Jack Metz contributed to this story

The wrestling team was looking to rally and get a few wins this weekend when they traveled to the University of Wisconsin. While they may have been unsuccessful with a team win, they did have a decent number of individual wins.

The team was faced by two different competitors, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater and Wartburg College. The end result may not have been what they were hoping for, but the coaches found aspects of the teams performance worth praising.

The team was able to put up a few, well earned points. Against Whitewater the team scored a total of eighteen points; however the men from Whitewater ended up besting them by eleven, with a total team score of twenty-nine to our eighteen.

This was one of the better matches for the Duhawks as they posted their best score of the weekend against them. When it came time to compete with Wartburg, the team found a far more challenging opponent. Wartburg was able to defeat the team forty-nine to zero. And yet, although the team was not able to score any points, the time never stopped trying.

In the 149-weight class, Drew Salzman was able to win in decision 2-1 in the tough battle with opponent Brian Lewis. Chris Gansen came out the victor in his 157-weight class, defeating Warhawk opponent Cory Schmidt in a 6-2 decision.

Josh Kirkland defeated his opponent Justin Birschbach by fall at the 4:59 minute mark to give the Duhawks a total of 18 points in the match. Pat Pfantz received the benefit of the forfeit in the 125-weight class.

During the competition between Loras and Wartburg, things did not seem to go our way at all. The team seemed to stumble into a streak of bad luck against Wartburg. They had multiple tech fouls and major calls against them which would put them back a lot. They also had a few forfeits which only set them back further.

In the Duhawks final action of the weekend they took on the host and Division I opponent Wisconsin-Madison where they were able to find victory in one match, while keeping many others close.

Pfantz kept his match in the 125-weight class against Shane McQuade at hand before being defeated in a 9-7 decision. Following Pfantz, Brian Cullen beat his opponent, Austin Hietpas, in the 133-weight class in a 9-5 decision.

Throughout all of this, even though there were no team victories, the team will continue on and will keep training so when the most important matches of the season come they will be ready to claim their victory.

After the men’s wrestling team rolled out the mats for the alumni meet, they were ready to start taking on the real competition. There is no better way than to start off at home for your first meet, and that’s exactly what they did.

Performing in front of the home crowd often pumps up the athletes to a higher level of competition, and this meet was no different. The matsmen came out ready to take on anyone that got in their way. Another thing that may have sparked their performance was the fact that for some of the wrestlers, this is their last year to really make it count, and this year gives them to leave their mark on Loras’ history.

With some performances from opponent schools that caught the team off guard, the team lost a few matches early, but there were some glimpses of brilliance from many of the men out on the mats wearing the Loras uniform.

Senior wrestler Pat Pfantz had a very impressive showing on this day. He was able to defeat two opponents in his bracket to make it to the quarter finals, where he was defeated by Jesse Delgado of UI who would go on to win their weight class.

While there were no victories, the team showed that they will be able to perform with the rest of them and even though it wasn’t the best outcome coaches were able to see where the team was at and able to find out what to do for the next tournament all of the opponents that it brings.

The matsmen now look forward to the meet at Elmhurst College and are preparing extremely hard to make the necessary improvements to get them closer to the top of the charts and make their name known among the people in the wrestling world. With sights set high on the season, no one is going to take this meet or any other meet lightly.

This team is led by many upperclassmen and they want this season to be the best. Coaches are always looking for a successful season and they will do whatever they can to make that happen for their team. This year is a year for big things and if they take a little longer to get where they are trying to get then they will be right there for it all. Team sports are called team sports for a reason, it’s the collective effort that makes everything happen.

The wrestling season is quickly approaching, and the wrestlers are already rolling out the mats and taking to them for their early morning practices.

Coach Randy Steward and company are preparing for yet another season. With seven seniors and six juniors, this is an experienced team.

“There will be several emerging wrestlers for this year’s team. Junior Matt Holmes at 133 and sophomore Stephan Birt at 174 are both returning NCAA Qualifiers and will be leaders on the mat,” said Steward. “I am personally looking for seniors Chris Gansen, Mitch Gansen, Pat Pfantz, and Josh Kirkland to emerge and be competitive on a national level.”

With so many returning men to the team, the year looks bright. Their successes last season were good, but now Steward is looking for even more from his experienced team. His philosophy: get everyone to realize that they are NCAA qualifying prospects.

“We had a strong end of the season last year, and my goal is to keep that momentum going and begin the season right where we left off. Expectations are to qualify all 10 weight classes for the NCAA Tournament and bring home a team trophy,” said Steward. “While Rome wasn’t built in a day, I have high expectations and want every kid in our practice room to want to be an NCAA Champion.”

This may not be an easy task, but they’re off to a good start. They have had two-a-days since Oct. 8, and they are going for “volume,” according to Steward.

This week the wrestlers will back off from the two-a-days, but they will be still practicing hard, Steward said.

With a large group of upperclassmen, the only thing that comes to mind when you continue having big numbers is chemistry- between the wrestlers and coaches and among the wrestlers themselves. This connection is important to the team, and the coaches want to continue this team chemistry with a little bit of recruiting.

“Looking back over 19 years, our best teams had one thing in common — a large senior class. Our goal as a staff from this day forward is to recruit well; recruit kids that are a good fit for our wrestling program and more importantly a good fit for Loras,” said Steward. “Adding to that is making sure that all kids are having a good experience both on and off the mat which will ensure retention and allow us to have large senior classes.”

With all eyes looking forward to another great season, it’s hard to imagine that it could be anything but. To show their readiness, the team had their alumni match, where they were able to show what they’re made of against some of the past wrestlers who proved their prowess during their four years at Loras.

With their opening match held here at Loras coming up, the team is getting ready with hard work and mental preparations. This season looks to be a promising one.

It was a great couple of days for the wrestlers a couple of weeks ago at the NCAA DIV III Championships. The tournament took place in LaCrosse, WI and the best wrestlers from all across the nation competed.

Senior 157-pounder Erik Hanson finished with a strong sixth place, finishing just high enough to make him an All-American athlete.

Hanson began the tournament with a bye round and went on to beat the number four seeded Jesse Harrington from Del Valley with a pin 2:26 into the match.

Hanson then lost his second match to the number five seeded Justin Berns  from Conc M’Head, putting him into the wrestlebacks. This did not discourage Hanson, however, as he went on to win his next two matches. Hanson lost in the quarter final round dropping him into the position of wrestling for fifth place, where Hanson had to face Berns once again. Hanson lost this match as well leaving him to place sixth in the nation at the 157-pound weight class.

Senior 275-pounder Jeremy Klein and sophomore 133-pounder Matt Holmes were one match away from an All-American position.

Klein started the tournament with a loss, but bounced back in the wrestlebacks to win his next two matches by decisions of 5-3 and 1-0 respectively. Klein then lost against the number eight seeded Chad Johnson from Augsburg.

Holmes had a rough first match as well being put up against the number five seeded Adam Sheley from La Crosse, who beat Holmes with a major decision of 9-0. Holmes was able to fight back a round in the wrestle backs and won his first match with a decision of 9-6. He then unfortunately lost to the number six seeded Corey Brown from Thiel.

First-Year 174-pounder Stephen Birt also made it to the national tourney. Unfortunately for Birt, his first match was against number three seeded Zach Molitor from Augsburg and was defeated by a pin in 4:28. Dropping down into the wrestlebacks he then went up against the number six seeded Brian Broderick from TCNJ. He lost with a decision of 12-6.

Despite not placing high in the nationals tournament coach Randy Steward is proud of Holmes and Birt for making it to the tournament so early in their careers.

“I am especially happy that we got a [first-year] and a sophomore to the tournament early in their careers. It is an experience that they can build on and use for the future,”  he said.

“I feel that we took some real positive steps and are moving the program in a positive direction,” Steward continued. “We want to compete with the best in the nation and at this point we want to put ourselves in position to compete for a team trophy at the NCAA Tournament.”

Now Steward looks to the future of the program and sees a lot of great returning athletes as well as a lot of good new recruits.

Four wrestlers fought their way to third-place finishes in the ultra-competitive Iowa Conference Championships last weekend, earning invitations to the NCAA Division III National Championships.

Sophomore 133-pounder Matt Holmes, senior 157-pounder Erik Hansen, first-year 174-pounder Stephan Birt, and senior 285-pounder Jeremy Klein were the men who qualified. All four of them finished third at the Iowa
Conference Tournament in Indianola, IA. First-year 149-pounder Barney Wood and junior 165-pounder Mitch Gansen finished just shy of a national berth.

It was an exciting weekend for the wrestlers as they took fifth place in the tournament — placing near or above some nationally ranked teams. The Duhawks’ performances must have made an impression, as Coach Steward, who was awarded his third Iowa Conference Coach of the Year honor. Steward also won the award in 1995 and again in 2001.

“We wrestled pretty well as a team,” Steward said. “We went 6-for-6 six in the consolation semifinal round and won 10 of our final 12 matches.”

“It is indeed an honor to be voted Coach of the Year in one of the best Division III conferences in the United States,” said Steward. “And to be voted that by your peers is humbling.”

Using the success as a building  block, Loras looks to have a healthy batch of recruits next season. Two things that may entice future wrestlers to come to Loras:  Stewards award and the amazing success achieved by the first-years this year. 174-pounder Stephan Birt is a testimony to this, as he is one of those going to Nationals.

Now, the four Duhawks must work their way up the National ranks. Steward cannot stress enough, that at this point in the season, winning matches comes down to the basics.

“Strategies for the NCAA’s are very similar to the Iowa Conference Tournament,” he said. “Pound into them basic positions and techniques which are the things that win matches at this level.”

Although this is an end to the career of seniors Mike Calafiore, Sean Jarvis, Tiegan Podliska and Willie Slayden, they have acted as strong team leaders, and helped their younger teammates throughout the season. Steward is proud of all of his wrestlers and excited to have four of them going to the NCAA’s.

“I feel that we turned a corner with our program and hope it is an impetus to a brighter future for Loras Wrestling,” he said.

The Duhawks will spend the next week preparing for the national tournament, which will take place in La Crosse, WI, on March 11 and 12.

The wrestling team finished its regular-season dual-meet schedule last weekend, as it traveled to  and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and beat the Pioneers, 28-18.

There were two wrestlers in particular that Coach Randy Steward praised after the dual-meet victory at UW-P. First-year 174-pounder Stephen Birt and senior 184-pounder Tiegan Podliska, both pinned their opponents.

UW-P started off the meet with three wins to jump to a 12-point lead over the Duhawks.

Loras answered back with wins from first-year standout 149-pounder Joe Wood, who won by a decision, 11-7; senior 157-pounder Erik Hanson, who won by a major decision, 23-10; and junior 165-pounder Mitch Gansen, who recorded a 9-7 win over his opponent. Senior 285-pounder Jeremy Klein won by forfeit.

The victory against UW-Platteville was the Duhawks’ first dual-meet victory in the past four meets in which team scores were kept.

Stewart said he is happy to see continued improvement from the younger grapplers. Loras had a fairly young team this season, as it has just six seniors on the team.

“I am pleased with the progress of some of our younger kids,” he said. “The biggest test will be Friday Feb. 25 at Simpson College.”

Steward is referring to the Iowa Conference Championships that will take place next weekend in Indianola. He hopes several of his wrestlers will place high enough in their respective weight categories to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.

“Our strategies are to train hard for the next seven to eight days and to wrestle smart,” said Steward. “We will work on the little things like position and not giving up scores on the edge of the mat and late in the periods.”

The wrestling team fell short to a couple of perennial powers in Wartburg and the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, but it regained its footing with a couple of strong victories.

Last Thursday, the team faced hosted Wartburg and suffered through a 44-0 loss. As tough to stomach as it was, Wartburg has made a habit of dominating its competition over the past two decades. Wartburg has won seven national titles in the past 15 years and has won a mind-boggling 143-straight dual meets against very tough Iowa Conference competition.

Entering the weekend, the Duhawks looked to prove that they still had some fight in them. They traveled to Wisconsin to participate in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 2X4 Duals. Loras drew first blood in the tournament by whipping Waldorf College, 37-9.

Those who emerged victorious against Waldorf included junior 125-pounder Pat Pfantz, sophomore 141-pounder Matt Holmes, junior 149-pounder Chris Gansen, senior 157-pounder Eric Hanson, senior 174-pounder Tiegen Podliska, junior 184 pounder Matt Dickman, first-year 197-pounder Jacob Hertel and senior 285-pounder Jeremy Klein. Gansen and Podliska both pinned their opponents.

A few hours later, the Duhawks faced the host team, UW-La Crosse, and ran into another powerhouse. Hanson beat his opponent, 8-2, to give the Duhawks their only win of the meet during their 43-3 loss to La Crosse, which was the national runner-up a year ago.

But the Duhawks again bounced back to throttling UW-Eau Claire, 34-12.

Those who won against Eau Claire included Pfantz, who pinned his opponent 3:21 into the match; first-year 133-pounder Nathan Fuller, who won 4-0; Holmes, who won 14-0; Hanson, who pinned his opponent 2:09 into the match; junior 165-pounder Mitch Gansen, who won 11-2; Podliska, who won 17-2; and Klein, who pinned his opponent 2:04 into the match.

The Duhawks will gear up for a few more tournaments before the holiday break, including an appearance at the Dubuque Spartan Duals on Dec. 11 at the University of Dubuque. Then Loras will host a match against Augustana College on Dec. 17.

The team then will compete in another tournament at the University of Dubuque, the Jim Fox Open, on Dec. 18.

The Loras Wrestling team have had a rough start to the season already suffering two defeats to open up the season.

The team prepared for the long season at the Five Flags Center on Nov. 6, as their open. No scores or results were taken but it still came out hard to swallow since none of the Duhawk wrestlers came out ranked in the division.

Loras traveled to Elmhurst on the 11th and suffered the loss 29-13.

Individual victories came from junior 125 pounder Pat Pfantz in the 125 weight class, sophomore 141 pounder Matt Holmes, junior 165 pounder Mitch Gansen  and senior 174 pounder Tiegen Podliska.

This past weekend the team participated in the University of Dubuque Duals. The team came up victorious in the first set of duals against Wheaton College 41-3, making their presence known at the duals. As the day progressed the team would then face Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Loras lost to Wisconsin only by a small margin, 24-19.

Loras will participate in the Concordia Open in Mequon, Wisconsin this weekend and will then resume after Thanksgiving break at home. Then the team will face Wartburg on December 2nd.

While many athlete’s seasons are coming to an end, the wrestling team is just getting started. There were 344 wrestlers representing more than 20 teams that showed up to the Loras Open on Saturday, making it one of the largest wrestling tournaments that Loras has ever hosted.
Because of the large number of athletes that descended on Dubuque, the Duhawks had to find another venue for the tournament, moving it from the traditional Graber Center to the Five Flags Center. With eight mats going and dozens of volunteers to run the tables, the tournament got under way at around 10 a.m.
There were several Loras wrestlers that stood out among the fray. First-year 141-pounder Drew Salzman placed fifth in the silver division, which consisted mainly of first-year wrestlers. Other wrestlers who stood out were juniors Chris and Mitch Gansen, who wrestled at 149 pounds and 157 pounds, respectively, and junior 125-pounder Pat Pfantz.
“It is too early to tell just where we are going this season, but we hope to get a little better each week,” said Coach Randy Steward. “With a tournament that size, it’s hard to keep focus, and running around setting up the tournament the night before was exhausting.”
The wrestling team looks fairly strong this year, with eight seniors and eight juniors returning to compete for the Duhawks. With all of these upperclassmen, there are six sophomores and 16 first-years. With as many upperclassmen as the team has, it’s pretty easy for the younger members to locate some leaders on the team.
“The next ‘open’ we have is Concordia and I think we will do better not having to set up and get everything tournament- ready,” said Steward.
The Concordia Open will be held in Mequon, WI. The tourney begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20.

Scared about going into the real world after college? Maybe it’s not as bad as everyone thinks.

For Loras 2009 graduate coach Tom Drosopoulos, things seem to be working out.

He now is coaching wrestling, among other sports, at Illini Bluffs in Glasford, IL. He took over for Pat O’Connor, who started the wrestling program in the 1970s. O’Connor is one of just five coaches to ever reach 500 wins in the state of Illinois.

“I would say my dad was the one who inspired me to become a coach,” Drosopoulos said. “I saw the respect he got from everyone, how he inspired not only the kids but the coaches and referees as well. I just wanted to be that guy.”

Drosopoulos had a pretty successful first year of coaching. His 103, 119, 125, 130 and 152 pounders all advanced to the Sectionals in Illinois.

Senior Nate Fuller was ranked first in the state at 125 pounds. Going into Sectionals, Fuller had a record of 30-2, but unfortunately he was hospitalized due to illness the week before the tournament. Fuller still managed to wrestle while still recovering, but he didn’t have enough in him to make it to the state tournament. He fell just short, taking fourth place.

“The thing I like about wrestling is that you don’t have to be naturally athletic, although it helps, to be good at wrestling. There is always a move you can work on or a technique you can perfect,” Drosopoulos said. “Although this can be frusterating. Sometimes when a kid wasn’t performing well, I wanted them to tag me in and I wanted to do it for them, but you can’t. You have to let them do it on their own.”

In his area, Drosopoulos is one of the only coaches to wear a shirt and tie to the meets.

“I feel like dressing formal gives a lot of respect to the sport and to the school,” he said. “I learned this in college when all of the coaches wore dress shirts and ties.”

Drosopoulos took a lot out of his first year of experience, and is looking forward to working with the guys in the off-season and to wrestling in some open tournaments himself.