Waldorf closes out Missouri Valley Invitational

By Matt Oliver

MARSHALL, Mo. – The Waldorf College men’s wrestling team faced some of the top competition in the nation while closing out the Missouri Valley College Invitational on Saturday.

Freshman Zach Milks (157 pounds), junior Dustin Samudio (149), seniors Dario Gamino (149) and Dirk McOmber (197) each notched 1-2 records for the Warriors in the two-day tournament that featured 11 teams that are ranked and another 10 teams receiving votes in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll.

Milks (7-11) earned a first-round bye and turned in a second-round upset as the Charles City native pinned Bacone College’s 16th-ranked Courtney Shavers in 4 minutes, 18 seconds during the opening day. William Penn University’s Christian Padilla held off Milks in a 10-4 decision. Milks ended the tournament in the fourth round of the consolation bracket, losing a 17-2 technical fall to Montana State University-Northern’s Brandon Weber.

Samudio (1-6) received a first-round bye and fell short in a 6-2 decision to Truman State University’s Rafael Lopez in the second round. Following a second-round consolation bye, Samudio won by fall over Maryville University’s Nicholas Greco in 1:38. Baker University’s Victor Hughes pinned Samudio in 4:47.

Gamino (2-6) came off an opening-round bye and lost an 8-3 decision to Williams Baptist College’s Henry Reyes. After a second-round consolation bye, Gamino claimed an 8-6 decision over Oklahoma City University’s Eric Ambriz. Concordia University’s Foster Bunce pinned Gamino in 15 seconds during a fourth-round consolation bout.

McOmber (5-4) received byes in the first two rounds. He lost a 5-0 decision to Benedictine College’s eighth-ranked Stephen Loosbrock and then won by injury default over Graceland University’s Ryan Paige. Truman State’s Sam Reeves topped McOmber in a 13-6 decision in a fifth-round consolation match.

Freshman Kyle Penalosa (125), junior Andres Torres (133), sophomore Austin Roys (165), freshman Kegan Thomas (184), senior Ryan Dugger (197) and sophomore Jacob Pinedo (285) also competed for Waldorf, closing out the tournament with 0-2 records.

Penalosa (4-12) opened with back-to-back byes before losing by fall to Oklahoma City’s 14th-ranked Adrian Gaines in 2:21. Graceland’s Elias Hamchaoui held on for a 5-3 decision over Penalosa in a fourth-round consolation bout.

Torres (1-2) received a first-round bye and was pinned by William Penn’s Tommy Rios in 4:06. Following a second-round consolation bye, Torres finished the day coming in on the wrong side of a 7-1 decision to Menlo College’s Logan Eaton.

Roys (3-9) started with a first-round bye and lost an 18-1 technical fall to Life University’s Anthony Codella. Coming off a second-round consolation bye, Roys saw the tournament come to a close as Bacone’s Joseph McAleavey put together an 18-0 technical fall.

Thomas (1-5) earned two consecutive byes and lost by fall to Northwestern College’s 11th-ranked Tyree Cox in 2:23. Midland University’s Gage Hartline pinned his way to victory over Thomas in one minute during a fourth-round consolation match.

Dugger (1-6) received a first-round bye and lost a hard-fought battle to Hannibal-LaGrange University’s Nigel Burnett by fall in 6:16. Following a second-round consolation bye, Dugger was pinned by Briar Cliff University’s Jordan Watkins in 51 seconds.

Pinedo (7-6) opened the tournament with two straight byes. Cumberland University’s 11th-ranked Tyler Smith won by fall over Pinedo in 2:57. Ottawa University’s Armondo Contreras fended off Pinedo, escaping with a 4-2 decision in a fourth-round consolation bout.

The Warriors scored 10.5 points to tie for 27th place in the team standings. Fourth-ranked Montana State-Northern won the tournament championship with 161 points. Top-ranked and four-time defending national champion Grand View University (157) claimed second while No. 2 Indiana Tech (142), No. 6 Life (112) and No. 3 Missouri Valley College (106) rounded out the top five.

Waldorf (2-6) returns to action Feb. 11 against Northwestern (3-3) in a 6 p.m. dual meet at Orange City. The Red Raiders are receiving votes in the NAIA poll.