Central Missouri Mules vs. No. 7 McKendree Bearcats
Jan. 21, 2015 | 7:00 p.m. | Lebanon, Ill. 
Game Notes | Video

Central Missouri will face No. 7 McKendree on the road Wednesday in Lebanon, Ill. The Mules are 4-1 all-time against the Bearcats, Ensign is 1-1 in his career. The teams last met in Warrensburg, Mo. on Jan. 9, 2014. McKendree beat the Mules (31-6). Frank Cagnina and Eric Mateo picking up the only wins for Central Missouri by decision. 

Cagnina Leads Mules Through UNK Midwest Duals
Central Missouri competed at the University of Nebraska-Kearney Duals last weekend in Kearney, Neb. The Mules went 2-2 at the dual tournament, losing to No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney (43-4) and Southwest Minnesota State (31-16) before picking up wins over Mary (32-18) and Minot State (46-0). No. 2 Frank Cagnina's undefeated performance earned him MIAA Wrestler of the Week, for the third time in his career. 

Cagnina prevented the Lopers from sweeping the Mules, beating No. 7 Destin McCauley with a 10-2 major decision. He then earned the first team points for the Mules against Southwest Minnesota State, pinning Jake Clocum at 2:57. Evan Young (157) followed with a 5-4 decision against Patrick Kelley. Mike Boyd (184) and Nicholas Lovejoy (197) had back-to-back wins, picking up the final points for the Mules. Boyd took his match against Colton Vekved with a 4-3 decision, before Lovejoy did not allow a point in his major decision win over Ashton Bartlett. 

Central Missouri and Mary each forfeited a weight class to start the third dual of the tournament. Following the forfeited bouts, Zadac Lankford (141) had his first technical fall of the season against Alec Lindsey. The Mules took the next three of four matches. Cagnina and Josh Thomson (165) both had falls, while Boyd had a 8-5 decision against Kyle Schultz. Mary forfeited the 197-pound bout, for Central Missouri's final points of the dual. 

The Mules finished the UNK Midwest Duals by sweeping Minot State. Ryan Hodges (125) picked up the first six points for the Mules, with a fall over Anthony Battle at 1:45. Both teams forfeited the 133-pound bout, followed by a decision win for Lankford over Tanner Crissler. Cagnina and Young earned bonus points in their matches, Cagnina took a 13-2 major decision against Cody Haugen, before Young pinned Devin Combs at 1:03. Thomson had a close win (3-2) over Ricards Avakovs, followed by Mary forfeiting the 174-pound bout. Levi Turley (184) had a pin in his first collegiate start, against Kobina Henriques, at 4:45. Robert Schneider (197) then had a pin of his own in 1:01 against Taylor Barstad. The dual was finished when Mary forfeited the heavyweight bout. 

Probable Line-Ups/Opponent Preview
Central Missouri Mules (4-8, 0-1 MIAA)
Wt.    Name   (Yr., Hometown, Record)
125      Ryan Hodges (Jr., Shawnee, Kan., 2-2)
133    Open
141    Zadac Lankford (R-Fr., Warrensburg, Mo., 13-10)
149    No. 2 Frank Cagnina (Sr., Hillsdale, N.J., 15-1)
157    Evan Young (R-Fr., Odessa, Mo., 9-7)
165    Josh Thomson (So., Peculiar, Mo., 19-9)
174    Archie Williams (Jr., Champaign, Ill., 11-9)
184    Mike Boyd (Jr., Odessa, Mo., 11-9)
197    Nick Lovejoy (So., Oronogo, Mo., 9-11)
285    Marshall Purtee (Fr., Raytown, Mo., 2-8)

No. 7 McKendree Bearcats (9-4)
Wt.    Name   (Yr., Hometown, Record)
125    Steve Murphy (Sr., Palos Park, Ill., 0-9)
133    Ryan Strope (So., Westphalia, Mo., 21-14)
141    Darren Wynn (So., Champaign, Ill., 33-10)
149    Trent Williams (So., Stillwater, Okla., 9-18)
157    Josh Ballard (Sr., Troy, Ill., 25-9)
165    No. 2 Nick Haferkamp (Sr., Lincoln, Ill., 26-9)
174    Luis Alba (Sr., Kissinnee, Fla., 22-12)
184    No. 7 John Vogt (Sr., Festus, Mo., 27-10)
197    No. 2 Julian Smith (Sr., Florissant, Mo., 20-4)
285    Ross Janney (Sr., Daleville, Ind., 17-8)

McKendree opened their season at No. 6 in the preseason rankings. The team swept Missouri Baptist in their first dual, 46-0. A couple weeks later, McKendree went 3-0 at the Argo Duals, beating Minot State (40-12), Chadron State (29-13), and the University of Great Falls (38-9). In their final competition of 2014, the Midwest Classic, the Bearcats took second with 121 points and had seven placewinners at the two-day tournament. 

After the break the Bearcats kicked off the new year at the National Duals. McKendree beat No. 14 Newberry (19-14) in their first match, but fell to No. 17 Upper Iowa (18-15) to follow. After picking up back-to-back wins against No. 19 Fort Hays State (30-10), and No. 11 Central Oklahoma (17-16), No. 5 Mercyhurst beat the Bearcats 23-15 in their last outing of the tournament.  

The team lost to Lindenwood (23-12), before competing at the Ranger Duals, where they went 2-1, beating Tiffin (30-9) and Findlay (23-12). before falling to No. 4 St. Cloud (20-12). 

McKendree has four of six national qualifiers returning from last season, with No. 2 Nick Haferkamp (165) and No. 2 Julian Smith (197) hoping to defend their All-American honors. This season Haferkamp is 26-9 overall and 10-3 in duals, with four second place finishes and one fourth place finish. Smith took first at the Midwest Classic, and was the runner-up at the Battle of the Rockies Open. Smith is 20-4 overall, with an 11-1 dual record. 

Returning national qualifier, No. 7 John Vogt (184), is 27-10 this year with an 11-2 dual record. He finished second twice, and fifth three times earlier in the season. Luis Alba (174), also a returning national qualifier, has missed four duals for the Bearcats, compiling a 4-5 dual record, while going 22-12 overall. He had a first place finish at the Battle of the Rockies, and finished third once and fourth twice in tournaments. Archie Williams will hope for a better outcome in his second match against Alba this season. Earlier in the year, the two met at the UCM Open, Alba taking the match by 15-10 decision, to knock Williams out of the consolation bracket. 

Darren Wynn (141) has the best dual record of the Bearcats, at 12-1, while going 33-10 overall. Ross Janney (285) had a solid start to the season, taking first at the Oklahoma City Open and the Battle of the Rockies, but has only competed in four duals. He is 17-8, with a 3-1 dual record. Josh Ballard (157) is 9-4 in duals, with a 25-9 overall record. He was first at the UCM Open, with a third and fourth place finish at other tournaments. Ryan Strope (133) took second at the Oklahoma City Open, adding a third and seventh place finish at the Battle of the Rockies and the Midwest Classic. Strope is 21-14, and has gone 8-5 in duals. The final member of the Bearcats line-up Ryan Murphy (125) did not compete for the team first semester, and has not won a match in the new year. 

While Wynn has the most dual wins on the team, Vogt has the most bonus points, with three pins and three major decisions. Wynn and Haferkamp have earned bonus points in four duals, while Ballard, Alba, and Smith each have three. The Mules will need to maximize their points in the first bouts of the dual, while minimizing the damage allowed from McKendrees big hitters in the heavier weight classes.