ranked in the NWCA Top 25 poll (#1 Wartburg, Iowa; #3 Augsburg, Minn.; and #15 Baldwin Wallace, Ohio).
The Comets have been off since Dec. 17 when they posted a 3-1 record at the Gator "Boots" Duals in Nashville, Tennessee. After losing its first match to Baldwin Wallace (Ohio), Olivet bounced back to beat Ferrum, Simpson (Iowa) and Mount Union (Ohio).
In the most recent d3wrestle.com rankings, senior Austin Kelley is No. 8 at 149 pounds. Seniors Curtis Blackwell (141 pounds) and Jesse Judge (285 pounds) are listed as contenders, while junior Jared Brickley (133 pounds), sophomore Tyler Grimsley (174 pounds) and senior Rodney Harvey (184 pounds) are honorable mention.
In addition, the Comets have climbed into the NWCA Top 25 poll for the first time this season, and are ranked No. 21. Individually, Kelley is ninth in the 149-pound rankings.
Olivet is no stranger to the NWCA National Duals. This trip will be its fourth appearance at national duals since 2012. The 2012 team had the most success, finishing in fifth-place with a 4-1 record.
The NWCA will be providing live video and results on trackwrestling.com. You can view the results for free, while there will be a charge for the live video. The direct link to the event is -- http://www.trackwrestling.com/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=233088009.