Mules face tough competition at National Duals

National Duals
Jan. 9-10, 2015                
Fort Wayne, Ind. | Fort Wayne Convention Center
Brackets/Live Results | Tournament Notes 

Round One (Note that all times are Eastern)
Central Missouri Mules vs. No. 1 Notre Dame Falcons- 9 a.m.
Augustana Vikings vs. No. 11 Central Oklahoma Bronchos- 9 a.m.
No. 6 McKendree Bearcats vs.No. 14 Newberry Wolves- 9 a.m.
No. 17 Upper Iowa Peacocks vs. No. 5 Mercyhurst Lakers- 9 a.m.
No. 4 Ouachita Baptist Tigers vs. Alderson-Broaddus Battlers- 11 a.m.
No. 19 Fort Hays State Tigers vs. No. 7 St. Cloud State Huskies- 11 a.m.
No. 10 Lindenwood Lions vs. No. 12 Kutztown Golden Bears- 11 a.m.
Lake Erie Storm vs. No. 2 Maryville Saints- 11 a.m.

National Dual Opponents
Central Missouri will compete against some of their toughest competition of the season in Fort Wayne, Ind. at the National Duals. The top eight teams attending the dual tournament were seeded, with their opponents for the first round randomly selected. The Mules were picked to face No. 1 Notre Dame. This will be the first time every Central Missouri wrestler faces a Falcon. 

The Falcons boast a solid line-up, with five nationally ranked wrestlers and plenty of new talent. Jon Rivera (157), Joey Davis (174), and Garrett Lineberger (184) all sit at the top of their weight class, after winning an individual national title last season. Rivera has already had two first place finishes, at the Ashland Open and the Franklin and Marshall Open. Davis continues his unbeaten collegiate career, with a 14-0 record, and a first place finish at the Franklin and Marshall Open. Maurice Miller (141) and Andrew Bannister (149) round out Notre Dame's ranked wrestlers, and also qualified for nationals last season. Miller is currently ranked No. 4, while Bannister is No. 6, though he has not competed in the 149-pound weight class this season. 

Sophomores Ivan McClay (125) and Logan Rimmer (285) have had plenty of success in tournaments thus far, with four place finishes a piece. McClay took fifth at the Virginia Tech Open, second at the Ashland Open, and first at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Franklin and Marshall Open. Rimmer was fourth at the Eastern Michigan Open, third at the Ashland Open, second at the Michigan State Open, and first at the Virginia Tech Open. 

Aside from Notre Dame, there will be 12 nationally ranked teams, and 63 nationally ranked wrestlers at the National Duals. 

UCM Duals
Central Missouri hosted the UCM Duals on Sunday at the UCM Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo. The Mules fell in their first two duals, against St. Cloud State (40-6) and Findlay (29-15), but won their last match of the day over Indianapolis (28-14). Archie Williams was the only Mule to walk away from the dual meet undefeated

Central Missouri in the Rankings
Frank Cagnina is the only Central Missouri wrestler ranked in the latest Division II poll, released Jan. 2. Cagnina was No. 1 in the preseason poll, but fell to No. 3 after losing to Keenan Hagerty (Maryville) in the finals at the UCM Open. Cagnina is now up one spot, to No. 2, behind Hagerty. Cagnina is the highest ranked MIAA wrestler, with Terrel Wilbourn (Lindenwood) at No. 3 and Destin McCauley (Nebraska-Kearney) at No. 7, while four of the eight 149-pound wrestlers are in Super Region IV. Across all 10 weight classes, Super Region IV is home to 30 nationally ranked wrestlers, with 13 wrestlers belonging to MIAA squads.

In the regional rankings, Central Missouri had eight wrestlers ranked in the top 10, and were ninth as a team.