CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The 12th-ranked University of Chicago wrestling team traveled to Iowa for the NWCA National Duals this weekend and picked up three wins in their six matches, including a pair of top-15 victories, to finish in 10th place as a team.

#12 UCHICAGO 31, RIT 13

In the preliminary round match, the Maroons opened the weekend with a must-win match to earn their spot into the main bracket for the weekend. Matthew Barlay started the meet with a bang as he earned a pin in just two minutes and nine seconds to give UChicago a 6-0 lead. The Maroons would continue the momentum as Jackson Rustad added a sudden victory win, Sean Conway won 15-2 by major decision, and Maksim Mukhamedaliyev won by pin in just 1:57 to put UChicago in front 19-0. RIT would add wins in three straight matches, but a second-period pin by Jackson Davis and a third-period pin by Nolan Pozzobon would seal the 31-13 win for the Maroons to move them into the main bracket.

#3 UW- LA CROSSE 27, #12 UCHICAGO 13

In the opening round of the main bracket, the Maroons matched up with the #3 UW-La Crosse Eagles and took an early lead in the top-12 showdown. Matthew Barlay earned a 7-0 victory, Jackson Rustad won 4-1 by sudden victory, Sean Conway added a 5-2 win by decision, and Maksim Mukhamedaliyev won 10-1 by major decision to put the Maroons on top 13-0 after winning the opening four matches for the second time of the day. Conway, who entered the weekend as the #6 wrestler in NCAA DIII, took down the #12 overall wrestler in the country in the 141 division with his 5-2 win. Despite the early lead for the Maroons, the Eagles rode the stacked back of their lineup, with nationally-ranked wrestlers in the final five weight classes, to six straight wins as the Eagles took down the Maroons.

#12 UCHICAGO 16, #13 UW-WHITEWATER 15 

In their third match of the day, the Maroons took on #13 UW-Whitewater in what would prove to be their tightest match on paper of the weekend. For the third time of the day, UChicago jumped out to an early lead as Matthew Barlay won 7-2 by sudden victory, and Jackson Rustad added a 14-3 major decision win. Then, Sean Conway picked up his second consecutive nationally-ranked win of the day with a 6-4 win over the #9 ranked wrestler to put the Maroons on top 10-0. The Warhawks would battle right back with wins in the next four matches to retake the lead at 12-10 heading into the final three bouts of the day. After falling behind 4-2 in the opening period of the 184 match, Jackson Davis cut the lead to one and earned a reversal in the opening 20 seconds of the third period before holding on for the 5-4 win to put UChicago back in front 13-12. The Warhawks would hold on for a sudden victory win in the 197-pound match, sending the dual into a winner-take-all heavyweight bout with the weight of the Maroons on the shoulders of Teddy Perry. Perry fell behind 3-0 after an early takedown, but a reversal and stalling call would level the match at three. Then, a takedown of his own would put Perry up 6-3 heading into the final period. The Warhawk wrestler would get a reversal to cut the lead to one, but Perry would escape and hold off the aggressive attacks to take the 7-5 win and give UChicago a 16-15 dual meet win.

#5 LORAS 33, #12 UCHICAGO 9

In their fourth and final match of the day on Friday, the Maroons came up short against their second top-5 opponent of the day. Jackson Rustad earned an 8-6 win in the 133-pound bout with a pair of early takedowns helping him to ride the wave to three points. However, it would be all Duhawks for the majority of the match. Nolan Pozzobon would add the lone other win for the Maroons at 197 to give the Maroons six points in the loss.

#12 UCHICAGO 33, #8 JOHNSON & WALES 13

The Maroons returned to the mat on Saturday with a bout against the defending national champions and #8 team in the country, Johnson & Wales (RI). After a tech fall in the opening match put the Wildcats in front 5-0, the Maroons would win seven of the next eight matches in a dominant performance against the defending champs. Jackson Rustad won 11-2 by major decision, Sean Conway won 10-3 by decision, Maksim Mukhamedaliyev won 20-4 by tech fall, and Dan Gunlogson earned the first pin of the match with a second-period fall. After another tech fall for the Wildcats, Hutch Lynott and Nolan Pozzobon would earn six points for the Maroons, and Jackson Davis held on for the 9-7 win to seal the 33-13 win over the defending national champions.

#9 CENTRAL (IA) 35, #12 UCHICAGO 9

The win over Johnson & Wales set up the Maroons in the ninth-place match against #9 Central (IA) to wrap up the NWCA National Duals. The Dutch would take an early lead with a 13-11 decision in the 125 bout, but Jackson Rustad would level the score with an 8-3 win at 133. However, Central would ride wins in the next three matches from three nationally-ranked wrestlers to take control of the match. Jackson Davis would pick up the lone other win for UChicago with a first-period pin, but the Maroons would fall 35-9 to bring home a tenth-place finish in the tournament.

With the 3-3 weekend in Iowa, the Maroons now sit at 8-4 overall and 3-3 against top-15 teams this season. The team will return to action next Saturday as the Maroons travel to Elmhurst for the Al Hanke Invitational.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS:

133 - Jackson Rustad - 6-0 (20 pts)
184 - Jackson Davis - 4-2 (18 pts)
197 - Nolan Pozzobon - 3-3 (18 pts)
149 - Maksim Mukhamedaliyev - 3-3 (15 pts)
141 - Sean Conway - 4-2 (13 pts)
125 - Matthew Barlay - 3-0 (12 pts)
157 - Dan Gunlogson - 1-4 (6 pts)
174 - Hutch Lynott - 1-5 (6 pts)
285 - Teddy Perry - 1-5 (3 pts)
157 - Cole Joseph - 0-1
165 - Nathan Sanchez - 0-1
125 - Youti Wan - 0-3
165 - Nicholas Cheshier - 0-5