MATCH DETAILS
NCAA III Lower Midwest Regional
Thursday-Friday, February 29-March 1, 2024
Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Alliant Energy Powerhouse Arena

ON THE MAT
Cedar Rapids, Iowa - The University of the Ozarks men's wrestling team had three placers, including a national qualifier, and finished 12th overall at the NCAA III Lower Midwest Regional Championships over the weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Jake Dado, who placed third in the 141-pound weight class, punched his ticket to the National Championships with win by decision over Jalen Schropp from Loras College. The Eagles also had two other place winners. Daniel Benoit (197) and Ka'Ron Lewis (285) both finished eighth, respectively. 

"The team performed well this weekend," said head coach Vinny Barber. "I'm really proud to have three guys place. Dan and Ka'Ron wrestled great. I'm extremely happy for Dan to end his career as a conference champion and be an All-Region guy. Ka'Ron will be back and improve on this year's performance." 

"Jake was phenomenal. It was the best wrestling I have seen from him. He executed perfectly and was able to avenge the first day loss in the match to go to the show. I am looking forward to the work he can do in Wisconsin in a few weeks." 

The battle-tested Dado came back to qualify after a loss on Thursday and finished with a 6-1 record. Dado, a native of Lockport, Illinois, moves on to compete for a national title March 15-16 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. After his loss, Dado climbed back into contention with a win by tech fall against Darian Diaz from Dubuque. On Friday, Dado rose to the occasion with a win by decision against Nathan Berta from Eureka and then winning by major decision against Dresden Grimm from Coe. He secured his national qualifying spot with a victory against Schropp. Dado is Ozarks' fourth men's wrestler to qualify for the national championships in program history.
 
Benoit, a native of Chicago, Illinois, won by tech fall against Alex Watson from Loras College (TF-1.5 5:24 (20-2) and won by major decision over Elijah Brockie from North Central 15-10 (MD 13-2). Lewis, a native of Edgewater, Maryland, won by fall against Geoffrey Hudson from Westminster (Fall 3:25) and won by decision against Jonah Clark from Loras (Dec 10-3). Airamis Mendoza won by fall twice at the championships while Gabriel Sheikh had a pair of wins by major decision.

Team Scores
1. Wartburg (195.5)
2. North Central (165.5)
3. Coe (153.0)
4. Loras (118.5)
5. Cornell College (112.5)
6. Luther (100.5)
7. Millikin (93.0)
8. Central (92.5)
9. Dubuque (70.5)
10. Augustana (Ill.) (57.0)
11. Westminster (51.0)
12. University of the Ozarks (42.5)
13. Huntingdon (40.0)
14. Buena Vista (22.5)
15. Eureka (22.0)
16. Schreiner (9.5)
17. Nebraska Wesleyan (6.0)
18. Simpson (5.5)
19. Illinois Wesleyan (5.0)
20. Fontbonne (2.0)
125
Shelton Chastain (1-2) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Shelton Chastain received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Cade Hornback (Coe) 20-10 won by major decision over Shelton Chastain (MD 14-0)
Cons. Round 2 - Shelton Chastain received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Shelton Chastain won by decision over Tyler Japp (Buena Vista) 9-12 (Dec 11-5)
Cons. Round 4 - Jase Van Pelt (Cornell College) 3-3 won by fall over Shelton Chastain (Fall 4:44)
 
133
John Raymundo (0-2) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - John Raymundo received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Trevor Hedges (Eureka) 3-3 won by fall over John Raymundo (Fall 0:23)
Cons. Round 2 - John Raymundo received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Jesus Sanchez (Dubuque) 12-14 won by fall over John Raymundo (Fall 4:52)

141
Jacob Dado (6-1) placed 3rd and scored 20.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Jacob Dado won by fall over William Tucker (Millikin) 2-2 (Fall 2:59)
Champ. Round 2 - Jacob Dado won by fall over Sam Deyro (Augustana (IL)) 6-21 (Fall 1:10)
Quarterfinal - Jalen Schropp (Loras) 3-2 won by decision over Jacob Dado (Dec 5-2)
Cons. Round 4 - Jacob Dado won by tech fall over Darian Diaz (Dubuque) 9-12 (TF-1.5 6:54 (21-5))
Cons. Round 5 - Jacob Dado won by decision over Nathan Berta (Eureka) 2-3 (Dec 9-2)
Cons. Semi - Jacob Dado won by major decision over Dresden Grimm (Coe) 17-10 (MD 15-7)
3rd Place Match - Jacob Dado won by decision over Jalen Schropp (Loras) 3-2 (Dec 3-2)
 
149
Hayden Rofkahr (0-2) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Hayden Rofkahr received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Landon Card (Cornell College) 3-2 won by tech fall over Hayden Rofkahr (TF-1.5 5:30 (18-3))
Cons. Round 2 - Hayden Rofkahr received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Evan Atchley (Dubuque) 12-19 won by decision over Hayden Rofkahr (Dec 7-1)

157
Ethan Norton (0-2) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Ethan Norton received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Nathan Callaway (Millikin) 5-0 won by tech fall over Ethan Norton (TF-1.5 3:00 (19-3))
Cons. Round 2 - Kameron Hanel (Augustana (IL)) 9-16 won by tech fall over Ethan Norton (TF-1.5 3:57 (16-0))

165
Airamis Mendoza (2-2) place is unknown and scored 5.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Airamis Mendoza received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Will Esmoil (Coe) 27-3 won by fall over Airamis Mendoza (Fall 3:45)
Cons. Round 2 - Airamis Mendoza won by fall over Jonah Siebert (Buena Vista) 0-2 (Fall 4:28)
Cons. Round 3 - Airamis Mendoza won by fall over Jayden McLean (Schreiner) 4-7 (Fall 1:45)
Cons. Round 4 - Bryce McDonough (Luther) 5-2 won by decision over Airamis Mendoza (Dec 5-3)
 
174
Gabriel Sheikh (2-2) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Gabriel Sheikh received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Drake Tiedemann (Luther) 1-2 won by fall over Gabriel Sheikh (Fall 2:56)
Cons. Round 2 - Gabriel Sheikh won by major decision over Connor Morin (Fontbonne) 6-15 (MD 19-7)
Cons. Round 3 - Gabriel Sheikh won by major decision over Jack Miller (Augustana (IL)) 14-13 (MD 14-0)
Cons. Round 4 - Payton Geigner (North Central) 25-14 won by fall over Gabriel Sheikh (Fall 2:43)
 
184
Caden Holland (0-2) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Caden Holland received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Cael Mclaren (Cornell College) 3-1 won by tech fall over Caden Holland (TF-1.5 3:41 (19-4))
Cons. Round 2 - Caden Holland received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Tyler Thurston (Dubuque) 12-12 won by tech fall over Caden Holland (University of the Ozarks) 0-2 (TF-1.5 4:18 (15-0))
 
197
Daniel Benoit (2-3) placed 8th and scored 7.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Daniel Benoit received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Jacob Badger (Augustana (IL)) 25-8 won by decision over Daniel Benoit (Dec 10-4)
Cons. Round 2 - Daniel Benoit received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Daniel Benoit won by tech fall over Alex Watson (Loras) 1-2 (TF-1.5 5:24 (20-2))
Cons. Round 4 - Daniel Benoit won by major decision over Elijah Brockie (North Central) 15-10 (MD 13-2)
Cons. Round 5 - Eli Pannell (Dubuque) 13-6 won by fall over Daniel Benoit (Fall 7:20)
7th Place Match - Jacob Badger (Augustana (IL)) 25-8 won by decision over Daniel Benoit (Dec 4-0)
 
285
Ka`Ron Lewis (2-3) placed 8th and scored 6.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Ka`Ron Lewis received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Leno Campbell (Millikin) 1-2 won by decision over Ka`Ron Lewis (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Ka`Ron Lewis received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Ka`Ron Lewis won by fall over Geoffrey Hudson (Westminster) 3-16 (Fall 3:25)
Cons. Round 4 - Ka`Ron Lewis 2-3 won by decision over Jonah Clark (Loras) 2-2 (Dec 10-3)
Cons. Round 5 - Jack Haury (Huntingdon) 38-7 won by decision over Ka`Ron Lewis  (Dec 7-0)
7th Place Match - Justin Matson (Dubuque) 24-8 won by decision over Ka`Ron Lewis (Dec 1-0)