Cornell, which had a record-setting 15-9-1 dual season a year ago, is ranked No. 16 in Division III and junior 125-pounder Chris Heilman (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary’s) is rated third. Heilman, one of eight returning starters for the Rams, was 33-9 last season, placing fourth in the Iowa Conference and seventh in the nation.

Another national qualifier, sophomore 141-pounder Dave Paramski (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), suffered a hand injury in the preseason and will not be available until January. He was 33-11 with seven falls last season, placing third in the IIAC.

Duroe said that “little injuries” to sophomore Drew Vickers (Coal City, Ill./Coal City) and junior Reuben Zacharakis-Jutz (Mount Vernon/Mount Vernon) will affect the team’s lineup in the early going. The projected starters for the Northwestern Duals are Heilman at 125, freshman Nick Nothern (Salina, Kan./Salina) at 133, sophomore Aaron Bingham (Manhattan, Kan./Manhattan) or sophomore David Boussios (Hillsboro, Ore./Century) at 141, sophomore Aaron Kindelsperger (Port Byron, Ill./Riverdale) and freshman Alex Riniker (Winthrop/East Buchanan) at 149, junior Pat McAuley (Austin, Texas/Lanier) or sophomore Caleb Wilson (Benton, Ill./Benton) at 157, Vickers at 165, sophomore Kyle Kehrli (Winthrop/East Buchanan) or Zacharakis-Jutz at 174, sophomore Andrew Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary’s) at 184, junior Josh Pastor (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) at 197 and freshman Jason Edlund (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) at 285.

“I’m optimistic that our returning guys have another year of experience and should be improved,” Duroe said. “I’m cautiously optimistic about the prospects of these early-season matches.”