Ram Review: Cornell freshman Nick Nothern (Salina, Kan./Salina South) advanced to the 133-pound championship at the Dick Walker Invitational on Dec. 9 in Cedar Falls before falling to top-seeded Jake Helvey of Wartburg, 7-3. Nothern is 12-5 on the season.

The Rams fielded a partial squad at the Dick Walker Invitational and still compiled a 26-26 record with five placewinners. Junior Pat McAuley (Austin, Texas/Lanier), who has a team-leading 14 wins, placed fourth at 157 pounds. Sophomore David Boussios (Hillsboro, Ore./Century) and sophomore Christian Coffey (Houston, Texas/Westside) were fifth at 141 and 165 pounds. Junior Josh Pastor (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) was sixth at 197.

“I was disappointed with our lack of consistency and effort in some matches,” Duroe said. “We had good individual performances from Nothern and Coffey. Coffey had a couple of good, dominating wins.”

Boussios, Coffey and McAuley were all 4-2 on the day. McAuley won three matches by fall and Pastor pinned two opponents. The Rams held advantages over their opponents in near-fall points (44-35) and reversals (15-12).

“Our team had a heart-to-heart talk after the tournament,” Duroe said. “We’re looking for a renewed commitment by the entire team to get better.”

Dick Walker Invitational
Dec. 9, Cedar Falls

Final Team Standings — 1. Wartburg 140 ½, 2. Iowa Central 129 ½, 3. Coe 123 ½, 4. Loras 82, 5. Cornell 65, 6. UW-Whitewater 61, 7. Augustana (Ill.) 47 ½, 8. UW-Platteville 46, 9. Ellsworth 26, 10. Knox 20 ½, 11. Augsburg 9 ½.

Cornell Results
133 — Nick Nothern (runner-up): dec. Sean White (Wartburg) 11-6; dec. Kalen Lenz (Wartburg) 5-3; lost dec. to Jake Helvey (Wartburg) 7-3.
141 — David Boussios (fifth): maj. dec. Tyler Everson (Wartburg) 12-4; lost maj. dec. to Jo Soto (Iowa Central) 17-6; dec. Boomer Mears (Loras) 3-2; dec. Kurt Simon (Ellsworth) 8-6; lost dec. to Zach Chambers (UW-Platteville) 10-5; dec. Austin Bautista (UW-Whitewater) 7-6.
149 — Alex Riniker: dec. Beau Bielecki (Augustana) 5-0; lost tech. fall to Matt Burns